THE RAINMAKER

A darker, bluesier and a tad bit more cynical version of The Flower Kings is to be experienced on the band's 2001 studio album 'The Rainmaker', the sixth installment in the Swedish band's discography, an album following a string of excellent works and the first album of their that dares to be significantly odder than its predecessors. Of course, such a statement comes at the premise that 'The Rainmaker' is a single-disc album with a fair balance between epic, lush suites and shorter, more straightforward pieces, often instrumental and improvised, unliked previous efforts on which a strong taste for the unhinged symphonic rock pomp had dominated the music. 'The Rainmaker' may as well be a more prudent record, one that follows a more conceivable structure, allowing each piece to breathe and unfold itself and to affirm its place on the tracklist.

A signature opener in the face of 'Last Minute on Earth', a longer composition that remains of the band's finest moments in terms of songwriting, production, and performance, a piece that explores Roine Stolt's blues roots and allows Hasse Fröberg to deliver a stunning vocal performance. A shorter and less salient track titled 'World Without A Heart' bridges the other long piece on here, 'Road to Sanctuary', an epic that is much more jam-oriented and improvisational, also very symphonic and ornate for what concerns the keyboards department. The prog-march instrumental title track introduces 'City of Angels', another classy piece full of fine vocals and excellent guitar works. Some shorter tracks follows, of which the rocker 'Sword of God' is particularly noteworthy, something that cannot be said for the mellow pieces 'Elaine' (despite its lovely fusion ending) and 'Blessing of a Smile', until the album closes off with the elegant prog-blues epic 'Serious Dreamers', delivering a somewhat melancholic and dreamy final tone to an otherwise beautiful and well-arranged album with a few experimental spots testing the resilience of the band's most dedicated enjoyers.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to A Crimson Mellotron
• Report this review (#3176625)
• Buy THE FLOWER KINGS music online with PA partners
• Show all THE FLOWER KINGS MP3/Stream
• Go to THE FLOWER KINGS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Rainmaker page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for THE FLOWER KINGS related discussions