MEET THE FLOWER KINGS @ LIVE RECORDING 2003

Substantial amounts of music here, but Stolt and co. have certainly NOT compromised on quality. Tremendous renditions of "Garden of Dreams" and especially "Silent Inferno" make this well worth the asking price. As well as that, there are some outstanding instrumental performances from the ever impressive Tomas Bodin on Keys and Stolt himself, whose John Wetton-influenced vocals bring back great memories of King Crimson's glory days.

This is the DVD to buy if you strongly want to see your flowers in action! But for everyone else, rent this DVD, because there is a chance you will not like this.

This is a live album, but the crowd (if there is any) is completely silent making it feel like a studio album that shows how the artists played their instruments. To make things worse, I have to admit that the Flower Kings are boring to watch. They do not move a lot and they hardly rock out. Besides, the cameras are not as good at they could be, and the DVD is set up in a way that the special features are put between the songs (or even in the middle of Garden of Dreams). All those factors are most of the negative opinions I have of this DVD but ...

The music here is really good. While the keyboard sounds are not as good as I hear them in the studio version of the songs, it does not matter much too me since the music is incredible. Most of the songs here are epics, and beautiful epics they are. If you have the discography of the Flower Kings, I am sure that you will be glad "The Truth Will Set You Free' is included in the list. The other songs are brilliant too (Except Circus Brimstone that was mutilated into a long jam that seemed to have no direction).

If you can get past the negatives of this album, you will have a very enjoyable musical experience. If you do not like watching it, you could turn off the TV, and hear it while you occupy yourself with another activity.

My Grade : B

I have been listening to progressive rock music for thirty two years, have all of the classics in my collection and this CD and DVD are amongst my favourites. The collection of epic tracks on this CD are simply Fantastic. The musicianship is incredible and the production first class.

Roine Stolt started with Kaipa in the 1970s and has developed his guitar playing in such a fabulous way. He is a very gifted guitarist who incorporates great rock, jazz and progressive playing into the music he composes.

If you like symphonic prog then things dont get much better. If you love guitar then things dont get much better. If you love remarkable drumming then this is for you. If you love keyboards then Tomas Bodin never fails to deliver.

Equally, I never tire of watching the DVD. The camera work is excellent. You are given lots of opportunity to see the virtuoso playing of the Flower Kings. Yes the audience are reserved but that somehow seems appropriate.

I do consider this to be a fantastic piece of progressive rock music and in my opinion thoroughly deserves the rating I have given. Enjoy.

I saw this limited edition of the Flower Kings 2dvd+ 2cd just browsing on lasercd, and ever since I ordered it, I've watched it a total of 6 times and listened to it everyday since I bought it. (In the course of 5 days of course) The music aspect of it is great, I mean, its The Flower Kings and their incredible virtuosity on DVD, plus Gildenlow's wailing, mixed in with Stolt's incredible guitar playing, Hassse's dynamic vocal ability, the Jazzy rhythmns of Zoltan Czorsz, Hasse B. and Jonas Reingold, mixed in with Bodin's great, tasteful keyboards. What more can we expect here?

Now, to the specific songs/bonus features of the dvd:

The dvd starts out With The Truth Will Set you Free, an amazing track that is perhaps the first The Flower Kings song I've ever heard. The live version of here is similar to the album version, except for Gildenlow's incredible backing vocals, those dynamic wailing along with Hasse's almost untouchable, unbreakable voice. Mixed in at times of course with Stolt's impeccable, emotional guitar playing and tender vocals. Mixed with the epic proportions of acoustic guitar playing, rhythmnic percussion done by Hasse, Daniel and Zoltan, definitely great. The typical epic The Flower Kings just magnified slightly bit, yep, just slightly a little bit more. It probably made it more emotional too, along with the energy that Stolt and Co. put on stage. But of course you can't see the magic behind this all.

The first documentary shows a short clip of the Flower Kings on tour in the US, beautiful Swedish language is spoken here of course and the brilliant production of Roine Stolt, yep just your typical Prog documentary Flower King style.

