That familiar Amazon parcel has arrived! What will "Flying colors" sound like...will it be worth it? Many love it, some are sceptical, some slate it. Will there be sufficient guitaring from Steve Morse and will Mike just be a wallflower?
I hurridly rip open the packaging, grap the CD from the digipak, place into the player and sit back. Seventy minutes later my initial surprising journey is over and I am smiling. This is good. Really good. Wonderful vibrant, melodic rock with a progressive twist from my favourite musicians - Mike Portnoy, master drummer, music organiser with his long-time keyboardist buddy, Neal Morse, composer extraordinaire, singer and instrumentalist who are joined by the legendary Steve Morse, guitarist from Deep Purple with his long-time bassist buddy, Dave LaRue. And then top notch vocalist, Casey McPherson with his contemporary nuances and appealing falsetto leads the way on this vocal album.
Flying Colors site
The amazing iGuitar Magazine contains a great Morse video interview.
It's five days later and all I have listened to is "Flying Colors". This album is catchy with very strong melodic hooks on every song. The emphasis is on tight song structure and strong vocals with harmonising in every chorus - but hey I hear you asking what happened to the virtuoso musicians? No worries - they're all playing, contributing and adding their craft with many structured instrumental interludes in which to shine.
What is encouraging is how carefully crafted this album is - this is not some supergroup sitting down and playing a few covers and jamming their way through. Everything from the graphics to the impeccable production by Peter Collins (Rush, Alice Cooper,Bon Jovi) , thoughtful song order and actual compositions show that this is no fly-by-night project. I know from their site that this took an initial 9 days, some work while they went their separate ways and then another 4 days together. Quite amazing that all up in less than a month together as musicians this album was produced.
The sounds and textures are colourful and varied in the genre of slow and medium rock, with two hard rock tracks bordering on metal that allow Mike to double pedal a tornado.The album ends with a mighty 11 minute progressive rock epic, "Infinite Fire". This ending showcases the depth of experience and musicality this group has and includes greater use of Neal's wonderful keyboard organ sounds in unison with some of Steve's most blistering guitar work. The use of odd-time signatures, slower emotional sections building to the strongest vocal chorus on the album finally breaks into the multi-layered vocals of "Seasons and times". This gives me goosebumps each time I listen.
For Steve Morse and Dave LaRue fans take note - there is more Steve soloing on this album than what he played on two Kansas albums or on the last Deep Purple album, 'Rapture of the deep'. Every song has a beautifully crafted Morse solo that to my ears had more variety and thoughtfulness than what I have heard from Steve in decades. I have never heard Morse sound so like Brian May as what he does on "Love is what I'm waiting for". Of course Dave and Steve know each other's playing like musical twins so their harmonic convergence and dissonance and timing is impeccable. Great examples where Dave struts his funky bass is on "Forever in a daze" and the thunderous riff on "All falls down".
"Everything changes" is an excellent example of the group joining and melting styles. The song starts like a track off Steve Morse's "High tension wires", the vocals section are all McPherson's influence and then the bridge where Neal Morse sings is clearly his compositional style and Mike brings some monster drum fills and it ends with more of Steve's influence again. The way I have described this may sound like a patch work which is then a reflection of my ordinary writing skills as this is beautiful track. I write that this is beautiful yet this is one of the lesser tracks on the album. The opening "Blue Ocean" and "Kayla" are standouts plus the aggressive "Shoulda coulda woulda" with its concluding drum fest and "Infinite fire" best encapsulate this group.
I am encouraged to hear that "Flying colors" are touring Europe in September. Could a DVD release be possible that would include more material and a cover or two? The prospect is exciting.
I am confused when I read some Amazon reviews. Perhaps because this is not cutting-edge rock or outright progressive rock, many seem very critical. Did some expect a new Dream Theater or a more contemporay style like Coldplay? I am unsure and when reading their criticism begin to doubt my enthusiasm for this. But then I listen again and get caught up in the melody, drift into another place and that's what music is about.
So lovers of vintage, well crafted melodic rock - including Queen, Beatles and Yes fans, fans of Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy's "Yellow Matter custard" , Transatlantic, Kansas, Styx, Kerry Livgren, Neal Morse's solo work, fans of Casey McPherson, give this a try - you may really be pleasantly surprised!
