PARADOX HOTEL

As with every album from The Flower Kings, there's a lot of excellent material present, but there's an awful lot that really should have hit the cutting room floor. In fact, I think many songs should have been dropped and this album condensed to one amazingly outstanding disc. Honestly, if it had only consisted of "Monsters & Men," "End on a High Note," "Minor Giant Steps," "Man of the World," and "Blue Planet," it would probably be the closest thing to perfection The Flower Kings ever made- an hour of pure bliss. Instead, they release a double album with a lot of forgettable filler that makes it arduous to listen to all the way through.

"Check In" Not a song, the first 98 seconds of the album is an eccentric countdown.

"Monsters & Men" The glorious highlight of this record is no doubt the exceptionally arranged 21 minute epic. Bodin's lovely piano introduction sparkles just before a gritty steel guitar leads the rest of the band into the music. Froberg's vocals are forceful and believable as he sings some of The Flower Kings's most compelling lyrics. After an exciting instrumental section, Stolt treats listeners with his most heartfelt vocal performance. Following some great church organ, an excellent movement in 7/8 ensues, allowing Stolt to strut his guitar prowess in a wah pedal workout. The music blends soulful guitar passages with fuller visitations of the opening theme.

"Jealousy" Flowing perfectly from the piano from the previous track, Bodin plays a sparse but lovely piece that Stolt's gritty falsetto seems to tarnish.

"Hit Me With a Hit" This song blends a harder progressive rock edge with jazzier elements. The chorus is one of the more memorable points of the album, and overall, it's a lighthearted yet somewhat serious piece. Froberg does a great job on lead vocals.

"Pioneers in Aviation" The first instrumental track boasts a grand opening, full of church organ, synthesizer, and tasteful guitar. Two minutes in, it evolves into something completely different, with bulbous guitars and atmospheric sound. While not the greatest instrumental, there's certainly a lot to like about this one, including that eerie church organ conclusion.

"Lucy Had a Dream" Stolt's strange vocals and the even stranger music make this the first of several forgettable and skip-worthy tracks. Everything about this song is just ludicrous. Admittedly, the "travel advertisement" at the end is one of the funniest things I've ever heard in progressive rock music.

"Bavarian Skies" Thick vocal effects are meant to enable Stolt to evoke the voice of Hitler, but I doubt its effectiveness. The first half of the track is boring, and like "Lucy Had a Dream," this is one of those curious but unnecessary tracks.

"Selfconsuming Fire" Gorgeous classical guitar opens this piece. The Mellotron is lovely in the background, and the vocals work well here.

"Mommy Leave the Light On" Despite lovely electric guitar, this is another useless one, with Stolt trying to sing disturbing lyrics with that quaking voice of his. There's just nothing to this track that makes it interesting to me, especially musically.

"End on a High Note" The last song on the first disc does exactly what the title says. Beautiful twelve-string guitars and whistling synthesizer introduce the main theme. This is perhaps the catchiest song The Flower Kings ever made. Bodin engages in some exceptionally wild soloing over this foot tap-inducing listening experience.

"Minor Giant Steps" A happy electric guitar and sparkling synthesizer begins the second disc. "Minor Giant Steps" is a superb track in every way, and is one of my favorites from the entire work of The Flower Kings. It includes some of Bodin's finest moments, and has some great guitar work too. Terrific vocal harmonies abound throughout, with plenty of excellent melodies.

"Touch My Heaven" Yet another fairly bland song, this one has muffled drums and rather exaggerated vocals. The guitar playing is soulful, but otherwise, I don't care for this one.

"The Unorthodox Dancing Lesson" The other instrumental on the album is even more interesting than "Pioneers of Aviation." Even the title is intriguingly perfect. There's a lot of strange noises and unconventional weirdness going on, but I can take it!

"Man of the World" The best short song on the album, this piece features melodies and an exceptional structure. Reingold does have a few moments of brilliance laying down the groove as he does, but I feel like he's pushed out of the mix a bit in some parts.

"Life Will Kill You" After some disorienting panning effects, the guitar enters and builds to something initially appealing, but the verses have some strange background vocals (they sound like they're run through a wah pedal). Froberg does a great job making this a grittier song with his rock vocals.

"The Way the Waters Are Moving" Inspiring piano and Stolt's trembling voice make for a good pensive song.

"What if God is Alone" For the most part, this is a strong, gradually building song with intriguing lyrics. It's certainly not my favorite, but the guitar work at the end is wonderful.

"Paradox Hotel" The Flower Kings abandon their flowery music for a bit to produce this nasty little rocker. It's close to Alice in Chains, with heavy riffs, gritty vocals, and a catchy chorus.

"Blue Planet" A wondrous revisiting of the marvelous track "Monsters & Men," it has its own flavor, but if one didn't get enough of the lengthy piece on the first disc, this should more than satisfy. In this way, it is the perfect conclusion to the album, which unfortunately uses its last two minutes to have what seems to be an astronaut describing the Earth from space.