The DVD here is where it gets really interesting, Roine Stolt starts off Garden of Dreams with the usual great intro of a classic Prog 60 minute epic, but of course the DVD one isn't that long. Its divided into two parts and we hear the first part here, it is of course filled with the usual Flower Kings emotions, except that it is slightly shortened here, only a combined total of 45 minutes, instead of the 60 minutes from the album version. This song is of course the same as we hear on the album, except that I especially love the slightly improvised solos of the "Magic Genie from Sweden" as Neal Morse describes him as. (Minus the usual Flowery clothing and the TransAtlantic tour Parker Fly Guitar) In other words: This epic is MUCH better than the album version, because we can see it here.

Ah..... The craziness of touring Europe of being a smaller, underground band. The Flower Kings show their crazy backstage footage here with both European documentaries and the black and white( Unfold the Future anyone?) backstage material. Of course you are saying to yourself, how can this dude write so much about short 20 minute documentaries? Well, I can and that I love the Flower Kings so much that they force me so much to do so. In Short words: I love seeing the Flower Kings backstage and Roine with camera.

The Second disc kicks off with one of favorite epics Humanizzimo (As you can tell so far everyone is a favorite of mine), the great Flower King album epic, one that I consider the first "unofficial" The Flower Kings album, what a great epic, plus a great vocal section not heard on the "debut" Flower Kings album by no other than singer/musician/sex icon of mine extrodinaire Daniel Gildenlow. We of course know that we are human to the max, but what more obvious statements we can get from the voice of Roine Stolt?

Yep... The Flower Kings love to rehearse, they are also very interesting to watch. So much improvisation between the "so-called" best rhythmn section in Prog (Reingold and Czorsz). Highly fun to watch again...

The Circus Brimstone on this dvd is not "the Circus Brimstone" but an improvised version with of course the common theme heard on the Stardust We Are in the song though. Great improvisation piece here, Hasse is once again hilarious with all his gadgets. Let's not forget that Hasse is a crazy nut.

Ahh.... Czorsz drumming.... The studio documentary stars Czorsz drumming at the speed of light... Ahh.... How great. A couple of words on a documentary. I think the documentary here has to be 5/5, I mean it has to be given something like that.

The second to last song, Silent Inferno from Unfold the Future, is of course similar to the album version, but the most "Metal" (Which means it is not Metal at all) song on the DVD is done greatly, with almost no flops. Great to watch too.... Reminds me of something I used to quite commonly on the forums... Great song......

On tour in South America is perhaps the best documentary recorded on here, amazing epic proportions, we do love Brazil and Rio De Janiero, also ending it with the big, bright sun of the Flower Kings, yep, which is all great....

The final song that I'm reviewing right now at the moment is Stardust We Are. It starts with that noticeable Flower Kings intro chord, wow, what a good melody that I can sing along. So.... To conclude this review, I love the dancing of lady and the woman and the firebreathing is interesting too... Oh yea.... I need to finish this right now.... I guess, Stardust We Are is perhaps the best ending to ANY DVD I've watched, even more than Iter Impius or All of the Above.

This IS one of the best Prog dvds ever made, not boring at all.... Unless you are a dead rat or a pig. Have fun reading these 951 words!

Being an American, I must admit my dearth of knowledge of all the great European prog out there. This is definitely one of the greatest prog bands I have encountered. The ethereal guitar playing of Stolt and equally ethereal keyboards of Bodin make this a prog classic in the greatest tradition of Howe and Hackett on guitar and Banks and Emerson on keyboards. I have listened to 'The Truth will Set you Free' a dozen or more times and I still wonder 'where does the time go?' This is one 30+ minute song that I can listen to over and over again for hours. 'Garden of Dreams 1 & 2' is also very nice, another epic masterpiece where time is no object. 'Silent inferno' is a great tune in the rock-ballad-jazz prog formula with many different time signatures to accent the style changes. I have never really been into the cacophony of sounds, John Cage style, which is what 'Circus Brimstone' reminds me of - a la early King Crimson and early Walter Carlos ('Clockwork Orange' soundtrack). Otherwise, I find myself listening to the rest of the 140+ minutes with awe and wonder. Unbelievable to me that this is a live album - their tight musicianship makes this sound like a studio album (which I hope is a compliment). Whether you like the Flower Kings studio albums or not, this live CD set (and/or DVD) is a 'must-have' in anyone's collection.

