Flower Kings, The - Adam & Eve

Year of Release: 2004
Label: InsideOut Music
Catalog Number: IOMCD 174/SPV 085-60892
Format: CD
Total Time: 76:33:00

Over the years the Flower Kings have created a sound of their own. Especially the unique guitar sound of Roine Stolt, augmented with vocal harmonies, can be seen as kind of a trademark. Then when Jonas Reingold and Zoltan Cs?rz stepped in, the band also introduced a fair amount of jazz inclinations. With Adam & Eve the band introduces yet another change in the line-up, as from now on Pain of Salvation leader Daniel Gildenl?w can call himself a permanent member of the band. No doubt Daniel's guest spot on the European leg of the Transatlantic tour opened up Roine's eyes for future evolutions within his own band. So with Daniel on board, the band now has three singers available which in turn introduces a nice variety to the whole.

After listening closely, Adam & Eve doesn't incorporate those jazzy sidesteps the same way it's predecessors did. This time around, the sound is once again more symphonic. Starting a brand new album with the longest epic on the album surely is a daring experience, as normally an album starts with an "in-your-face" song that is short but powerful. Here "Love Supreme" builds and builds, delivering layer after layer of ingenious composing and outstanding musicianship, containing a great amount of Yes influences but still being original enough to wear the Flower Kings label with pride. Talking of Yes, to my ears "Cosmic Circus" sounds like the Flower Kings' very own "Circus Of Heaven," as can be found on Yes' Tormato album. Being a three minute song with a very catchy melody (one that you can easily whistle along to), "Cosmic Circus" most certainly contains enough elements to make it to daytime radio. Now if only money wouldn't play such a huge role in deciding which songs get airplay and which don't, I'm convinced we'd hear a lot of Flower Kings on the radio!

The strong opening section of the short instrumental "Babylon" makes me think of Genesis with Roine's guitar sound leaning heavily towards authentic Steve Hackett. I also like the musical box sound which ends this interlude. I could've sworn "A Vampires View" had something to do with Jonas Reingold, as it's kind of wacky in the beginning, including some great fretless bass by Jonas. But then the atmosphere changes with Daniel Gildenl?w briefly introducing his Robert Plant impression. Towards the end, the song fuses into a pure waltz with the Bodin penned "Days Gone By." I already mentioned the name Robert Plant, well the title track "Adam & Eve" probably is the most Zeppelin-esque track ever written by the Flower Kings. This sounds like the little brother of "Kashmir," and knowing Daniel Gildenl?w fronted a Zeppelin cover band, also featuring Mike Portnoy, this is an ideal track for his vocal range. It also gives Jonas the space to (briefly) go over the top (finally!). Also "Timelines" sounds rather heavy before an acoustic guitar introduces a change of atmosphere. Here Roine impresses everyone with his wonderful laidback bluesy guitar solo, which when combined with Bodin's organ, simply sounds divine. The backing vocals slightly remind us of the best Pink Floyd turning this in yet another surprise from the golden Flower Kings book with tons of percussive details completing it all.

"Drivers Seat" is another epic, kicking off with a rather strong recognizable melody. Again some splendid keyboard work courtesy of Tomas Bodin, who at one point in this lengthy composition even introduces some psychedelic elements. The album closes with "The Ballad Of Cain," which once again harbours some stunning guitar work. So all in all Adam & Eve surely is not a bad album, but for my personal taste it harks too much to the Retropolis period, leaving behind the experimental nature of Unfold The Future and The Rainmaker, which to my ears fare much better, especially when you see the individual talent that is available. With Adam & Eve, the sound is more that of a band rather than giving space to the individual players to excel in their own right, and knowing what fireworks they can deliver Adam & Eve is not the kind of album I was expecting.

Tracklisting:
Love Supreme (19:50) / Cosmic Circus (3:00) / Babylon (2:41) / A Vampires View (8:50) / Days Gone By (1:10) / Adam & Eve (7:50) / Starlight Man (3:30) / Timelines (7:40) / Drivers Seat (18:22) / The Blade Of Cain (5:00)

Musicians:
Roine Stolt - vocals, guitars
Hasse Fröberg - guitars, vocals
Jonas Reingold - bass, bass pedals
Zoltan Csörsz - drums
Tomas Bodin - keyboards

Guest Musicians:

Hasse Bruniusson - percussion and voices
Daniel Gildenlöw - guitars, voice, keys and percussion

Discography:
Roine Stolt - The Flower King (1994/2001/2004)
Back In The World Of Adventures (1995)
Retropolis (1996)
Stardust We Are (1997/2000)
Scanning The Greenhouse (comp) (1998)
Edition Limitée Quebec (1998) (only 700 copies!)
Flower Power (1999)
TFK fanclub disc (2000) (free CD exclusive to fanclub members only)
Alive On Planet Earth (2000)
Space Revolver (2000)
Space Revolver Special Edition (2CD set) (2000)
The Rainmaker (2001)
The Rainmaker - Special Edition (2001)
Unfold The Future (2002)
Live In New York: Official Bootleg (2002)
Fan Club CD 2002 (2002)
Fan Club CD 2004 (2004)
Adam & Eve (2004)
BetchaWannaDanceStoopid (2004)
Harvest (fan club CD) (2005)
Paradox Hotel (2006)
The Road Back Home (2007)
The Sum Of No Evil (2007)
The Sum Of No Evil (Special Edition) (2007)
Banks Of Eden (2012)
Roine Stolt's The Flower King - Manifesto Of An Alchemist (2018)
Waiting For Miracles (2019)

Meet The Flower Kings - Live Recording (DVD) (2003)
Instant Delivery (DVD) (2006)
Instant Delivery - Limited Edition (2CD/2DVD) (2006)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin SE

Added: September 5th 2004
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.roinestolt.com
Hits: 2612
Language: english