Please note this album review is comparing the newly remastered 2011 "Queen 2
" CD edition with the 1991 CD edition and not reviewing the music. 
Suffice to say many would rate this second album of Queen's as their greatest, progressive rock concept album - many fans liking it as much as 'Night of the Opera'. It has all the elements of multi-layered voices and rich guitar tones that characterised Queen as a group. The compositions are a mixture of the majestic to Tolkien-like fairy and ogre story tales in a prog rock setting.
Firstly I have bought the deluxe version which includes an extra EP with 5 additional tracks. I will refer to this later.
Overall, I do like the whole new 2011 package. I am a fan who bought this album back in the 70's and was a tad disappointed with the 1991 Holywood Records CD release. In hind site, that is not such a poor production as one realises that many of these original mixes were muddy in places. Having said that the master, Bob Ludwig, has cleaned this up so that overall it is smoother, more dynamic listening experience. Do note though that to my ears, the improvement is not as dramatic an improvement as for instance the brilliant 30th anniversary 'Night at the Opera'
release over previous editions.
As I mentioned, it's the whole package. You buy into an experience, the feel, the brand. So I love and appreciate the crisper iconic front photo on the 2011 edition. My 1991 edition front photo looks almost blurred in comparison. The 2011 booklet with centrefold photo on a pristine white background took me back to the original album. This packaging is far more befitting this classic album than the cheap looking foldout lyrics in the 1991 CD. Everything has an understated yet, polished appearance that replicates the original LP right down to the same liner notes including reference to "Virtuoso castanets by Roy Thomas Baker... and nobody played synthesizer... again.'
Instead of reviewing every track of the album I will go into detail looking at the first three tracks, 'Procession', 'Father to Son' and 'White Queen'. These three examples illustrate pretty much what has happened in the remaster of the whole album. I am listening on a Marantz player with Mission speakers - nothing too fancy -entry level equipment. I find that overall the 1991 CD seems a little tiring to listen to because of a lot of sibilance - this does seem less so on the 2011 remaster.
You notice an audio difference immediately on the first track. I thought it was smoother and on closer listening noticed the scratch of Brian's high octave guitar had been removed at 48 and 57 seconds. (On my LP I had thought these were scratches on the vinyl but clearly they were there on the 1991 CD as well.) They're finally gone. The short instrumental leads into the second track, `Father to Son'. Maybe the biggest change is that you can hear definition to the background voices singing the chorus 'From Father to Son'. The rolling snare of Roger is clearer and the bass a little tighter. Definite improvements - but not dramatic.
The growl on the guitar around the lyrics 'But you'll write it all again before you die' has more more menace because I think the background noise is reduced. But unfortunately the original unintended distortion still appears especially in the more full, layered places. Generally the drums are still far back in the mix throughout this album. I was hoping that this was possibly going to be altered.
The amazing 'White Queen' seems more tender and the 'silences' almost SACD quality quiet. The opening acoustic plucked notes stand out more leading into 'So sad her eyes'. On the 1991 CD, the first time Freddy sings 'eyes' has a serious static scratch behind it. It is still audible but not as distracting in the 2011 remaster. These vocals now are significantly cleaner. All the 's' in the 1991 edition seem piercing, '...such a breathless night as this, Upon my brow the lightest kiss...My lady soon will stir...'. 2011 just seems more musical and the 's' not as intrusive.
Perhaps the biggest overall improvement is the quality of the vocals. Wow, Freddy had an expressive voice showing such emotion. Hearing this again on the 2011 remaster made it all the more vivid. The section starting "How did thee fare, what have thee seen" has been cleaned delicately. Whatever magic Bob Ludwig did - it shines through here and on into the lengthy acoustic guitar solo and to the final lines where the vocals are much clearer than on the 1991 version.
Having said this - for many the audio improvement may not seem worth the money of repurchasing again. I'd recommend the deluxe version as the extra 5 tracks are all great and two outstanding. The BBC version of 'See what a Fool I've been' with a brand new 2011 mix is simply mind blowing. This version and mix is easily one of the best early recording of Queen of the 70's. The drums have such punch that I wished they'd recorded the whole of Queen 2 in the BBC studios. The clarity is startling. And then of course there is the famous, excellent live version of `White Queen' recorded at the London's Hammersmith Odeon. This has been available as an official bootleg from the Queen site for a number of years.