All the epics!!! If you like the Flower Kings, and especially their epic tracks (up to and including Unfold The Future), they you really should get this DVD. A complete live version of Garden Of Dreams, which is my favorite song of theirs, is performed beautifully. My only complaint being that it is split in two and you can't skip over the "home movie" bits between all the songs. That is really this biggest complaint I have with this DVD. Those bits are okay to watch once or twice, but after that you just end up fast forwarding through them. On a DVD you should be able to skip them entirely. The only other negative is the strange footage of the dancers, bringing back shades of Wakeman ice shows. But they are not used much and don't detract too much from the performance.

Besides the previously mentioned Garden Of Dreams, we get a complete (all 3 parts) version of Stardust We Are, which almost makes this worth having all by itself. Humanizzo is fantastic, as is The Truth..... Silent Inferno comes off really well, and the only not so great track is the jam/Circus Brimstone track. But even that is pretty decent.

There have been complaints that this is not a truely "live" performance. This is accurate. The show was recorded over several hours, where the band did retries of various songs and parts of songs to get the best performance. There were only about 50 people in the audience. A number of overdubs were done after the fact, particually Hasse Frobergs vocals as he had the flu on the day of shooting. So this does not have the feel that most live DVD's do. But the performance is still essentially live, and because of the method they used to make it, essetically performed flawlessly. For me at least, it works really well. Any fan will be able to enjoy this. Minus one star for the flaws I metioned earlier, but otherwise a solid 4 stars. (as an aside, I got the special edition with 2 CDs and fantastic book-like packaging......this actually boosts it up from about 3 1/2 stars......so if you get the regular edition, you might not be as impressed by the packaging)

A somewhat puzzling issue. Recorded live in intimate settings, the full scope and majesty of THE FLOWER KINGS seems somewhat subdued here. The track selection encompasses their major epics. Competently played music without the energy one would expect. It leaves me asking one question: why? What has this added to their canon? It seems to function as an introduction to the band, but doesn't truly reflect the band's music.

This is one of the best live albums in prog arena! My version of this live record comprises 2 DVDs and 2 CDs in deluxe edition. The DVD set contains backstage filming of the tours the band made. The show was recorded and filmed at Upsala Stadsteater, February 10th, 2003. The first time I watched the DVD, it blew me away because the opening track is one of my favorite tracks by The Flower Kings "The Truth Will Set You Free" from "Unfold The Future" album. As far as line-up, the stage is crowded with talented musicians: Tomas Bodin (keyboards), Hasse Brunisson (percussion, vocals), Zoltan Czörsz (drumkit), Hans Fröberg (guitars, vocals), Pain of Salvation's Daniel Gildenlöw (guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion), Jonas Reingold (bass, bass pedals) and the band's leader Roine Stolt (guitars, vocals).

Powerful Performance with Minimum Stage Act

The first time I heard the opening epic "The Truth Will Set You Free" (30:40), it did blow me away at first spin and I immediately fall in love with it. Yes, I was actually not sure with what the band would act on stage during the long introduction which sounds dry for a live act. But when the Hasse Fröberg ' vocal starts to roll into the music, oh my God . what a great harmony the boys in the band have composed this complex epic. In terms of style, this epic blends various elements such as jazz, rock and avant-garde in a very nice way. The result is a mixture of elements that seem like too pretentious. But, if you listen to it with an open mind, you will get the true essence of progressive music here. Not only excellent composition that this epic offers us but it gives a balanced portion of its musician's virtuosity. Jonas Reingold is very dynamic and inventive with his bass guitar playing; combined with dazzling drum work by Zoltan Czörsz. Roine Stolt also gives his excellent guitar fills throughout the epic. The epic also provides variations between high and low points, complex and quiet arrangements. It's a true masterpiece epic!

