For more than a decade Sweden's now legendary progressive rock giants, The Flower Kings have dominated the new worldwide Prog revival. Originally drawing from obvious influences such as Yes and Genesis, the Flower Kings ha... more »ve evolved into a seasoned and mature band who's sound is now as recognizable as that of their mentors. A sound that has come to be adored by fans and press alike. Over the years The Flower Kings have experimented with various approaches to their writing, arrangements and instrumentation, but The Sum Of No Evil represents something of a return to their roots and traditions. The result: This is The Flower Kings at their best - melodic and timeless progressive rock played by masters of their instruments.
The bonus disc on the Special Edition contains four additional tracks as well as a making of The Sum Of No Evil .« less
For more than a decade Sweden's now legendary progressive rock giants, The Flower Kings have dominated the new worldwide Prog revival. Originally drawing from obvious influences such as Yes and Genesis, the Flower Kings have evolved into a seasoned and mature band who's sound is now as recognizable as that of their mentors. A sound that has come to be adored by fans and press alike. Over the years The Flower Kings have experimented with various approaches to their writing, arrangements and instrumentation, but The Sum Of No Evil represents something of a return to their roots and traditions. The result: This is The Flower Kings at their best - melodic and timeless progressive rock played by masters of their instruments.
The bonus disc on the Special Edition contains four additional tracks as well as a making of The Sum Of No Evil .
CD Reviews
The Sum Of No Evil
A. Schultz | New York | 09/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Flower Kings have returned, once again, with a magnificent album full of spiraling notes and intricate details. In a return to the earlier roots of the band, this album can described as following in the grand tradition of Stardust We Are and Retropolis, but it also hails many of the virtuoso qualities found on Unfold The Future. This is largely due to the presense of the percussion great Zoltan Csorz combined with bassist extrordinaire, Jonas Reingold. There is no denying that this "powerpack in the back" is a force to be reckoned with! Add to the mix the talents of Hasse Froberg on vocals and guitar, and the genius of guitar master/composer, Roine Stolt and his partner in crime, Tomas Bodin on keyboards, and you have sheer musical brilliance!
Although the band has stated that the Sum Of No Evil is a return to the bands roots of Symphonic Prog, Jazz enthusiasts will be delighted to know that there are still some of the offbeat improvisational pieces, like Flight 999 Brimstone Air, that are still invovative and seriously fun!
The album begins with an epic, One More Time, which is a musical whirlwind in the grand tradtion of The Truth Will Let You Free. It leads into another grand epic, Love Is The Only Answer, which has a chorus that harkens back to Stardust We Are -- Close to divine, it is! Trading my Soul is a retrospective with brilliant guitar work by Master Stolt. The Sum Of No Reason is a summation of all that came before in the grand TFK style and tradition. The Jazzy Brimstone Air is followed by Life In Motion which is full of all the love that was put into this album. Yes, the Sum Of No Evil does equal LOVE, and there is no shortage of heart on this record!
As for the bonus Disc: Please note, The videos will NOT automatically play when you load the CD into your computer. You will have to "Look" for the file containing the videos. On a PC, go to "My Computer" and double click on the CD's icon, then chose the option to view the files of the CD and it will show the icons for the two Quicktime videos. The videos are Quicktime 7. Please go to Quicktime(dot)com to download the lastest edition of the player so that you may watch them on your computer.
The two videos were recorded by the band's long time friend, Per Nordin, and were edited by Roine Stolt himself. They are rare glimpses inside the studio workings of the band. Zoltan enthusiasts will be thrilled to witness his extraordinary talent as he skillfully plays the drums and makes it look oh so easy! The fly on the wall snippets are a fun addition, available only on the Limited Edition. There are also three bonus tracks on the Limited set as well. All three songs clock in at around 5-6 minutes each, but are pure nuggets of gold and are well worth the extra ducats.
This recording will mostly be hailed as perhaps one of the finest albums ever made by the Flower Kings. But time will only tell as these fellows seem to still have lots of music left in them!!!"
The Sum Of The Best
Russ Bellinger | Bradenton, Florida USA | 10/05/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Flower Kings have created another beautiful piece of work. This time they come across being a bit more serious and to the point than the last couple of efforts although each previous effort supports its own powerful moments of enlightenment (What If God Is Alone etc.). This newest effort finds them putting together a more fluid whole from track to track. I have to disagree with one of the previous reviewers who stated how this gets boring. I have really enjoyed listening to each song and was never bored for a second. Actually "The Sum Of No Evil" seems more like an entire musical piece than several separate songs. It is highly enjoyable, interesting and spiritually satisfying. I am still amazed at Roine Stolts musical output that (thankfully) seems to be never ending. I have heard that he also has another solo effort that is to follow this one!"
Back To Basics and Utopian Yearnings
Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 12/07/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"No one can say that The Flower Kings are not comprised of a bunch of musical polymaths. And no one can accuse the chief Flower King himself of flip-flopping on his long love affair with utopian idealism. Leader Roine Stolt could be called "the last hippie" for his social values and his personal style both of which are certainly reflected in his songwriting. The issue of The Sum of No Evil finds The Flower Kings veering from their recent experimental path and going back to the basics that brought them to prominence in the first place.
