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CIRCUS BRIMSTONE LIVE - BRIMSTONED IN EUROPE

The Flower Kings

Symphonic Prog


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The Flower Kings Circus Brimstone Live - BrimStoned in Europe album cover
3.69 | 48 ratings | 5 reviews | 15% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 2005

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Cosmic Lodge (5:58)
2. Astral Dog / Hellhound (13:12)
3. Circus Brimstone (15:12)
4. The Man Who Walked with Kings (5:17)
5. The Magic Circus of Zeb (7:47)
6. Speed Wizard / Drumsolo (6:49)
7. Retropolis (6:04)

Total Time 60:19

Line-up / Musicians

- Marcus Liliequist / drums
- Jonas Reingold / bass & bass pedals
- Tomas Bodin / keyboards
- Roine Stolt / guitars

Thanks to velvetclown for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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THE FLOWER KINGS Circus Brimstone Live - BrimStoned in Europe ratings distribution


3.69
(48 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(15%)
15%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(48%)
48%
Good, but non-essential (27%)
27%
Collectors/fans only (4%)
4%
Poor. Only for completionists (6%)
6%

THE FLOWER KINGS Circus Brimstone Live - BrimStoned in Europe reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Zitro
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars A showcase of the Flower Kings' musicianship. This is an all-instrumental live album which should please fans of the band, fans of Roine's guitar playing, newcomers, and music listeners who enjoy Flower Kings' instrumental side but dislike Roine Stolt's voice. The music is generally more loose and less reliant on hooks than the average Flower Kings disc.

Despite Hasse's absence, these four musicians managed to play somewhat complex music without losing the big harmony sound that is characteristic of the Flower Kings. In here, you will find the definite versions of the uplifting and melodic "The Man Who Walked With Kings" and the song that people afraid of clowns should stay away from: the quirky and menacing "Circus Brimstone." Also, you will find superior versions of the solo compositions "Cosmic Lodge" and "The Magic Circus of Zeb" which are both positive-sounding guitar-driven songs written by Roine last decade. Also found in this disc is a new jazz-fusion piece which is reminiscent of Al DiMeola's early albums, except that it is dominated by drums in the later parts of the song. Finally, there are two more pieces from The Flower Kings: Retropolis and Astral Dog. "Retropolis" is the powerful heavy instrumental that we know and love minus the electronica and acoustic sections near the end. "Astral Dog" is the laid back Satriani-like tune from "Flower Power" but I feel that it loses focus after around six minutes due to unnecessary guitar noodling and later turns into a somewhat uninspired new song.

Despite the lackluster Astral Dog, the performance is excellent and I give this 3.5 stars, rounded up because it's not strictly for fans as newcomers could get really impressed by the technical skills of the musicians and several moments that show brilliant songwriting.

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Another "official" bootleg from TFK. It was recorded from different concerts in Europe in April 2005. I just hoped that the audience attending these knew that they would get pure TFK intrumentals (unless, TFK only selected instrumental passages during the mixing at the Cosmic Lodge Studio but I don't think so).

TFK is a band who has generated mixed feelings in my reviews. The side I like the most, is their extremely symphonic music, deeply influenced by Yes and Crimson.

Long instrumental sections, especially the guitar-driven ones, were also able to please me.

Some songs on this album come from Roine's solo repertoire : "Cosmic Lodge" from "Hydrophonia" and "Magic Circus Of Zeb" from "The Flower Kings".

The other ones come from the traditional TFK repertoire : "Astral Dog" (from "Flower Power"), "Circus Brimstone" and "The Man Who Walked With Kings" from "Stardust" and finally "Retropolis".

Needless to say that this album is not accessible to everybody. While "Cosmic" and "Circus" are good (although that some sections during the latter are real poor, when some experimentations take place), "Astral Dog" is extremely hard to diggest : it is extended to almost fifteen minutes of the most boring stuff . A pleasant and quiet moment of relief during "The Man" is more than welcome. My preferred moment of music on this album.

