MEET THE FLOWER KINGS - LIVE RECORDING 2003

This live album features some of The Flower King's best material live. Although some of the band members where sick from or recovering from the flu during the recording, the playing and singing is excellent. However, it is not a full live performance as they recorded the album in several takes over an 8 hour course to an audience of 50 or so people. Therefore, it is not an album that captures a live show as the recording was a special occasion.

With that said, the album captures some amazing performances of their longer songs. The main highlight of the album is "Humanizzimo", from Roine Stolt's fantastic solo album "The Flower King". The live performance is not radically different to the studio version but it is better. Daniel Gildenlöw's vocals really bring an emotional conclusion to the song. "Garden of Dreams" is another highlight. It is only 44 minutes long, compared to the studio version which is 60 min. The live rendition cuts out a lot of the atmospheric pieces from the studio. I am not prepared to say which is better because both versions are very good.

Overall, a solid performance of some excellent songs that add a twist to the studio versions. Recommended for fans or beginners of The Flower Kings.