FLYING COLORS: Flying Colors (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

The idea of bringing together strong musical individualities has always been the fantasy of many producers. Sometimes the mountain gives birth to a mouse, sometimes the alchemy works. Producer Bill Evans created Flying Colors, a band that on paper has something to impress: Mike Portnoy, Neal and Steve Morse, Dave LaRue and singer Casey McPherson. All this band met for nine days in early 2011 to compose this eponymous album that mixes melodic rock and pop.

While mixing so many influences so recognizable by ear can be indigestible, Flying Colors synthesizes the best of each to transcend individualities. Each musician really contributed to this album. The result is nevertheless coherent and extremely melodic. A real quality of composition is present in the single "Kayla", the powerful "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" and the groovy "Forever In A Daze" (what a bass from LaRue!). It is the melody that prevails and in an arid piece like "Blue Ocean" there is always a moment when musicality expresses itself brilliantly.

The Neal Morse paw is clearly definable within twelve minutes of the most progressive track on the album, "Infinite Fire". Morsian theme and song, progressive architecture and very pop Kino style chorus. Steve Morse's solo is a model of its kind, as with most of the master's interventions. Among the influences we can also hear Muse (via Portnoy?) as on the fast "All Falls Down".

Almost half of the album is intended for ballads or similar. But only "The Storm" is a little easier than the rest of the album. Indeed, in a mid-tempo style very calibrated for a wide diffusion, it can be listened to as quickly as zapped. The others are all very appreciable, including "Better Than Walking Away" and "Everything Changes", two nuggets of melancholy and sensitivity.

The collaboration that gave rise to Flying Colors is fruitful because the progressive orientations specific to many of the band's members have been erased in favour of a more direct composition, whether pop, folk, rock or metal. We do not find yet another project by vampire Neal Morse but a balanced and original album. The purpose of this type of meeting is ultimately to produce something new and of high quality, making fair reference to each member constituting it. And something tells us that this is only the beginning... - Official website

FLYING COLORS

FLYING COLORS

MASCOT LABEL GROUP

ROCK