Next is another epic that can be considered as classic from "Flower Power" album titled "Garden of Dreams" which comprises 18 pieces. Because this is such a long track, the band has decided to split the performance into two major parts. This long epic is truly an excellent music, overall. At first listen when I got the album for the first time, the epic sounded like a collection of disjointed pieces. But with more spin I can get the true essence of the music which contains varied styles and rich in textures combining mostly symphonic styles with rock and sometimes jazz. Some guitar solos remind me to David Gilmour style. Bodin supports its keyboard work beautifully especially at the end of the solo with its pulsating sounds, unique to Bodin's style. "Don't let the d'Evil in" resembles a combination of symphonic and classic rock music. It has strong melody with great riffs and fills by Roine's guitar work. Daniel's appearance during the show is more on quiet posture even though he sometimes provides nice vocal fills and most of guitar rhythm. I think, he is underutilized in The Flower Kings scene.

"Humanizzimo" is a track taken from Roine Stolt's debut album "The Flower King". To me this song is like Yes' "Close To The Edge" or "The Gates of Delirium". Not because of the duration of this track is very close with Yes' but it's more on the structure and style. The opening part with soprano sax combined with stunning guitar is really a thread for me. This is the kind of music that kills me! Especially when the vocal starts to enter the music "Midnight, you take me down to the waters. Slowdown, I've seen too much and too soon .". Oh my God . this is really good. As an epic with seven parts this track offers a blend of styles with many tempo changes from one part to another. All parts form the overall music cohesively. It's a great epic.

"Circus Brimstone" is another great composition with opening part that reminds me to a blend of avant-garde and symphonic styles. Zoltan shows his energetic drumming. You might smell the King Crimson nuance around the opening part. The music then flows naturally with excellent combination of guitar, keyboard, drums and bass in dynamic way. The more I watch the DVD, the more I enjoy this track.

"Silent Inferno" (taken from "Unfold The Future") contains energetic music combining soaring keyboard work (solo and rhythm) at the beginning in relatively fast tempo style. It reminds me to the music of Return To Forever but this one has a floating style that makes it really good. The music only turns into quiet passage when the voice line enters the music.

The concluding track is an epic which comprises three parts. The first part opens with beautiful exploration of acoustic guitar combined with keyboards, bass, guitar and drums. Again I enjoy the performance of Roine, Hanse, Zoltan and Jonas who play their instruments brilliantly. Musically, there are some influences of King Crimson during first part. The song might sound too long during the first part especially watching the members of the band who do not seem to move their bodies at all. But when it enters minute 9 it turns out to be an interesting track to enjoy.

Musically, this DVD combo provides excellent music with practically no flaw during the performance. Unfortunately there is no such member of the band who provides the performance with energetic stage act. Zoltan and Hanse are probably the most dynamic compared to all. But it's okay .. this is not a power metal concert and the music of The Flower Kings is basically not the one that fits for headbanging. For me personally, this is a masterpiece of prog music DVD that should not be missed by any prog fan! Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Sorry guys, but this is a big disappointment.

I bought this dvd along with dvd´s by Enchant (well, not too good either), Transatlantic (Live in Europe: fabulous) and Barclay James Harvest (Classic meets Rock: a more than nice surprise). And I really looked forward to watch FK perform their epics live.

And I didnot enjoy it at all.

FK is a bunch of very talented musicians, no doubt about that. The music is complex, adventurous and melodic, sometimes quite jazzy and unexpected (f.i. Circus Brimstone). And they sure can play on stage. But why on earth did they record a concert in such a small venue? There is hardly any space for their equipment, thus forcing them to stay on their places for more than 2,5 hours. And apart from Hans Fröberg who gives the impression that he actually likes what he's doing, the other kings just simply stay frozen! And there is no interplay with the small audience whatsoever. It seems as if the kings would have played no matter if any people were around to watch and listen. There is no emotion at all, no joy, no expression, in fact they appear like statues moving their hands on the instruments because the audience wants them to. And unfortunately Roine Stolt is the worst. He shows absolutely no emotion while almost all the music is from his hands!!

