ALIVE ON PLANET EARTH

After four studio albums of which two of them are double CD's, The FLOWER KINGS has finally released a double live-CD. How many other bands have managed to do so many in 5 years? The musicians within The FLOWER KINGS have to be some of the most busy and creative ones around today. Apart from The FLOWER KINGS albums, Tomas Bodin has released a solo album and Roine Stolt two! But then you can question: "Are they really good all of them?", and the answer is without doubt: "Yes!". The FLOWER KINGS music has reminiscences to the 70's progressive heroes such as CAMEL, FOCUS, GENESIS, KING CRIMSON and YES, and they are mixing it with some Jazz influences. - The first CD was recorded during their tour in North America 1998. For some reasons Robert Engstrand replaced Tomas Bodin on this show. First up is "There Is More To This World" from their "Retropolis" album. "Church Of Your Heart" from the "Stardust We Are" comes next. "The Judas Kiss" is another song from the "Retropolis" album. "Nothing New Under The Sun" is actually a song taken from KAIPA's "Inget nytt under Solen" album from 1976. "Nothing New Under The Sun" is an English translation of the Swedish title "Inget nytt under Solen". Rounding off CD 1 are a cover of the classic GENESIS song "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" from the album of the same name. To me it seems a little unnecessary to record a cover when they have so much own material they could've performed instead. But they're doing it very well and Roine's guitar is more present on this recording than on the original song. - The second CD was recorded during three concerts in Japan 1999. First up is "Big Puzzle" from the "Back In The World Of Adventures" album. Next up is "Sound Of Violence" from Roine Stolt's solo album "The Flower Kings". "Three Stories" comes next, and this is taken from Tomas Bodin's solo album "An Ordinary Night In My Ordinary Life". "In The Eyes Of The World" is taken from the "Stardust We Are Album". "The Flower King" from Roine Stolt's solo album "The Flower King" became a personal favorite back then, and it still gives me that magic feeling. A splendid song! Rounding of CD 2 is "Stardust We Are, part three" from the album of the same name. As a big fanatic of The FLOWER KINGS albums, I can't do other than love this live album. The performance couldn't be better and the production is almost perfect! I only wish I got the chance to see them live sometime, because this album shows just how good they are! Roine Stolt was a member in one of the premier Swedish symphonic rock band in the 70's when he was a part of KAIPA. Now he has made himself one of the big names in the 90's too, and he will certainly continue in the new Millennium. Highly recommended!