Rating: Summary: Flower Kings Live--almost! Review: Okay, the Flower Kings are perhaps the greatest progressive rock band around today, and I may go as far to state that they would rank in the top ten of all time prog rock bands. Their first Live album was a choppy selection of tracks from two tours. Here we have a complete performance from the Unfold The Future tour. Now...is it really a performance?
Well, the band do perform live, but it's more of an in-studio performance, in front of about 100 people who apparently were told to remain quiet throughout the show. It takes away from the LIVE feel, the energy of a concert. It IS amazing to watch this band play....the talent of each of the members is outstanding! Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, and Hasse Froberg are all incredible musicians. The bassist and drummer (ZOLTAN!) are no slouches either! But, there is a lack of energy without a crowd to interact with.
Despite this one small flaw, the songs are a spectacle to behold. The Truth Will Set You Free, all 30 minutes of it, is a bit heavier than its studio likeness, and the 50 minute Garden Of Dreams trades in some the studio versions' lighter moments for some heavy-duty jams. Wonderful! We have the rare performance of Humanizzimo, as well as the complete 25 minute performance of Stardust We Are, amongst 3 other tracks, all in the 15-20 minute range. It's a long show, and fun to watch if you dig this kind of intricate music.
The extras are bland at best, and are interspersed between the songs. You'll find yourself passing them over to get to the next song. Oddly, although the sing in English, all the chatter from the studio sessions and the home movies is in the Swedish language. It's not very interesting.
All in all, the nearly 3 hours of live music is worth the investment, and I'd even get the CD's too. It's understood that there are obvious overdubs here, but I didn't notice them at all. A must for Flower King and Prog fans alike!
Rating: Summary: prix Review: passé une commande janvier 04 ,flower kings et transatlantic.pour flower k. payé 37dollars .maintenantle prix est 56 dollars.quelle est la raison
Rating: Summary: Not bad, not great Review: The music, performances, and sound quality are superb on this DVD. I agree with another viewer in that the 'behind the scenes' pales in comparison to the music and doesn't quite work in with the DVD. The live performances have been studio enhanced, so the quality is outstanding, but not exactly live. In my opinion I was dissapointed with the song selections and DVD layout. The DVD features some of the bands epic pieces (Garden of Dreams, The Truth Will Set You Free, Stardust We are)devoting most of the time to these pieces. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I would rather they removed the 'behind the scenes' stuff and added other cuts. What about 'Serious Dreamers', 'Last Minute on Earth', 'I Am the Sun', 'Church of Your Heart', etc.???? This is a 2 disc DVD and only 6 songs!!! I agree with a previous viewer in that the Flower Kings are somewhat unanimated on stage Despite the weaknesses, the music is awesome......which is really most important, even on a DVD. The performance of 'Stardust We Are' is amazing!!!!
Rating: Summary: Good intro and good for fans, too. Review: This DVD, recorded in front of a studio audience, offers a decent crossection of the Flower Kings more epic compositions. The bonus here is that the songs are performed by the current and best lineup of the band. "The Garden of Dreams" especially receives a definitive performance on the DVD which is miles beyond the lackluster original recording. My only complaint regards the choice of camera shots which seem to short-change keyboardist Tomas Bodin even during his solos. Recommended particularly for fans who have not had the pleasure of seeing them perform live.
Rating: Summary: An Interesting Yawn Review: This is basically a must for those of us that are never likely to be able to see the FK's live. It's a 'live in the studio/theatre' recording, so the sound is excellent and there's minimal crowd noise. Song selection is good, but would've been good to get a couple of shorter songs on there to mix it up. I thought Garden of dreams was a good choice (even if it's a bit flat for the solos and "All you can save" (no vocals?)). Voice/guitar/sticks for hire, Daniel Gildenlow, adds depth to the backing vox and adds a spark here and there. The on the road bits aren' too bad, they break up the half hour long songs and give you time to get other things done! The interpretive dancers on the other hand... The cd/audio performance sounds great and it's only once you see them that they look a tad disinterested, I guess you do have to concentrate when playing their stuff, but I can't help but think that if they 'got into it' more, the music would come alive!
Rating: Summary: well... Review: Totally agree with a previous reviewer... Behind the scenes are just crap... Would've been great to hear/see Church Of Your Heart, Retropolis, Judas Kiss, Rumble Fish Twist(ok, the list is long)..... Garden Of Dreams is by my opinion, the least interresting material TFK have ever released.... It's ok. Not bad, but not good/great.
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