This could have been quite a nice experience, it turned out to be too dull and too disappointing to watch fully. Too bad for FK is a wonderful band that deserves a lot of support.

All the epics!!!

If you like the Flower Kings, and especially their epic tracks (up to and including Unfold The Future), then you really should get this DVD. A complete live version of Garden Of Dreams, which is my favorite song of theirs, is performed beautifully. My only complaint being that it is split in two and you can't skip over the "home movie" bits between all the songs. That is really the biggest complaint I have with this DVD. Those bits are okay to watch once or twice, but after that you just end up fast forwarding through them. On a DVD you should be able to skip them entirely. The only other negative is the strange footage of the dancers, bringing back shades of Wakeman ice shows. But they are not used much and don't detract too much from the performance.

Besides the previously mentioned Garden Of Dreams, we get a complete (all 3 parts) version of Stardust We Are, which almost makes this worth having all by itself. Humanizzo is fantastic, as is The Truth..... Silent Inferno comes off really well, and the only not so great track is the jam/Circus Brimstone track. But even that is pretty decent.

There have been complaints that this is not a truly "live" performance. This is accurate. The show was recorded over several hours, where the band did retries of various songs and parts of songs to get the best performance. There were only about 50 people in the audience. A number of overdubs were done after the fact, particularly Hasse Froberg's vocals as he had the flu on the day of shooting. So this does not have the feel that most live DVD's do. But the performance is still essentially live, and because of the method they used to make it, essentially performed flawlessly. For me at least, it works really well. Any fan will be able to enjoy this. Minus one star for the flaws I mentioned earlier, but otherwise a solid 4 stars.

(as an aside, I got the special edition with 2 CDs and fantastic book-like packaging......this actually boosts it up from about 3 1/2 stars......so if you get the regular edition, you might not be as impressed by the packaging)

I really don´t know why I haven´t written a review about this one until now. I have this double DVD package (with two live CDs) since 2003 and I must say i loved it from the first few seconds I saw them playing the opening epic The Truth Will Set You Free. What a great musicianship! And who in the world would start a show by performing a 30+ minute opus? It is ok that those performed were specially staged (the audience is very small and it is obvious that a few overdubs were done). Still, they play live and very well. Some insertions of images of a couple dancing give a nice visual touch and since they were used only in short passages they don´t interfere too much on the group´s performance and the live feel of the DVD.

To me the major flaw on Meet The Flower Kings is the fact that a lot of the DVD time was spent on those home movies showing them traveling around (including Brazil) between the songs. I guess it would be alright to have those images as extras, and in a briefer version, giving them the chance to record more songs, specially the shorter ones (they only perform the epics here). However, the fact that we have a complete show of terrific (and hard to play) tunes like Stardust We Are, Garden Of Dreams (this one played in two parts), Humanizzimo (from Stolt´s solo album The Flower King) and the aforementioned The Truth.... make watching this show a one of a kind experience. I really doubt if they will ever repeat such enterprise. With the sole exception of the jam/chaotic-like style of Circus Brimstone, all songs are very well chosen.

The big surprise here was the rather discreet presence of Pain Of Salvation´s leader/guitarrist/songwriter Daniel Gildenlöw. He was a guest on TFK´s Unfold The Future but I wasn´t expecting such celebrated and important figure from the prog metal scene like him to take a back seat on a tour with any other band, much less the Flower Kings. And - believe it or not - he seems a little subdue under the performances of such monster players like Jonas Reingold (bass) and Tomas Bodin (keyboards). Not to mention Roine Stolt´s brilliant guitar lines and the excellent drumming of then newcomer Zoltan Czörsz. It is always a pleasure to see such talented and gifted musicians having a ball playing those long and complex epics.

I always regarded The Flower Kings as probably the single most important prog band to emerge from the 90´s. And seeing them live only proved them to be as good on stage as they are in the studio. For any symphonic prog lover, this is a must have.

Rating: somewhere between 4 and 4,5 stars. Maybe not the definitive TFK DVD, but excellent anyway.