So Queen fans - don't hesitate, but for casual fans who already have an existing version of "Queen 2", make a considered purchase. And of course if you think that all Queen wrote were songs like 'Another bites the dust' and pop tracks like 'Radio Gaga' then this album will shock you with its swagger, snarl and creativity.
Classic 5 star Queen album
.
Yes, this is easily the most uplifting, joyful prog rock concert I have had the privilege to watch on DVD. Here are a group of mature, brilliant musicians enjoying what they do in the intimate venue of Shepherd's Bush Empire, London. And the packed crowd laps up every moment that lasts for over three hours. This is no cold, clinical performance but rather a warm evening of smiles of musos and interaction of the crowd.
The concerts begins with the 78 minute opus 'The Whirlwind". From soaring melodic guitar lines to full throttle band with organ, keyboards, overdriven guitar and harmony vocals, this contains both light more acoustic sections to dark almost prog metal interludes. Overall this is accessible music with everything from styles of Yes, Kansas to Grateful Dead jamming and Crosby, Stills and Young harmonising by everyone in the band.
Although everyone contributes to the composition, Morse seems to have had the biggest influence and certainly the lyrics are his. From the excellent 'interview' and 'Behind the scenes' extras on the second disc, Morse explains how it was Portnoy who saw all the separate compositions and gave musical direction for them to be moulded into one piece. Likewise Portnoy is enthusiastic about the emotion and general message of the Whirlwind and says he doesn't think they are explicit 'Christian' lyrics in his answer to the reporter. They may not be explicit yet they are a resounding declaration that points to seeking the giver of life. As a taster read the following key sentences from the lengthy 12 part Whirlwind lyrics.
"And I know that we are more than dust and ashes
And one day we will know what we have known"
"There's a reason you're here, this is not by chance
When the giver of life is asking you to DANCE!"
We're on trip in a foreign land
Reach for home, where the kingdom stands
There is the key he has given you, search it out
All who seek will find the truth!
Certainly this amalgam of soaring prog rock is a stirring and appropriate vehicle for these words. Ironically Neal Morse and material like this is not known in the Christian market. Irrespective of your spiritual perspective, this DVD is primarily a body of great music. If you already listen to the likes of Dream Theater, Spocks Beard, Pink Floyd and Kansas - you'll love this. But this is as accessible to those who don't normally listen to prog rock. If you like light rock or watching musicians play, this will be a fascinating experience that will grow on you and introduce you to a new genre.
It is worth mentioning that if you are not familiar with the guitaring of Roine Stolt, then you are in for a treat (his singing is also beautifully distinctive). The melodic lead lines are more in keeping with a David Gilmour, Kerry Livgren or Brian May approach than of the Satriani or Petrucci intensity. Although this is no ways as heavy as a Dream Theater concert, this is still a Portnoy extravaganza as he shouts and conducts the crowd while completing the drum fill with his right hand (you won't be disappointed)! This concert happily seems to go on forever, which for lovers of this music is a good thing. This is simply Epic, with a capital 'E'.
PS: I really like the transparent hard plastic packaging of the DVD case. Definitely watch the behind the scenes of the tour as there are great excerpts from most of their concerts including many surprises. Look out for what they do and sing on Mike Portnoy's birthday. I'll try not give away too many surprises but from surfing to singing 'Smoke on the water' these guys were having fun!
I hurridly rip open the packaging, grap the CD from the digipak, place into the player and sit back. Seventy minutes later my initial surprising journey is over and I am smiling. This is good. Really good. Wonderful vibrant, melodic rock with a progressive twist from my favourite musicians - Mike Portnoy, master drummer, music organiser with his long-time keyboardist buddy, Neal Morse, composer extraordinaire, singer and instrumentalist who are joined by the legendary Steve Morse, guitarist from Deep Purple with his long-time bassist buddy, Dave LaRue. And then top notch vocalist, Casey McPherson with his contemporary nuances and appealing falsetto leads the way on this vocal album.
