MEET THE FLOWER KINGS - LIVE RECORDING 2003

I will always connect THE FLOWER KINGS with SPOCK'S BEARD because when I discovered this style of music in the early 00's it was those two bands that kept popping up. The former reminds me more of YES while the latter more like the more melancholic GENESIS. I prefer the BEARD like I prefer GENESIS but that early period of THE FLOWER KINGS resonates with me from 1994 and Roine Stolt's "The Flower King" to "Back In The World Of Adventures" to "Stardust We Are" to "Flower Power" and "Unfold The Future". Those five I've kept around and this double live album is a nice edition to those considering it was recorded in February of 2003 in Upsalla Sweden. And it's all epics! Man is there anyone as prolific as Stolt when it comes to song writing? This is the classic lineup as well with Stolt, Gildenlow, Froberg, Bodin, Reingold, Csorsz and Bruniusson.

Of course both discs are packed with over 75 minutes each, no surprise there but only seven songs. Some monsters like the two part "Garden Of Dreams" from "Flower Power" at a combined 44 1/2 minutes. Or the 26 1/2 minute closer on disc two "Stardust We Are" from the same album plus we get "Circus Brimstone" from that album also on disc two and that's my favourite of all the tunes here. Love the lyrics on "Humanizzime" from "The Flower King" also on disc two with the only track left from that disc being "Silent Inferno" from "Unfold The Future" which also is where the opener from disc one comes from in "The Truth Will Set You Free". A lot of music here but again I've come to expect this with THE FLOWER KINGS and if your like me and prefer their early stuff then check out this recording which also comes in a DVD which I don't have.