If you like prog, AOR or straight-up rock...

[Yeats]

Check out Flying Colors, it's very good.

Casey McPherson is the singer.
Steve Morse
Dave LaRue
Neal Morse
Mike Portnoy

I'm assuming I don't need to expound on the last 4 gentlemen.

[ALiLPinkMonster]

Does that mean that Portnoy is done with silly mainstream crap?

[JJCDAD]

Shoulda Coulda Woulda just rocked my face off! Thanks for telling us about this.

[Yeats]

Does that mean that Portnoy is done with silly mainstream crap?

If you mean Adrenaline Mob, I hope so!

This is a little different than anything I've heard that he's been involved in.

[Yeats]

Shoulda Coulda Woulda just rocked my face off! Thanks for telling us about this.

You're welcome, and glad you like it! I've been a fan of the instrumentalists for a long time - in the case of Dave LaRue and Steve Morse, since the 80's.

[JJCDAD]

I think "The Storm" is the best new song I've heard this year. Wow!

[Yeats]

I've listened to the album a dozen times since the weekend and still haven't figured out my favorite song... need to wait and see which ones stand the test of time.

[just brew it!]

Yow, thanks for the heads-up! I knew Portnoy and Morse (Steve) were working on something, but didn't realize it had been released.

[RhysAndrews]

Hehe. I clicked on this thread WHILE listening to the album. 5th listen now. It's fantastic! Lovers of Muse, Coldplay, The Beatles, or any good prog (particularly Deep Purple, Dream Theater, Neal Morse, etc), will love this.

-Rhys

[Yeats]

I agree, Rhys.

I can't really say that Flying Colors passes the girlfriend test, because my g/f is prog fan, also!

[Yeats]

Yow, thanks for the heads-up! I knew Portnoy and Morse (Steve) were working on something, but didn't realize it had been released.

If you get a chance to listen to it soon, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, since it looks like we are from the same generation of prog.

[just brew it!]

Yow, thanks for the heads-up! I knew Portnoy and Morse (Steve) were working on something, but didn't realize it had been released.

If you get a chance to listen to it soon, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, since it looks like we are from the same generation of prog.

I plan to grab a copy of this ASAP...

Speaking of prog rock, are you familiar with Djam Karet? I've turned at least one other TR forum member (Hi, Cap'n! ) on to them. But be aware that some of their stuff veers off pretty sharply into the ambient/experimental realm, so if that's not your cup of tea you may want to pick and choose instead of ordering their entire back catalog en masse!

Edit: Looks like much of their back catalog (including most of the really weird experimental stuff) is out of print, so you're probably safe...

In any case, I recommend "The Devouring" or "A Night For Baku" as starting points if you're interested.

[Yeats]

Yow, thanks for the heads-up! I knew Portnoy and Morse (Steve) were working on something, but didn't realize it had been released.

If you get a chance to listen to it soon, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, since it looks like we are from the same generation of prog.

I plan to grab a copy of this ASAP...

Speaking of prog rock, are you familiar with Djam Karet? I've turned at least one other TR forum member (Hi, Cap'n! ) on to them. But be aware that some of their stuff veers off pretty sharply into the ambient/experimental realm, so if that's not your cup of tea you may want to pick and choose instead of ordering their entire back catalog en masse!

Never heard of 'em, I'll hop over to Lastfm to check them out. Thanks!

[Yeats]

Djam Karet winds up being a bit too atmospheric for me.

I think I'm going to give Flying Colors another spin!

[just brew it!]

Djam Karet winds up being a bit too atmospheric for me.

If you can tell me what tracks you listened to I may be able to suggest alternatives. Some of their albums are indeed quite atmospheric, but others rock pretty hard.

[Captain Ned]

Djam Karet winds up being a bit too atmospheric for me.

If you can tell me what tracks you listened to I may be able to suggest alternatives. Some of their albums are indeed quite atmospheric, but others rock pretty hard.

Agreed. There's some bone-crushing licks in the DJ oeuvre.

[Yeats]

Djam Karet winds up being a bit too atmospheric for me.

If you can tell me what tracks you listened to I may be able to suggest alternatives. Some of their albums are indeed quite atmospheric, but others rock pretty hard.

I don't recall, I'll have to go back to Lastfm and check.

[thegleek]

Check out Flying Colors, it's very good.

Obtaining this now. Will come back with a review. Thanks!

[Yeats]

Check out Flying Colors, it's very good.

