The Flower Kings

'Alive On Planet Earth'

CD1 1. There Is More To This World 2. Church Of Your Heart 3. The Judas Kiss 4. Nothing New Under The Sun 5. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway CD2 1. Big Puzzle 2. Sounds Of Violence 3. Three Stories 4. In The Eyes Of The World 5. The Flower King 6. Stardust We Are part 3

Roine Stolt guitar and vocals
Hasse Fröberg guitar and vocals
Robert Engstrand keyboards CD1
Tomas Bodin Keyboards CD2
Michael Stolt bass
Jaime Salazar drums

First off I should state that I am not a great lover of what is generally termed 'progressive rock', a term which generally implies rock music heavily influenced by the early 70's works of Genesis, Yes, ELP etc. There are however certain exceptions to this statement. Of the 'original' bands I would class Gabriel era Genesis as one of my top 10 rock bands ever with Yes and Tull probably sneaking into my 50. Of the current bands Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings both make it into the top 10 of music I have been listening to over the last couple of years.

So why these bands? Well in the case of Spock's Beard I would say it is mainly because of Neal Morse's songwriting (which is a case of genre transcendence if there ever was one, I just love his solo album) and the fact that they are a damn good rock band.

As for The Flower Kings I would say it is because they take the very best of the original progressive genre (lots of Genesis and a fair bit of Yes) and mix it up with a whole bunch of other stuff such as jazz, Zappa and a certain northern European melodic sense. At their very best they manage to create music which sounds fresh and exciting even to these ears which have been listening to this type of music for about 25 years.

A friend pointed out the other day that Spock's Beard and the Flower Kings have each already created about more recorded music than either Genesis and Yes in their classic years. Not counting Roine's solo, 'The Flower King' CD, various regional releases and the 'Scanning…' best of, 'Alive On Planet Earth' marks the 5th album release (and the 3rd double) from the band in as many years. This is thanks to the 'do it yourself' philosophy that bands in this genre have to adopt these days but sometimes a little more quality control wouldn't go amiss.

Culled from separate shows and with a temporary keyboard player (although you wouldn't know it because he is so good) on CD1, 'Alive…' goes a long way towards capturing the live Flower Kings experience. I have to say though that it doesn't do complete justice to the live sound. To my ears the sound on CD1 seems punchier and crisper whereas CD2 seems a little weak in places particularly on the last two tracks which happen to be my favorites so I was a little disappointed with this one.

The first CD kicks off with 'There Is More To This World' from the Retropolis album. Powerful, classic progressive (apologies for repeating that term but I am sure you know what I mean) rock in a Yes vein although with a rather heavier sound. Very tight and very close to the original album. Here, as on the whole album Roine's guitar playing and sound are an absolute joy. Unlike many guitarists in this field he manages to combine accuracy and intricacy with lots of feeling, in places on these CD's bringing feeling of the blues to this often quite sterile (in guitar terms anyway) genre.

There is a nice contrast in vocals between Roine's expressive but not particularly powerful voice and Hasse Froberg who is powerful with a great range. I have to say I prefer Hasse's vocals to Roine although occasionally it gets a bit close to US AOR.

'Church Of The Heart' follows from the 'Stardust We Are' album. Again this is firmly in the Yes territory, almost a progressive rock power ballad although not at all naff as that description would suggest. There is a lovely short keyboard piece in the middle reminds me of the Enid.

Next up is 'Judas Kiss' from 'Retropolis' although twice as long here. This, as you would expect from the title is a darker track, more rock. However somewhere in the middle the band veer off into a looser improvised section with spacey (although again quite dark) guitar. This is followed by more improvisation led by electric piano and mellotron. The guitar then returns leading into a samba-esque section with great nice groovy bass work, something that is almost entirely absent from most progressive rock - groove. When a funky clavinet leaps into the fray and I found myself thinking that this is almost Phish! Woo hoo! It's not over yet though as some nice Hendrix style wah guitar takes us into Miles territory before some church organ ushers main song back in with yet more searing guitar work (how many frets has this guy got?).

