MEET THE FLOWER KINGS - LIVE RECORDING 2003

The first time I heard The Flower Kings was when I brought the album Stardust We Are...as you can understand...son after that I brought all the albums and I followed them every since. I must say that I do not apreciate everything they make.....and all albums hasd some extremely good pieces and some lesser ones I think that in general I can say that I like their early years more than their recent years. Maybe because back than I was corresponding with Tomas over the E-mail quite frequent, and chatted with the band members on the phone or after a gig, for my radioprogram....had some interesting chat with Roine about the philosophical meanings behind his songs etc...really nice. I think Stardust is and always will be thier magnum opus, and the 2 albums before that one are close.

I think, although they are not Sweden's best) they make fantastic music. Really a crossover between Genesis, Yes, King Crimson and here and there some Pink Floyd.....having said that...one must wonder what else can a Prog fan wish. We'll not much....and on this album they have collected some amazing pieces I must say. They did pretty much what I expect they will never do. And that is play a few of thier best epics in one concert (they must have thought, what Transatlantic can do or what Yes did during the Tales tour, we can do to).....and they do....The songs are all played with great bravoure....and incredibly skilled...The Flower Kings are known to play much lesser tight during concerts and improvise more. I must say that this is not hearable on this record and most songs are played quite close to the original, and only here and there have some extentional parts...I still remember a concert..I think in 1998 or something in Utrecht, where they opened with Retropolis...or that was what it eventually became...but I think the first 10 min it was hardly recognisable and the band was onlyu jamming and fooling around.....like it took them some time to get it going...but once it was going, it was going hard.....

This particular gig they only play epics and was recorded during the 'Unfold The Future tour', although it only contains 2 songs from that album...The record opens with 'The Truth Will Set You Free' a track that by now is a classic already...and by many regarded as one of their best...I think the version is quite faithfull to the original, so nothing wrong with that....really great song...

The second and third are Garden Of Dreams...that is played completely live...I dont really know why the live version is missing 15 min....since the studioversion is clocking almost one hour, so they must have left alot of stuff here and there....Perhaps they also began to realize the song was actually too long....And onl Flower Power...I think the best song by far is actually the opener from disc 2....but its a good thing they played a song that is so long, cos most artists don't dare to play something like that.

The first song of the second disc is in my opinion the absolute highlight of the concert....and that is a song from Roine's solo album The Flower King, Hummanizzimo......and what a version......I always thought that the studioversion is too flat...and should be much much more dynamical live and I was right. I still remember that I asked Tomas to play it in Utrecht in 1998, before the concert and he told me they would if...they were allowed to play the time..To bad they didn't......So I was happy that they eventually did play it on this tour....I think it is really the best song they ever did....and this version is even better.....

After that comes a song from Stardust....that is quite hazzy and a rather strange choice...but a very very great song...and such a great riff, once the song is going....This song is very simular with Silent Inferno...that is played right after that. But are played with great skill....

The last song is...Stardust We Are...and Im happy that for once they decide to play the entire song and not only part 3, as they always did in 1998 and a long time after that. The song is an absolte classic...and the version here is nothing but stellar....Better than the orginal, if you ask me....All in all a really great concert....more than 150 min. of pure pleasure...I only miss one thing....and that is The Flower King Itself... Alot of people are not really fund of it...but that would have made the set really complete....neither how, recomendable for sure.....