THE RAINMAKER (LIMITED EDITION)

What's all the fuss about it?!? Sorry but the inspiration demonstrated in other circumstances by Roine Stolte-the leading composer of the band- seems a bit lost in comparison to other remarkable works such as "Retropolis"...first of all They start using such common places already listened into this kind of prog metal, by alternating them with riffs at the Hammond organ, becoming tiring at the end!! Secondly there are also interesting breaks through-as usual- but there's no easy way out, because the ideas are not so fresh here!!Anyway the impact is good in some circumstances, but as it often happens when They try to develop a concept, They become prolix...to me it's not the first place to start with their music, but if you're still collecting their discography, this album could represent a diverse chapter of their career.

I was quite late acquiring this album because at first I got the CD on loan basis from my prog mate Hardiansyah Rizal who always updated with recent release of prog album. As it was on loan basis, at that time I had also stacks of nec prog CDs so I didn't listen to it quite seriously. But I was so sure that it got to be a great album by the band. With that assumption finally I bought the CD myself. No surprise in terms of musical quality. As expected, The Flower Kings always delivers excellent stream of music packed with textures around its tracks.

"Last Minute On Earth" (11:40) is an excellent album and it has relatively straightforward composition. The song starts off with some man's gurgling which brings the music into heavy riffs. The unique Hasse's voice enters the music and it makes the composition complete. "World Without a Heart" (4:29) was composed - I think - for commercial reason - sorry Mr. Stolt, I might be wrong. You know it better. The chorus is nice but the structure is too rigid. "Road To Santuary" (13:50) is likeable for most people, probably. It's amazing how emotional this song is and it's beautifully composed. You might want to enjoy it yourself as it also contains nice lyrical parts. The song is kicking from start to end. "The Rainmaker" (6:02) is a good instrumental piece with a kind of marching beat.

"City Of Angels" (12:04) is an excellent an epic song. I find the choruses have good harmony. I like how the music flows using bass lines and keyboard as rhythm bed and it moves up and down with vocal line and guitar rhythm / fills. "Elaine" (4:55) is a nice ballad with acoustic guitar and bass lines that accompany vocal. The keyboard plays its role at background. Not that sweet in terms of melody but it's a nice one.

"Thru The Walls" (4:31) becomes my favorite even though it's short in The Flower Kings book. I like the electric guitar solo played intertwiningly with the mellotron sounds. "Sword Of God" (6:00) is a rocker and it's different as compared to the rest of the tracks. It has an excellent break and powerful, stunning guitar work. "Blessing Of A Smile" (3:12) is an instrumental piece which does not favor me even though composition-wise it's not a bad one. "Red Alert" (1:10) probably serve as a musical bridge with jazz-driven rhythm to connect with concluding track "Serious Dreamers" (8:59). It's an excellent track that closes the album. It's not a complex composition but it has good lyrics.

By all means this is an excellent album by The Flower Kings - the band who has been consistently making excellent prog music. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

TFK brings another double CD on market. Well, almost. "The Rainmaker" came in two packagings. One holding the "real" album and which was a good one from the band. I have rated with three stars in its appropriate entry and will brush a brief desciption of the second CD available in the full double work.

The intro "Excerpt From Valkyrian" is a very poor overview of this good Wagnerian opera. Some more flamboyance could have been expected from TFK to cover this well known part of the piece. Very dispensible. As will be "Mr. Hope Goes To Salzburg" (a useless short number) and "One Whole Half" a dull jazzy improvisation.

"Agent Supreme" is somewhat better during the intro but will turn out as a farce again. My fave here is the very ELP - ish "Violent Brat". A very nice keyboard play from Bodin and actually the only valuable song on this "Special" (and expensive) edition even if there are two video fragments as well. The short and accordingly named "The Woman With No Shadow" is also a pleasant number featuring a female vocals.

TFK was well inspired for not having release "The Rainmaker" as a double album, leaving only this second CD for the collectors. Because, it is for collectors only. Believe me. And they will need to be ready to pay almost three times the price to get this extra CD, which of course absolutely does not deserve the expense.

I rated the original album with three stars. The additional CD is worth no more than one. So, two stars for this whole and useless double CD set.

You should stick with the downsized version. It is better for your ears, and better for the wallet.