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Rating: What better occasion to review the Flower Kings than the one provided by themselves with the announcement of a new album? Indeed, it seems that after five years of stubborn silence, Roine Stolt and company will be back in a couple of months.
And so here we are, setting aside details about the upcoming album, choosing to pause where the story almost left off. That is with "Paradox Hotel," the ninth and penultimate release from Sweden's prog giants, as well as their fourth and last double album of their career. At least up to now.
I know associating the terms Flower Kings and Double Album may cause many of you to experience repeated kidney colic or bouts of exasperation. How many of you have had your patience shattered, perhaps without grasping the incredible beauty, by Stardust We Are? Or Flower Power and Space Revolver? Not to mention single albums like Adam and Eve or the Sum Of No Evil which, leaving aside some tracks, were genuine duds.
Very well, know that despite the traditional absurd length - here 136 minutes - "Paradox Hotel" takes home, along with the Rainmaker, the award for the Swedes' simplest and most digestible creation. The indispensable dreamy flavor and the eternal revival of the seventies are here stripped away, or almost, of jazzist and elitist elements. Therefore, despite several instrumental digressions, the compositions are much easier to enjoy. Even the instrumental ones with keyboards in the forefront like The Unorthodox Dancinglesson turn out to be quite simple, at least if you compare them to Circus Brimstore.
To avoid inconvenience, Stolt decides to place the usual twenty-minute suite at the opening of the first disc, lest the journey be too light for the listener. Setting aside irony, "Paradox Hotel" is an album of excellent songs, often genuine songs, like Lucy Had A Dream (slightly Beatles-like), Man In The World, or the King Krimson revival of the title track. But also the aforementioned Monsters and Men (duration 21.21) and especially the wonderful Minor Giant Steps (duration 12.12, coincidence?) go down as an authentic pleasure.
Not everything is perfect, because for instance Bavarian Skyes can be discarded without too many regrets, but overall the pointless moments of this work are really few. And it’s normal that in two and a half hours of music there are some. "Paradox" therefore occupies, in the discography of the flower kings, the place that Octavarium occupies in the discography of Dream Theater, which is the simplest and most immediate album, but not less charming for this.
As usual, the advice with such an album is this. Find a suitable time to tackle the marathon for the first time, completely isolating yourself from the world to avoid hitting the pause button. Then, metabolize its two parts separately, one and then the other, according to your preferences.
And an additional tip, if you are not familiar with this band, start here!
8.0
Tracklist and Lyrics
04 Hit Me With a Hit (05:32)
If you really wanted to
You could write a hit
You could cut the corners
And you could make things fit
Are you really ready to believe it?
Are you really taking my advice?
Do you have a mission, can you see it?
Do you really feel that you are alright?
And soon you'll dine with presidents
And soon your name will get that nicer ring
You'll be the one familiar face
In hollow echoes from a world you sing
We don't want no bloody poem
We don't want your second thoughts
Don't you think you overdo it?
Have you heard that less is more?
Are you really ready to believe it?
Are you really taking my advice?
Do you have a mission, can you see it?
Do you really feel that you are alright?
And soon you'll dine with presidents
And soon your name will get that nicer ring
You'll be the one familiar face
In hollow echoes from a world you sing
You don't have to fight for regocnition
You don't have to sweat to get the gold
You just have to shake those two and listen
You just have to do what you are told
Are you really ready to believe it?
Are you really taking my advice?
Do you have a mission, can you see it?
Do you really feel that you are alright?
And soon you'll dine with presidents
And soon your name will get that nicer ring
You'll be the one familiar face
In hollow echoes from a world you sing
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