Paradox Hotel (2CD)

The Flower Kings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Inside Out U.S.
• ASIN: B000ELL7JS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,606 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Along with Spock's Beard and the mighty Dream Theater, Sweden's The Flower Kings are at the absolute pinnacle of the neo-progressive-rock food chain. One of the best loved and most prolific bands in the scene today, The Flower Kings are poised to once again reaffirm their place on the throne as Prog's reigning monarchs. Paradox Hotel is the ninth studio installment in The Flower Kings regal repertoire. Influenced directly by founding fathers of Prog such as Genesis and Yes, The Flower Kings add their own fingerprints to a sound that is as melodic as it is challenging. Not only do they possess nearly inhuman, stop-on-a-dime chops, but they can breakdown into a groove that would make any self-respecting jam band green with envy. Look for The Flower Kings to once again tour the U.S. in support of this release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, most complete album the Flower Kings have ever done., April 10, 2006

By 

Squire Jaco (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paradox Hotel (2CD) (Audio CD)

Well, the Flower Kings have been my favorite band for about 7 years now, yet I've never felt that they produced a solid 5-star cd before this one. Over the years, they've successfully integrated 70's-style prog along with the occasional jazz fusion sequence, original and interesting compositions and arrangements, catchy refrains - and it's all been done with some of the best musicians in all of rock. "Paradox Hotel" showcases their talents like no other recording before it....and it undoubtedly deserves 5 stars!

This is perhaps their most Yessy-sounding cd; and with harmonies and lyrics that frequently intone "heaven", "God" and even the word "roundabout", the Yes comparisons are pretty hard to ignore. (See "Hit Me With a Hit", "Minor Giant Steps", "Man of the World", and the last 3 minutes of "End on a High Note" in particular.) Not as much of the ELP or Crimson sound this time around. In fact, if anything there's a little more "pop" bent to this cd....but don't read that as "commercial". I mean, this IS the Flower Kings, so you still get a good dose of odd meters, polyphony, complex arrangements and clever ideas.

This is just a very even album for them, with more songs in the shorter range (that is, 5 or 6 minutes!), and they just flow together and transition effortlessly. The introspective and compassionate lyrics continue to augment the great melodies. Every song is unique and well-crafted. I echo everyone else: "How do they do it year after year?"

Perhaps what struck me most on this cd is how much they sound like a BAND - not just a bunch of virtuosos from Sweden pieced together to play Stolt's music. And virtuosos they are! Jonas Reingold is still my favorite bass player these days, alternating between thick Rickenbacker and gentle fretless bass. Tomas Bodin showcases the grand piano much more on this album, but there's also plenty of organ, mellotron, and other assorted synths and sound effects. He is GREAT on this cd, and (again) probably my favorite keyboard player since Tony Banks. And Roine Stolt is simply incomparable: inventive solos and riffs, clever modulations, and sweet sounding slides - check out his slide guitar on the 21-minute album opener "Monsters and Men". Sublime. Roine Stolt is a musical genius, and clearly in a class by himself.

New drummer Marcus Liliequist is excellent as well; perhaps not quite as jazzy as former TFK stickman Zoltan Czorsz, but he nimbly leads the group through the 4-3-4-2 time changes on "Unorthodox Dancing Lesson", and sounds perfect for the classic Flower Kings sound. And Hasse Froberg is in great voice on this cd, writes one excellent song himself, and fills in with lots of cool rhythm guitar.

I've seen others compare this album favorably to Stardust We Are and Flower Power. But I sense that Stolt and company tried to touch on themes or sounds that conjure up almost ALL of the TFK back catalog: e.g., ping-pong balls (Retropolis); monsters (Space Revolver, Adam & Eve); the troubled woman ("Elaine" from Rainmaker), underdogs, freedom, dancing, and so on. The album begins and ends with some mission control sound clips from around 1970, perhaps to establish the "hotel as microcosm of Earth" metaphor? And you can still hear the mischievous Scandinavian gnome laughing in various spots throughout the album (a TFK staple). The only thing I kind of miss is the sax playing that Ulf Wallander used to do on the earlier TFK cds. But other than that, this is pure prog heaven courtesy of the Flower Kings.

HIGHLY, Highly, highly recommended.

Paradox Hotel: Check in....and check it out.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 9.1/10; Performance = 9.5/10; Production = 9.5/10; CD length = 10/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.4 ("5 stars")

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another five star release, April 6, 2006

By 

Jason Bachand (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paradox Hotel (2CD) (Audio CD)

Ten years into their recording career and nine albums down, the Flower Kings show no signs of getting stale. "Paradox Hotel" is a concept album detailing the motley occupants of a crowded hotel, a metaphor for the diversity of humankind, our potential for great good and great evil.

Songwriter/guitarist Roine Stolt has tweaked with the usual Flower Kings formula a little bit here, but never fear - the results are fantastic. The epic length compositions take the back burner in favor or shorter, riff driven songs, each describing a character in the hotel. Yet none of the complex melodies or beats are sacrificed, and good musicianship is still center stage. New drummer Marcus Lilquist performs admirably in the rhythm section, and the rest of the band turns in A+ performances.

"Paradox Hotel" has a slightly more melancholy feel to it than previous Flower Kings efforts, especially on tracks like "Bavarian Skies" or "Lucy Had a Dream." Nevertheless, the introspective lyrics don't fall into pretentiousness as concept albums often do. Fans of the band will be pleased while newcomers - and this reviewer hopes there will be many - will get a good introduction to this vastly underecognized band.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, April 5, 2006

By 

Lars "Prog Ears" (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paradox Hotel (2CD) (Audio CD)

After having seen the Flower Kings twice within the past year, I was eagerly awaiting the new album Paradox Hotel. In my opinion, this album is as good as anything they've ever done. The music is melodic, challenging, interesting and leaves plenty of space for melodies and themes to develop. Sometimes I think that a good number of very proficient bands forget that if there is to be light, there has to be dark. If there is turmoil, there must be serenity. If there is to be a display of blistering chops, there must be space to offset them. The Flower Kings figured this out long ago. This album is as good as it gets in the symphonic progressive vein. It is true craft. I'm not sure, but it seems to me to be a good point of reference for someone exploring the Flower Kings for the first time.