Some reviewers say that this CD is just a reincarnation of some of the band's previous albums, albeit with some modifications. And there is some truth in that. You have the long, meandering tunes that give each musician a chance to shine and lyrically you have all the utopian yearnings that characterize not just the band's earlier work but also much of leader Roine Stolt's solo efforts. Thus TFK seem to be playing it safe this time.
So why get the album? Well, these are a bunch of seasoned and highly skilled musicians who have worked well together for a long time, so among that which seems familiar there are always more than a few surprises. When you include the worthwhile bonus disc, you get about an hour and a half's worth of very enjoyable music that for me seems to sound better each time around. Then there is the handsome booklet with lyrics and pictures of the band that add value and enjoyment. As for the bonus video, I don't know if it works as I have not yet tried mine.
Though I like the entire album to varying degrees, my favorite cuts are the epic Love Is The Only Answer and the Tomas Bodin composition Flight 999 Brimstone Air. Turn the Stone, which is featured on the bonus disc, is a fine song that would not have been out of place on Roine Stolt's solo Wall Street Voodoo. Regal Divers, which closes the bonus disc, is interesting precisely because it is so unlike what TFK usually play.
Though I have deducted a star for lack of anything really new, I still highly recommend the Limited Edition of The Sum of No Evil to anyone who enjoys quality progressive rock. You won't go wrong adding this one to your music library!
"
Equals Love
A. Schultz | 11/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I found out about the Flower Kings through Transatlantic. I already knew of Dream Theater, and came to Spock's Beard after that. And so, inevitably, I came to the Flower Kings, vintage masters of modern symphonic prog. This may be a bad thing, but whenever I discover a new band, I check out their most recent work first. While this was bad with Dream Theater, as I was unimpressed by Systematic Chaos, and kind of bad with Spock's Beard since with Neal they were a lot better, with Flower Kings it was a good thing, because this really is a great album.
The album opens with "One More Time", which is said to be too much of a throwback to old times, but being a newcomer I don't know what old times are. This song, to me, is a good opening symphonic prog song with great keyboards. Next up is "Love Is The Only Answer", a sprawling epic punctuated, interestingly enough, by saxophone. I find epics such as "The Light", "The Great Nothing", or "Octavarium" to be more cohesive and interesting, but it is what it is. The song "Trading My Soul" comes next, and while at first I found it boring, it really is one of the highlights of this album, with an excellent guitar solo and an overall bluesy feel. "The Sum of No Reason" is even more of a sprawl than "Love Is The Only Answer," despite being half its length. It feels disjointed, with next to no cohesiveness, yet it is one of the best tracks, with thought-provoking lyrics and great keyboard and guitar, and it also has the best vocals on the album. I didn't really know what to make of "Flight 999" the first time I heard it. I mean, it opens with a rooster? However, this instrumental is really quite fun, with a very bizarre, yet awesome drum solo. The album ends with "Life In Motion," and I am inclined to think it is the best song on this album. It is immensely catchy, with a great vintage prog feeling and a spectaluar finale.
Now, older fans may scoff at this review as it is coming from the very first experience of The Flower Kings ever, but I encourage you to switch perspectives when reading this review. Out of all their albums, this seemed to be the shortest and easiest to digest (I mean, they have four freaking double albums full of filler!). It sounds a lot like Genesis, Yes, with a dash of ELP, and of course littered with their own cool sound effects and proginess. Good stuff."
Progressive with a capital P
J. hanson | California | 12/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"They're back, baby, they're back. I'd lost a slice of faith after their last release, "Paradox Hotel," whose shorter, safer tunes never ignited for me. After discovering the FKs a couple of years ago, my prog-rock spirit was reborn. I grew up as a young guitarist in the 70s on a steady diet of Yes (my fav), Crimson, Gabriel-Genesis, ELP, Tull, etc.... and suddenly, at long last, here was a band that not only carried the torch but actually added something fresh to it. Something original. I've since picked up and really enjoyed, more or less, every FKs' album until "Paradox" left me wanting.
And now they're back in top form with their latest, "Sum of No Evil." If you preferred "Close to the Edge" to "ABACAB," then this flavor of FKs should suit you. Of course, as with all the best symphonic prog-rock, repeated listenings are absolutely required before things even begin to fall into place. Very progressive stuff this time around, a return to their best rhythm section, and a well produced recording. The same old FKs? In a way, yes, much like "Awaken" was the same old Yes. For me, the clarity of vision and consistency of style, in particular, make this release one of the FKs' finest to date.
A recording like "Sum" would have placed the FKs squarely in the elite prog-pack in the 70s; in today's barren landscape, it earns them the crown. Highly recommended for lovers of this genre.
P.S. to any other guitar hounds out there... Roine Stolt is at the top of his guitar game here. One case in point: the final 5 minutes of this disk feature a stunning grand climax, with soaring pick and slide, that's reminiscent of the great Yes masterpieces. Steve Howe, especially, should be smiling at such an obvious tribute so tastefully done."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1