Flower Power [2022 Remaster] The Flower Kings Artist

Released in early 1999, {|Flower Power|} was at the time the most adventurous project {|the Flower Kings|} had undertaken. This two-CD set features on disc one {|Garden of Dreams,|} an 18-part 60-minute mammoth epic. With its 140 minutes, {|Flower Po... Read more

Released in early 1999, {|Flower Power|} was at the time the most adventurous project {|the Flower Kings|} had undertaken. This two-CD set features on disc one {|Garden of Dreams,|} an 18-part 60-minute mammoth epic. With its 140 minutes, {|Flower Power|} is hard to digest even for the dedicated fan and, truth be told, {|the Flower Kings|} would have been better off releasing {|Garden of Dreams|} as an album of its own and then rework and make a more rigorous selection in the remaining material for use on a future album. Some filler material on disc two drags down the average quality of the album. Considering its length, {|Garden of Dreams|} is a tour de force: Musical ideas follow one another in a succession of tableaux unified by a common mood and a few recurring themes. Worth to note is the fact that the piece was written by guitarist {|Roine Stolt|} and {|Tomas Bodin|} together, something highly unusual; on previous albums, {|Stolt|} wrote 90 percent of the material, letting {|Bodin|} slip a short piece of incidental music once in a while to serve as a bridge between two beefier songs. Here, their collaboration helped crystallize maybe the best example of {|the Flower Kings|}; sound in a roller coaster hour with very few below-average moments. But disc two is a disappointment: {|Deaf, Numb & Blind|} is a nice song, but it doesn't stand a chance against {|Garden of Dreams|} or older pieces like {|There Is More to This World|} and {|In the Eyes of the World.|} {|Psychedelic Postcard|} is very original and quirky by the band's standards and includes a strange verse and intermezzo that seem inspired by {|Absolutely Free|}-era {|Frank Zappa|}. While {|Power of Kindness|} and {|Magic Pie|} are uneventful numbers, the mid-tempo {|Calling Home|} and {|Painter|} show potential but don't seem to reach their full emotional strength. Are {|the Flower Kings|} doing too much? One thing is sure: {|Garden of Dreams|} would have had a lot more impact as a stand-alone track. ~ Francois Couture Less