"Magic Circus Of Zeb" features some very emotional guitar breaks. This is how I like TFK's instrumental parts...Needless to say that the drum solo can be skipped without any problem and shouldn't have sit here. The fan were already served with "Bass & Drum Solos" available on the other "official" bootleg "Live In New-York". Very dispensible.

I would have preferred to get a longer version of "Retropolis" which closes the album. To have reduced it to less than six minutes is not fair. This was one of best track from this very good album.

Although this album is dedicated to die-hard fans, I will upgrade it to three stars. It holds sufficient good moments to justify this. If you are quite hesitant with TFK repertoire, just stay away from this album and stick to more conventional ones.

Review by Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars An excellent live instrumental performance!

Wow! It's an excellent instrumental work by one of may favorite prog rock bands The Flower Kings who has been consistent and solid in their music direction. This is basically a live record without any lead vocalist involved and it was taken from their concerts in Europe during 2005. It starts beautifully with "Cosmic Lodge" where you can find excellent guitar solo backed with tight basslines by Jonas Reingold. It moves nicely to slow tempo music which features ambient guitar fills and solo in "Astral Dog/ Hellhound". There s basically some sound effects demonstrated through the keyboard work by Tomas Bodin as well as drumming by Marcus Liliequist. The interlude or, I would say, a break part at approx minute 8 indicates that Jonas' bass guitar work sounds like Chris Squire of Yes.

The music moves into uplifting mode in "Circus Brimstone" a song by The Flower Kings that I really like, taken from their legendary album "Stardust We Are". It's interesting to notice how the song is played in instrumental mode with varied solos by guitar, keyboard as well as dynamic basslines. "The Man Who Walked With Kings" starts beautifully with ambient keyboard work followed with great acoustic guitar fills. The keyboard sounds like old organ and it has made the opening is classical in style. As the music moves, I like the acoustic guitar work augmented with soft organ work and dynamic bass guitar work. The guitar then gives its solo, using electric guitar. Fantastic! The guitar solo makes the song sounds brilliant, in relatively slow tempo.

"The Magic Circus Of Zeb" starts with long sustain keyboard work, creating an ambients for the song. It is then followed with an uplifting music with great bass guitar work, guitar as well as drums and keyboard. The keyboard (organ) takes place after the guitar and they do so intertwiningly. It's a good organ solo and guitar solo, indeed. "Speed Wizard". The bass guitar work reminds me to Chris Squire playing "Heart of The Sunrise" - it's so energetic and so powerful! Jonas Reingold rules! This track features Marcus dynamic drum solo as well, accompanied by bass guitar work.

"Retropolis" concludes the live album wonderfully with Roine Stolt high register notes guitar solo backed with symphonic rhythm section. Jonas provides excellent bass lines during musical break. The original version of this song is excellent and this live instrumental version is a great companion for a change. It's really excellent.

Overall, this is an excellent trip of the band's exploration into instrumental work based on their original version. As I have claimed myself as a fan of The Flower Kings whom I think is a band consistent in their music direction, I consider "Brimstoned In Europe" is an excellent addition to any prog music collection that I have. Highly recommended for those who love The Flower Kings and not recommended for newbie. Newbie should purchase "Stardust We Are" or "Flower Power" or "Retropolis" first before enjoying this adventure. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Latest members reviews

4 stars Odd to hear the FLOWER KINGS doing an all instrumental set , not that there isn't plenty of material , but that's what you get when you spin BrimStoned In Europe . The usual suspects are here minus Hans Froeberg . The opening track " Cosmic Lodge " is a Roine Stolt solo piece and is brilliant ... (read more)

Report this review (#216502) | Posted by Trafficdogg | Monday, May 18, 2009 | Review Permanlink

4 stars If you like the instrumental side of the Flower Kings, without the catchy ballads or Yes like sweeping vocal parts, then this is for you. While this might appear at first glance as a "fans only" type of release, I think it could have broader appeal. For one thing, it is more or less a guitar b ... (read more)

Report this review (#120585) | Posted by infandous | Wednesday, May 2, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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