ADAM & EVE

I wasn't the only one to be extremely disappointed with the last Flower Kings CD, as although they have some excellent ideas and are superb musicians, there was the feeling that the effect would have been much better if there had been someone to cut the CD from a double to a single. So it was with a little trepidation that I put this in the player. I certainly didn't expect to be playing the most consistent album since Roine's own 'The Flower King' album which started this all off. The first song, ''Love Supreme'', is twenty minutes long, but stays interesting throughout. It is packed full of Yes references, but is much more than just a copied style as The Flower Kings' manage to make it very much their own.

Shorter songs intersperse the longer ones, and even though there is another song that is over eighteen minutes in length there is never a feeling that they have outstayed their welcome. ''Vampires View'' at nine minutes is a delight, a gothic dark number with sinister overtones that certainly never feels as if it comes from Scandinavia as it the sort of eclectic number that surely could only be English. If you have investigated this band before but have been put off by the sense of self interest and 'aren't we clever', then rest assured that this is an outstanding return to form with strong songs and musicianship throughout. A must for all progheads.

Originally appeared in Feedback #80, Sept 2004