Obtaining this now. Will come back with a review. Thanks!

IIRC from years of lurking prior to joining TR, you are heavy into music and have diverse tastes, so I'll be interested in reading your thoughts.

[RhysAndrews]

While you guys are at it, check out the new OSI Album (project by Kevin Moore of DT, Jim Matheos of Fates Warning). Fantastic album.

[just brew it!]

Check out Flying Colors, it's very good.

Obtaining this now. Will come back with a review. Thanks!

I have to say... I'm somewhat underwhelmed. There's no denying the skills (or prog rock credentials) of these guys; but to me the album seems like a bunch of flawless performances of mostly forgettable songs. Furthermore, the dynamic range is so compressed the music has had most of the life crushed out of it; this is most evident on the more uptempo tunes (e.g. "All Falls Down"). In other cases there's blatantly obvious clipping/distortion (e.g. at around 3:15 of "Fool In My Heart").

My report card for this album --
Musicianship: A
Songwriting: B-
Engineering/mastering: D

[vince]

I'm waiting for the album to arrive in the mail. I had pre-ordered it.

[Yeats]

Check out Flying Colors, it's very good.

Obtaining this now. Will come back with a review. Thanks!

I have to say... I'm somewhat underwhelmed. There's no denying the skills (or prog rock credentials) of these guys; but to me the album seems like a bunch of flawless performances of mostly forgettable songs. Furthermore, the dynamic range is so compressed the music has had most of the life crushed out of it; this is most evident on the more uptempo tunes (e.g. "All Falls Down"). In other cases there's blatantly obvious clipping/distortion (e.g. at around 3:15 of "Fool In My Heart").

My report card for this album --
Musicianship: A
Songwriting: B-
Engineering/mastering: D

I think one's outlook on the album is based upon expectations going in. I know of several people who felt that Flying Colors is disappointing due to the lack of proggy songs. When I first read about the project last year and saw the line up, my immediate thought was, "OK, they're trying to do an Asia thing." That's pretty much what this wound up, although I prefer this over Asia.

I've pretty much given up on recordings being mastered in a sensitive way. The vast majority of music is engineered to sound "good" in a moving car, where it has to compete with road noise, wind, etc. Happily, though I am aware of and notice these shortcomings, it seldom interferes with my enjoyment of the music.

[just brew it!]

When I first read about the project last year and saw the line up, my immediate thought was, "OK, they're trying to do an Asia thing." That's pretty much what this wound up, although I prefer this over Asia.

Yes, the Asia comparison crossed my mind too. And yes, musically I would agree this is better.

I've pretty much given up on recordings being mastered in a sensitive way. The vast majority of music is engineered to sound "good" in a moving car, where it has to compete with road noise, wind, etc. Happily, though I am aware of and notice these shortcomings, it seldom interferes with my enjoyment of the music.

Generally I find dynamic range compression in rock/pop music to be merely an annoyance. But when it is especially egregious, and pushed to the point where you've got all-out clipping (as in this case), it really pisses me off. The clipping in "Fool In My Heart" sounded so bad I decided to load it up in Audacity to have a look:

That, my friends, is what it looks like when your engineer screws up. And it sounds like crap, moving car or not.

[Yeats]

Yikes, that is horrid. It's one of my least favorite tracks, but still...

BTW, when I was on LastFM checking out your recommendation of Djam Karet (found some good tunes), I came across a band named Quantum Fantay that I enjoyed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Y-qwTWiTs

[just brew it!]

BTW, when I was on LastFM checking out your recommendation of Djam Karet (found some good tunes), I came across a band named Quantum Fantay that I enjoyed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Y-qwTWiTs

Interesting... I guess I need to check them out.

They remind me a bit of Ozric Tentacles... for your perusal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqxtBRbOTM8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLlSjY8n76w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi7VPXmbxME

(Actually got to see 'em live back in the day at a little club in Chicago, IIRC on the Jurassic Shift tour.)

[vince]

The first Asia album sounded terrible, IMO.

The vast majority of music is engineered to sound "good" in a moving car

Isn't that what's the most important? hehehe I'm tired of hearing this crap out of blasting car sound systems. It's time to hear some good stuff!

I know, I know, it's all a matter of taste...

[just brew it!]

The first Asia album sounded terrible, IMO.

Well, it was the '80s... gotta have that reverb-heavy arena rock sound! At least it wasn't overdriven to the point of clipping.