The Legendary Pink Dots

The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. In 1984 the band moved to Amsterdam, playing with rotating musicians and having, as core members, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Edward Ka-Spel and keyboardist Phil Knight. As of 2012, the group is composed of Edward Ka-Spel (vocals, keyboards, songwriter), Phil Knight (keyboards, electronics), Erik Drost (guitars) and Raymond Steeg (live sound engineer).

Although outside the mainstream (in terms of their music and career path), LPD have released more than 40 albums, have a devoted worldwide following, and tour frequently.

Overview

The band was originally called "One Day..." but subsequently changed the name to The Legendary Pink Dots, apparently inspired by pink dots on certain keys of the band's main recording studio piano.

In the 1980s the band released albums on Mirrodot and InPhaze; in 1985 they signed with Play It Again Sam for the release of The Lovers. The line-up had become stable by 1988, with Niels van Hoornblower (horns) and Bob Pistoor (guitar) joining in time for the band's 1988 US tour. Pistoor died of cancer and his place was filled by Martijn de Kleer; drummer Ryan Moore completed the line-up live and in the studio. Their appeal has always been relatively small—a 1995 show in Mexico in front of 2,500 fans was described as "massive (by Dots' standards)".

Freak Flag

Freak Flag is an album by American folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown, released in 2011. The album peaked at number 34 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

The original Minneapolis sessions for Freak Flag were ended by a disastrous lightning strike to the recording studio that destroyed all the tracks recorded. Brown went to Memphis and replaced all the songs save the title track in re-recording the album.

Reception

Music critic Mark Deming wrote in his Allmusic "... these songs find him very much in his element, marrying sly but heartfelt vocals to slinky melodies that split the difference between folky simplicity and bluesy grit... here his vocals aren't as strong a vehicle for his songs as they once were. It doesn't seem as if Brown is the least bit worried about this, but Freak Flag is one album where his take-it-or-leave-it attitude starts to fail him, at least as far as his voice is concerned." Stuart Henderson on Popmatters called the album "a disappointing set of sleepy songwriting featuring even sleepier production values. Though there are inevitable moments of shiny genius— there can be no doubt that at his best Greg Brown is among the finest writers and performers of his generation—there are far more moments too easily forgotten."