THE FLOWER KINGS - PARADOX HOTEL

THE FLOWER KINGS - PARADOX HOTEL

Disk 1 (room 111) . . . . . . .73:04
1. Check In (Bodin)
2. Monsters & Men (Stolt)
3. Jealousy (Stolt)
4. Hit Me With A Hit (Stolt)
5. Pioneers Of Aviation (Stolt)
6. Lucy Had A Dream (Bodin/Stolt)
7. Bavarian Skies (Bodin/Stolt)
8. Selfconsuming Fire (Stolt)
9. Mommy Leave The Light On (Stolt)
10.End On A High Note (Stolt)

The Flower Kings' official web site at:
www.flowerkings.se

Disk 2 (room 222) . . . . . . .63:11
1.Minor Giant Steps (Stolt)
2.Touch My Heaven (Bodin)
3.The Unorthodox Dancinglesson (Stolt)
4.Man Of The World ( Reingold/Stolt/Bodin)
5.Life Will Kill You (Fröberg)
6.The Way The Waters Are Moving (Bodin/Stolt)
7.What If God Is Alone (Reingold/Stolt/Fröberg)
8.Paradox Hotel (Stolt/Bodin)
9.Blue Planet (Stolt)

Line-up: Roine Stolt: guitars,vocals • Tomas Bodin: keyboards,backing vocals • Hans Froberg: vocals,guitar • Jonas Reingold: Bass,acoustic guitar,vocals • Marcus Liliequist: drums,percussion,backing vocals • Hasse Bruniusson: Marimba & assorted percussion
format: Double CD • InsideOut # SPV 48872 DCD release date: March 28 2006

The long-awaited follow-up to 2004's Adam & Eve, Paradox Hotel is a major change in style for the Flower Kings, a bit of a return to the glorious days of of Retropolis, Stardust We Are and Flower Power; enthusiastic symphonic progressive music with exquisite melodies, integrating classical symphonic prog with more contemporary sounds. The result is a phenomenal album, one of their best!

The first disk, entitled Room 111, begins with the eerie Check In which features ground control narrations of a space vehicle launch and concludes with the sounds of ping pong balls, an hommage to The Rhythm Of Life from the Retropolis album. The track that follows is a gorgeous epic, Monsters And Men, beginning with a beautiful, heartwarming intro on the piano, which builds up to a great, catchy melody, majestic music that is very reminiscent of the classic era of Retropolis and Flower Power, the vocal harmonies that Roine and Hasse deliver are simply moving, and although Daniel Glidenlow is a great musician, his absence on this new album is of no consequence to the overall sound, which is actually more exuberant, more "bombastic" as Roine describes it! Mr. Bodin is simply amazing on the grand piano, and his church organ sounds will send shivers down your spine. The 22 min. epic concludes with a grand finale that will simply take your breath away... can't wait to see this one live! Jealousy is a delicate ballad with great lyrics. Hit Me With A Hit is an enthusiastic track with a really catchy jingle and cool percussions... a predestinate name since this track could very well be radio-ready single material. Pioneers Of Aviation sees the main theme of the album reworked into a solemn instrumental intro, picking up the pace into a dynamic number with great synth work from Tomas, a highly rhythmic mid-section with stunning bass riffs from the Jonas! Glorious stuff! Lucy Had A Dream explores Roine's fondness of the Beatles, a very "fab four"-sounding track, sung by Roine, wich concludes on a circus-like atmosphere. Bavarian Skies is an odd little number about a old nazi living his last days at the Paradox Hotel, a nostalgic and slightly sinister composition. Selfconsuming Fire is a catchy track sung by Roine, beginning with a quiet intro on the acoustic guitar, building up to a powerful track with a wicked guitar solo by Roine. Mommy Leave The Light On is a very smooth, melancholic ballad with touching lyrics, the quietest track of the disc. End On A High Note does just that... a joyful track with great vocal harmonies and a brilliant melody.

The second disk, entitled Room 222, begins with Minor Giant Steps, sung by Hasse, an exuberant track, with a toe-tappin' melody, and great, powerful guitar work. Touch my Heaven is a slow-paced, Beatle-ish composition bringing back many themes from previous tracks. Unorthodox Dancinglesson, although written by Roine, is very much Hasse Bruniusson's contribution to this album, a quirky RIO-ish instrumental track chock-full of Hasse's zany percussions and wacky time signatures, ending with a chaotic crescendo of instruments. Man of The World is a rhythmic, captivating track with a cool moog solo and a great melody. Life Will Kill You is in the similar vein as the previous track, and features powerful vocals by Hasse and a charming melody. The Way The Waters Are Moving is a very smooth ballad, very relaxing. What If God Is Alone features grandiose, inspired vocals by Hasse. Then on to the title track of the album, Paradox Hotel is a really catchy, brilliant composition, one of the highlights of the CD, which brings us to the final track, Blue Planet, beginning with a quiet intro that brings back the theme from Monsters and Men in a grandiose, regal way... the last few lines of that track sung by Roine will make you think.

An album with unparalleled continuity, it flows very smoothly from one track to the other, and not one bit of "filler" on any of the two disks. Impeccable production, combined with brilliant compositions and world-class musicianship makes this album one of the best Flower Kings releases, and definitely a contender for best prog album of the year. Unlike A & E, which took me a little time to warm-up to, Paradox Hotel hooked me instantly, it has great, hummable melodies and some of the greatest musical passages ever played by TFK. The album features beautiful, moving vocals by Mr. Fröberg, stunning guitar work from Roine and some of the most majestic keyboard work from Tomas. To say I recommend this disk is an understatement, Paradox Hotel is really what symphonic prog is all about, now go and get the damn thing!

My rating for Paradox Hotel : 9.1/10(album reviewed by Robert Dansereau 16/4/2006)