Disc two / Bonus trax
1. The meadow 3:12
2. A good heart (demo) 5:21
3.Dream on Dreamer ( alt take) 2:17
4.Venus Flytrap 6:26
5. Last Exit 9:17
Never got the expanded set. Now I'd love to see a box set of all the bonus tracks from recent years...
I just noticed that SR and SWA have been reprinted recently (Sep. 2014). I'm glad that InsideOut sees a market for that.
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A big disappointment for me when I first heard it. I love "I Am The Sun" Parts 1 & 2 (wish they would be performed as one piece!) and also dig "Rumble Fish Twist" and "A King's Prayer" but the rest is filler (except perhaps "Chicken Song" although the lyrics almost kill it). I hate "The Monster Within." The problem is, Space Revolver just doesn't work as an album IMO. The Flower Kings generally have the problem of making albums cohesive, but this one really fails in that respect. Although there's still enough for a great 40-minute album, like back in the day!
My problem with filler on FK albums is that it tends to be in the middle of an otherwise great song. Like "Stardust We Are", for instance; there are parts of that piece that simply repeat too often, and lose the feel of the song a bit for me. But I love the song nonetheless, and if I had the time I would carefully chop it to reveal a more impactful version (at least to me). That's a problem I have with Transatlantic, as well; I think they could cut about 10-15% out of the songs to produce a better work. But then, I feel the same way about TfTO [Yes] too, so maybe it's just my taste in the music...
Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.
Someone mentioned the "slick" production................Roine bought all new equipment for his studio after Flower Power because he felt the production on that album was not good (muddy, I think was his general feeling......trying to remember from back in the early Yahoo group days).
As to the SR itself, it sits somewhere neatly in the middle of their albums for me, maybe top 5. It was the first album of theirs I got when it was actually released (well, the Alive On Planet Earth was actually the first, but that was a live album so I don't count it). I love I Am The Sun, both parts. Rumble Fish Twist is probably Tomas' greatest piece of writing for the band after Garden Of Dreams. I know I'm an outlier, but I love Monster Within. I enjoy the disjointedness of it, the changes that come out of nowhere. One of the sections reminds me of Kansas, which is an influence I can't say I hear much of on their albums. The production on it is a bit harsh, but I can overlook that.
In fact, the only song I don't care for is You Don't Know What You've Got. I think it was meant as a breather between all the bombast of the rest of the album, but to me it's a silly throwaway song that reminds of the acoustic ballads 80's hair bands used to throw in (Every Rose Has It's Thorn comes to mind......only that is probably a better song).
Overall though, a very solid album for them. One of their best for sure.
I sort of lost interest in TFK's a while back, although they are immensely talented that style of music just doesn't grab me the way it used to. Space Revolver is the on album i still hold in high regard and listen to on a regular basis. Very solid from start to finish, i dig The Chicken Farmer Song.
I'll agree that's probably the weakest track on the album, doesn't exactly make me hit the skip button though. I always thought they lifted it from this one -
a little better than Poison i think.
Hole Hearted beats both songs by a significant measure, IMO.
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I love this album so much. To me, it's the last album they did that had that early, retro-prog, super positive sound to it. They got much darker and jazzier after this. I seriously love every second (only Underdog kind of feels weak). Monster Within is incredible! And Slave To Money might be one of their most interesting 7 minute songs...it seriously has everything.
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