FLOWER POWER

In "Flower Power", the first Cd clearly surpases the second one, with the great Garden of Eden, a brilliant epic with great melodies. The musical developement here is just marvellous, being the central theme the one in Sunny Lane, funny and precious track. This first Cd closes with Astral Dog, another worthy track, similar to Don of the Universe in "Stardust We Are".

But the second Cd has some flaws, with a bunch of insipid songs like Deaf Numb and Bling, Stupid Girl, Corruption... They are not bad, just under the level of quality of the first Cd. Nevertheless, in this second part of the album we can find Magic Pie, a good prog flick composed by the singer Hans Fröberg, with a great keyboard solo; Psychedelic Postcard, odd but very good and Calling Home, an imaginative track with some good melodies and Hans choirs.

Instrumentally, the album is at the same level of the previous "Stardust We Are", wich is similar to "Flower Power" in style and execution, but surpasing it in both aspects... Maybe the protagonism of Hans Fröberg's voice in the second Cd is the most remarkable difference. Roine Stolt's guitar work is also over the top, but not as incredible as later albums like "Unfold the Future". His singing improved a bit from "Stardust We Are", reaching higher notes and adding some new textures to his voice.

Best tracks: Garden of Eden (the longest The Flower Kings's epic), Astral Dog (great rythmic track with an appropiated psychedelic touch...), Magic Pie (Hans Fröberg shines here...) and Calling Home.

Conclusion: if you like the album "Stardust We Are", you'll surely enjoy "Flower Power", wich is similar in style... Nevertheless, this fourth The Flower Kings's offering is less complete that their previous work, having a great first Cd, but an irregular and sometimes dull second one. But the complete album is worthy of a close listening anyway.

Cd 1 rating: ****1/2. Cd 2 rating: ***

My rating: ***1/2

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