All in all a great live exploration and the reason why live albums should be released in the first place - to capture the spontaneous magic that is there to be had for those brave enough to just follow the flow. I was amazed to hear that one progressive rock CD distributor has had an unusually high level of returns of this CD on the basis that people don't like the way the band deviate so far from the recorded tracks. Sad.

'Nothing New Under the Sun' is a track by Roine's 1970's band Kaipa written when he was in his teens. This is a lovely guitar led instrumental that could easily be mistaken for Focus at their very best. Roine like Jan is, as mentioned above, capable of bringing the powerful feeling of the blues to the progressive rock genre.

CD1 closes with the 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway'. Probably as good a rendition as you are going to hear. Crowd pleaser or what! More guitar than any Genesis version and lets face it Roine is on a different planet to the somewhat restrained Mr H. Roine's vocals don't quite do it justice but what the heck, you had to be there. The guitar solo on this track is positively ecstatic no doubt demonstrating just how happy Roine was at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if he needed a ladder to get down from the ceiling at the end.

End of CD 1 - worth the price of admission so far? Well yes but not unreservedly so. The album tracks are very well played but ultimately don't add a lot to the originals. Judas Kiss is a good rather than great song, likewise the improvisation, I think there are probably better jams they have played (Paradisio September 99?). Really nice but not extra special.

And so to CD 2…

Overall this seems a bit less tight, particularly on the last two tracks but somehow more satisfying.

'The Big Puzzle'. Possibly my favourite track on the whole set. For the uninitiated this one starts off a bit Floyd like then after some twiddly bits you get the nearest thing to Genesis (Cinema Show) you will hear before returning to more distinctive Flower Kings territory again. This one has it all, soaring guitar melodies, lots of changes in tempo and style, very melodic and not made up of unrelated sections stitched together like some so called 'progressive' bands. The extended guitar solo in improvised section is truly glorious. Again I keep thinking progressive rock guitar with real feeling, Clapton at his best (live playing blues) plus a smidgen of Santana.

'Sounds Of Violence' follows, an instrumental in a far more heavy rock vein, more into Deep Purple territory. Great if you like that sort of thing but not really my cup of tea.

The Thomas Bodin track 'Three Stories' from his 'An Ordinary Night in my Ordinary Life' album is a real treat. Beginning with beautiful piano before another of those amazing Roine solos. This guy never bores me, each solo is distinct with it's own mood.

'Eyes Of The World' from 'Retropolis' is vintage Flower Kings. One of those songs where you don't find yourself using other bands as reference points to describe it. This is where the band's breadth of influences and collective open musical mind really scores, bringing it all together to create something individual.

The encore from this particular gig follows, in this case being continuos segue of 'The Flower King' into 'Stardust'… It's on these two tracks that I think the sound of the second CD fails to fully do justice to the music. It's clear but somehow lacking power.

This is not the very best 'Flower King' I have heard but it's a good rendition. It's got a great positive feeling though and Roine's vocals are at their best with Hasse supporting on the chorus. Once into the instrumental parts the whole band really locks together. Definitive Flower Kings and of course Roine's guitar is all over it.

Another of my favourite tracks, 'Stardust We Are' finishes the whole thing off in fine style staying true to the album but with that added special something that live performance always brings. I just love the way Hasse sings this song. Spine tingling stuff. Some might find the lyrics a little twee but as Mr Morse put it so well 'we all need some light' and light is something that the Kings bring plenty of. Let yourself go into this - positive vibes man!

Overall…

This is a great live set, not perfect but great all the same. If you like the Flower Kings you will probably already have this, if not get it. This is a band whose live sets add a different dimension to their music rather than one that simply repeats studio recordings.

If you haven't heard the band it may not be the best introduction, I would suggest the 'Scanning the Greenhouse' for that purpose.

Can't wait to see what they do next…Enticing suggestions of a more jazzy direction… Should be interesting.

David Weston April 2000