Craig, I finally gave Flamingo a full listen through and I have to say I agree with this completely. I'm curious what you think of the bonus tracks, because I found all 4 of them to be really good, as good as most of the album istelf. I never listened further then like 30 seconds into "The Clock Was Tickin" and thought it sounded cheesy and silly. I listened all the way through and think it's a great song. I love the way he sings it. There's a couple times where he does this awesome and very Springsteen-esque inflection on a few repeating parts. I think the 'patience is a virtue' line might be my favorite line from the whole album.
I always forget about "The Clock Was Ticking." I think he should have put that on the album, probably instead of "Swallow It." I've never spent a ton of time with the other b-sides. The more I think about it, the more I wish that album had been recorded with the band. Songs like "Crossfire" and "Magdalena" should really explode, and while they're good, they never reach the peaks they should have. I'm always surprised that record doesn't have more sonic character than it does, though, considering the producers he worked with.
I was shocked when I read who the producers were for this very reason. It brings to mind an anecdote I read about Brandon and Ariel Reichstad having some serious fights in the studio and Brandon almost firing him four separate times - makes me wonder if those other producers from Flamingo were people he liked and got along with and felt comfortable with but who wouldn't or didn't push him and challenge him the way Ariel Reichstad did for The Desired Effect. I have grown to appreciate Flamingo a lot more recently, but it definitely does feel like it's missing the rest of his main band and the energy and muscle they would have brought to the music / arrangements.
I think Stuart Price kind of just sucks, but you'd think Lanois and O'Brien would push him a little more. It kind of sounds like Price might have had the most influence on this one, though, so maybe Brandon did most of the record with him. Flamingo remains my least favorite Brandon record for this reason, even though I still really like it. I liked it better than Day & Age when it came out, but I've changed my mind on that.
Looks like they’re doing the record with Ariel. Feels like it hasn’t been that long since WW, but guess it’s been a year plus. Crazy. Ready for another.
Nice! Great timing, I've been on a huge The Killers kick lately. Finally really fell in love with Wonderful, Wonderful.
I was very, very, very late to the party with The Desired Effect, and really only listened to it like a month or two ago for the first time, but in that short time I have come to view it as one of the best things Brandon Flowers has ever done. Extremely excited to hear what they come up with back in the studio with Ariel Rechtshaid again.
Think a new Sawdust type of deal with this as the single, then a new album later this year? I’d be shocked if they had this quick of a turnaround.
I mean, they've been in the studio for a few weeks at least. Maybe they're building songs around this finished one? I guess we'll know the answer in a few hours.