Flying Colors - True Colors release

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Ivand, Sep 28, 2017.

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  1. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Third song from the forthcoming album was released. Now this one I am loving! I have had this melody stuck in my head all evening. :cool:

     
  2. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US

    I agree.

    I thought the first one was more consistent but the second one was better half of the the time and worse for the other half. I imagine the new one will be right there too.
     
  3. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    Listening to the new Flying Colors album right now. My god this is bad, so bloated, pretentious and predictable. These compositions makes Calling All Stations sound like masterpiece...
     
  4. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US
    Really liking the third one a lot.

    I was hoping they'd move the needle a bit and it seems they did. Was kind of worried after not really being into about a third to half of Second Nature.
     
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  5. Anachostic

    Anachostic Forum Resident

    Still waiting on my pre-order. I think it's going to arrive on the 10th. I got a shipping notification for a mystery package coming from Albany, NY where the shipping label was created on the 4th.
     
  6. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    I've been able to spend about a week with this release as I didn't want to review it upon just one or two listens. After six listens I think it's a good album with some great moments in an otherwise simple but different approach in style.

    Fans of the band know the game by now, pop songs with prog excitement while trying to achieve a more mainstream, accessible (and possibly shorter) sound that might even appeal to a prog newbie as well. This is still the norm here, some exciting moments are scattered throughout the album, the band is as great as ever. However, in my opinion and perception, I think the secret weapon in Third Degree is that the band was able to integrate new elements to their sound to make it as fun and original as possible. This is particularly evident in songs like Geronimo, Love Letter and, my personal favorite, Guardian. I think these three offerings is a clear insight to how this band can shine out from their own album by stepping a little outside of their comfort zone, something I wish the band kept on doing more frequently as they are expert musicians that can handle doing this.

    Geronimo has a funky bassline and groove that reminds me a little bit of a late 80s, early 90s Peter Gabriel sound and maybe a little Toto as well (although I hardly know the band, for some reason their sound is what came to mind). Love Letter is more of a Beach Boys vibe, something Neal and Mike have tried out before in The Neal Morse Band, however they perfected it here with tad more poppy twists. Guardian, on the other hand, is something I haven't really listened to before. The instrumental section is simple and phenomenal, Mike's drumming is completely new to me (its sound at the very least is pleasant to the ears accompanied by a perky drumming pattern with a killer bass interlude).
    An interesting song is Waiting For The Sun (from the deluxe bonus disc), which could've hopefully had made it to the original album. I think it's a song that starts off good enough but takes a different direction midway and the band shines, especially towards the end.

    The rest of the album however ranges from from a little above average to good. I've grown more fond of the other three singles (More, You Are Not Alone, The Loss Inside) since they were released. Unfortunately the two epics have, for the third time, failed to impress me. I'm not sure why this is the case, it's obviously just me because the majority of listeners prefer the epics over most of the other songs from the first two albums. Perhaps it's the fact that I expect too much and get my hopes up to hear something groundbreaking when their intention is clearly not that. Last Train Home has its moments, but I ultimately favor the more creative, shorter compositions from the band, while Crawl has yet to captivate me.
    The bonus disc is great, the instrumental mixes reveal the bare beauty of some of the songs (including the epics), the acoustic version of Love Letter is a gem and the bonus track Waiting For The Sun is worth checking. I'd love to read some opinions on this album.

    In summary I think the album is saved by its originality and creativity, though not overflowing from start to finish, it's still recognizable and scattered throughout. Because of this I find it hard (and unnecessary) to compare it to the first albums, it strays a bit from the songwriting structure of the first two which is a good thing. I've always said that the best way to follow a masterpiece of an album is to do something very different so it avoids comparisons. The key songs are Guardian, Geronimo and Love Letter but fans will also fall for the charm of Cadence and You Are Not Alone as well. The two epics are a hit or miss in the sense that they represent 33% of the album, so if you don't enjoy them thoroughly, the album may pay for it with consistency and structure (as was in my case), reason for which I sometimes enjoyed a little more to listen to the individual tracks rather than pound out the whole album in one sitting. Hopefully I appreciate the album more after the Chicago concert in six days and play something more from it than just the singles.
     
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  7. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    The new album very much seems like a grower. The majority of it was a bit head-scratching at first, but it's starting to sound a lot better after multiple listens.
     
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  8. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    This wasnt on my 'must buy' list but thought I'd give it a punt seeing it on display in HMV. So glad I did cos' this is getting more air time than the last 10 or so CD's I've bought. Took about three listens to appreciate it and now cant get those melodies out of my head.
     
  9. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I hear ya. I am starting to wrap my head around the whole thing, and even the songs I thought were afterthoughts at first are starting to sink in. I love when that happens.
     
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  10. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US
    Best one yet I think. Very consistent and seeing some of the news songs brought to life sort of cemented that feeling. Still haven't checked out the bonus disc yet. Usually, I'll put the disc away for a while after the concert and move on to enjoy the next thing in my pile (which in this case is the new Marco Minnemann) but I really can't get enough of this one. (Also didn't get to Portnoy's DVD for this album which presumably is a different mix.)

    They really nailed it this time. Fusion of a bunch of different styles that doesn't really seem forced or contrived. Really glad there was some growth here. I expected it to be good but it's really resonating and I wake up with it in my head.
     
