Flying Colors
Flying Colors

THE REVIEW

A pop album as God intended!!! What are you talking about??? Nothing, I'm saying exactly what I think!

This is how I would describe the first album by Flying Colors, a supergroup featuring two musicians highly appreciated by yours truly, namely former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and the great singer and keyboardist Neal Morse, admired by myself both as a solo artist and with Spock's Beard and Transatlantic, along with the two Dixie Dregs school musicians Steve Morse (on guitar) and Dave LaRue (on bass), and the younger Casey McPherson on vocals. I was eagerly anticipating this album, especially to see what the Neal Morse-Portnoy duo would bring this time.

I was particularly struck by the statements of the former, who wanted to embrace this project with the intention of truly creating something different from what had been done before... And I think it's absolutely right, given that up until now the presence of Neal Morse's name among the contributors to an album has always translated into the usual classic and canonical progressive rock that eventually becomes tiresome and offers no more surprises. But let's talk about the album and what it should represent. If you're expecting something particularly complex, intricate, and dark, you'll be disappointed, I think. In fact, in this album, the 5 musicians aim to showcase their more accessible and melodic side. But the important thing to highlight is that they do so while fully demonstrating their worth as composers and musicians in an era where people have come to believe that on an accessible album, musical accuracy is virtually irrelevant. To better explain what I mean, I'll take a brief journey into the commercial landscape. Many bands and artists loved by young people produce music that is certainly catchy and danceable but terribly lacking from a musical perspective, with instruments barely noticeable, sounds thrown in just to create rhythm, and productions as flat as trays, all that matters is that it can be sung and danced to. They are deservedly criticized, but when they are, people, without fail, staunchly defend them with phrases like "But hey, they make pop, they don't aim for anything!"... No, that's nonsense! (just to use some slang) That's not how you think! Pop or pop-rock is still a musical genre and not a mash of sounds, even if it aims for more direct melodies, and therefore playing pop should be done properly, showing compositional creativity, demonstrating one's abilities as musicians, and showcasing the skillful combination of sounds and various elements, with competence, in short.

Turning back to the album, "Flying Colors" is practically a pop-rock album. It's a definition that is absolutely not out of place. Yes, because the songs turn out to be not very intricate, they quite willingly follow the verse-chorus song structure and are pleasantly listenable even to less patient listeners. But in all of this, the performance of the 5 musicians is not at all secondary, and they don't fail to deliver a decent performance even when it comes to creating catchy melodies. The guitar and bass parts are never banal and repetitive, and Mike Portnoy's performance is excellent, as he sets aside his flashy and exaggerated drumming from his DT days but still offers interesting insights. The keyboard parts by Neal Morse are also elegant. And I think that those I mentioned above, who don't understand what it means to make catchy but serious music, would do well to listen to it because it would represent a real lesson in that regard! Tracks like "Blue Ocean," "Love Is What I'm Looking For," but especially "The Storm" sound, in my opinion, like real beach songs, the kind that truly make you think of warmth and leisure on the beach, and they feature a killer chorus that's so easy and direct that it immediately engraves itself in your ears... But at the same time, they are performed masterfully, containing interesting musical elements... To have more beach songs like this!!! The melodic "Kayla" and the more lively "Forever In A Daze," with a truly great bass performance by LaRue, culminating in a splendid slap, are also noteworthy. There's also room for intense and impactful ballads that go by the names "Everything Changes," "Better Than Walking Away," and "Fool In My Heart," as well as heavier tracks like the frantic "All Falls Down," with a remarkable guitar performance, and the powerful hard rock of "Shoulda Coulda Woulda." The last track, "Infinite Fire," is pure progressive rock in the style of various Neal Morse productions, just to remind you of where he comes from; indeed, good Morse serves up synth and Hammond-style solos already heard on his albums. It's a fitting conclusion to this little gem.

Personally, I say that my summer album is this one! Never mind the various Tche Tcherere Tche Tche, Tacatá, etc... Perhaps even more than the highly acclaimed new work by Rush (another excellent release, my review coming soon). Probably it's precisely its summery and cheerful melody that makes me say this. In any case, Flying Colors in their debut have produced an album that is certainly not a masterpiece, it won't go down in history, but it offers a pleasant hour of fun and not too demanding music but undoubtedly performed masterfully by professionals. Listen to it!