  11. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I think I agree with this. I like the second album, but it sounds like a band that was still deciding what they want to be, while the new one sounds like a band totally comfortable having settled in what their current sound is. I love that it isn't what some would call stereotypical proggy, but has just enough stretching out to give it an experimental feel. And while the hooks aren't there like they were on the first two albums, the melodies are very strong and really reveal themselves the more you listen.
     
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  12. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US

    Don't know if you caught a show this time, but they were really having a blast and were really enjoying the rare moment of a live gig.

    It's like they discovered the freedom of not being locked into a formula which thrills me to no end. I could be wrong about this, but we might be seeing another album and tour sooner rather than later.


    It might be kind of neat to have a Transatlantic /Flying Colors double bill but it would kill Neal for sure and likely Portnoy as well.
     
  13. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    The band did not come to my town, so I did not get to see them.

    In a perfect world, Flying Colors would have a big enough fan base where they could make it a semi-regular thing, but given that their audience appears pretty small, and they likely do this project for fun (with probably no more than a small profit at best), I suspect it will continue to be something they do just every few years, especially since it is difficult to get their schedules to line up.
     
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  14. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Mike Portnoy's other project (one of many) 'Sons of Appollo' have just announced their second album is due for imminent release. Dont how he juggles his time between so many bands?
     
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  15. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    No one would ever accuse Mike Portnoy of not being a hard worker, but I would point out that none of his bands are really full-time bands, and only a couple are really only part time bands, with the others being once every few years type of bands. Both Flying Colors and Transatlantic (unfortunately) fall into that latter category. Personally, I wish he would ditch Sons of Apollo and make Flying Colors more of a part time (and close to full time) band, but I am guessing the availability of Steve Morse makes it hard to get together too often. Heck, they aren't even doing that many shows to tour on the new album because of how difficult it is to get the schedules of all five lined up.
     
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  16. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Yeah, I agree! The Neal Morse Band is the only one I say is his full-time band as they have been very proactive over the last few years [almost album/tour every year]. Not a fan of Sons of Apollo, at least I didn't rate their debut album. The project I look forward to the most is Transatlantic!
     
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  17. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I think this is easily my favorite of the three Flying Colors albums. The Beach Boys homages on "Love Letter" are especially wonderful...not something I expected on a prog album.

    Guess I'm in the minority on Sons Of Apollo...I'm really excited about their 2nd album, but I also have been a huge Jeff Scott Soto fan for years, so that helped.
     
  18. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
    I'm a massive fan of Transatlantic and a growing fan of Flying Colors - though I haven't had to chance to listen all the way through Third Degree yet.

    Sons of Apollo aren't really my thing. However, I've watched a few clips of their live album online and (a) they appear to be having a great time and (b) the bass is loud and clear and awesome. :agree:

    Incidentally, has anyone any thoughts about Neal's prog musical Jesus Christ the Exorcist? I've watched the two clips posted on You Tube, which are pretty impressive, but I'm not sure quite what to make of it.

     
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  19. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
     
  20. Fusionfan

    Fusionfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
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  21. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I forced myself to get through it once. The music is okay, typical Neal, but the lyrics are Testimony-level bad if you don't subscribe to Neal's lifestyle. I feel like Neal's lyrics at least got easier to ignore as his solo career progressed, but this one is bad. Granted, it's supposed to be super obvious and literal, it's a musical. But I wish he'd taken the better musical ideas and put them in a normal album. But he also seems to have an infinite resource of motifs, even if a lot of them are kind of similar.
     
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  22. Fusionfan

    Fusionfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I am with you on both counts. I saw Sons of Apollo on the last tour and was quite impressed too.
     
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  23. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    They were fantastic live. JSS is one of the best frontment in hard rock (and IMO should be the one with the Queen gig right now...he's just not a name that sells tickets, but he's got a much better rock voice). But I was predisposed to love SOA as a fan of him, but also of Derek Sherinian and Billy Sheehan/Mr. Big. Bumblefoot was the only unknown quantity for me (I'd seen him with Gn'R once, but that's it), but he more than lived up to the standard set by the rest of the band, even exceeded them at times.

    I like Flying Colors, but the singer is still pretty unknown outside of that, I enjoy Steve Morse but never got into him on a deeper level, so they're still in the lower tier of Neal projects for me, but this new one is pretty solid and I'll be playing it more than the first two, I think.
     
  24. Fusionfan

    Fusionfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Steve Morse is absolutely brilliant in so many different ways. A guy who can freak out Pat Metheny, fill in for Al Di Meola with John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia, blow country with Albert Lee, compose every note of every album played in the Dregs by high level musicians like Mark O'Connor and Rod Morgenstein and carry on with Deep Purple is simply awesome.

    Sherinian is a great player with some of my favorite keyboard sounds and Thal did a better job than I expected on guitar as well.

    Soto has great pipes and I always enjoy seeing him but I actually think that Ronnie Romero from Rainbow (and Lords of Black, the Ferrymen and CoreLeoni) would be the best guy for the Queen job based on voice (he's closer to Mercury than Soto) and rock grit (there's also Marc Martel but he really is a clone):

     
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  25. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Yeah, I like the Dregs a lot, even saw them once when they opened for Dream Theater 20 years ago. Just never spent as much time with his stuff as I have a lot of other guitarists, for no justifiable reason. It's fun to hear a guy like that in a different context...he's either been doing instrumental stuff, or Deep Purple stuff, and this is something totally different. (I know there's those couple Kansas records, but...yeah)
     
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