The Flower Kings: BrimStoned in Europe

Circus Brimstone Live: BrimStoned in Europe (2005)

2005 was another difficult year for The Flower Kings, and a more diffiult one still for TFK fans. There was no new album, but Roine Stolt did release a solo album: the bizarre, blues-inflicted Wall Street Voodoo, an album that divides fans to this day. Tomas Bodin, too, released an album with blues influences: the very ambitious I AM (both these albums featured one Marcus Liliequist on drums; more on him later). But what of the band?

After the Adam & Eve tour, Zoltán Csörsz left The Flower Kings. There are conflicting accounts as to why, but it's clear that the breakup wasn't entirely amicable. Disillusioned, the Hungarian drummer has all but disappeared from the prog scene these days – a real loss, as he is without a doubt the best drummer The Flower Kings (and The Tangent, for that matter) have ever had (he'd be back, very briefly, in 2007, when the band were really desperate).

Roine quickly found a replacement in the very young, very enthousiastic Marcus Liliequist, who honed his art at Los Angeles Music Academy. But, rather than taking him to the studio straight away, Roine first organized a small tour. Previously, the most recent Flower Kings tours had become big and cumbersome affairs, with a seven-man line-up (including Daniel Gildenlöw and Hasse Bruniusson), enormous epics and a huge light show. Wanting to take a break from all that, Roine took The Flower Kings out on a teeny-tiny mini-tour through only a few small venues in Europe.

The line-up was only four musicians; The Flower Kings sans Hasse Fröberg, Hasse Bruniusson and Daniel Gildenlöw, but with Marcus Liliequist. Just Roine, Tomas, Jonas and Marcus playing only instrumental music. No singing. The tour was advertised under the name “Circus Brimstone”, as these supposedly weren't full Flower Kings shows. We know better, of course! In addition to instrumental TFK songs, the band played some material from both Roine and Tomas' solo albums. The tour served as a small fan pleaser as well as a “baptism by fire” for the new drummer.

This rare album is a little souvenir from that tour. You can file this under “collector's item”. I hardly imagine this was the full show: it's just a handful of highlights taken from the tour. It's a fairly short little album. No bells and whistles, just four guys playing a show in a very casual atmosphere. The crowd, for once, is really into it, adding to the live vibe. Sing along if you know the words!

TFK instrumentals, as you know, can be a bit hit or miss with me. Some are fine, well-composed pieces of music while others are just directionless jams. The tunes on this album come in both flavours.

Opening track “The Cosmic Lodge” falls into the former category. Originally from Roine's solo album Hydrophonia, it's basically indestinguishable from a typical early Flower Kings instrumental. It's a great tune with one of those vintage Roine themes. The live version emphasizes the groovy nature of the piece and turns it into an excuse for both Roine and Tomas to give their instruments an extended workout. Compared to the studio version, it's shorter and more on point; it omits some of the tempo changes.

Bassface

“Astral Dog”. I've heard people sing praises of this song and I am honestly at a loss. I find it sleep-inducing. Nothing happens, for a very long time, and then it ends. Sorry, guys. This one is lost on me. This version does lead into a darker, Crimsony section called “Hellhound”. The transition, with thundering bass sounds and rolling drums, has some tension going on, and Reingold and Liliequist have great polyrhtymic interplay. Despite this, I still can't say “Hellhound” ends up being anything particularly great once the novelty wears off. It's still just a jam. Fortunately, we've got some killer tracks on the way.

I was a trifle miffed when the version of “Circus Brimstone”, the song, on Meet The Flower Kings was mostly mired in an extended jazz jam. What a delight, then, to get a straight up live version here (it would be odd not to do it if “Circus Brimstone” is what they named the band). It's everything I wanted it to be: chaotic, dark, complex, energetic and funny. It's the first point where Liliequist really makes an impression as a creative and energetic drummer. Hilarity ensues when Tomas Bodin invites the audience to do the backwards voices with him! It's the undisputed highlight of the disk, and the main reason to seek it out.

edivorp nac oerets taht stifeneb eht fo emos gnissim eb thgim uoy

The other great instrumental from Stardust We Are, “The Man Who Walked With Kings”, is up next, and it, also, is fantastic to hear. This is some of the most beautiful guitar work Stolt has ever done. It's a pretty straightfoward live version.

I love that the formation plays “The Magic Circus of Zeb”, because that was the song the very first Flower Kings lineup usually opened with on the very first Flower Kings tour. It's a faithful reproduction of the piece: it's treated with the respect that such an important part of TFK history deserves. Stolt's guitar solo in the second half remains a special moment.

“Speed Wizard” is a quirky track from Tomas Bodin's An Ordinary Day in my Ordinary Life. Unlike on the last couple of tracks, the band fool around a bit with this one. This is the one where Marcus Liliequist really gets to strut his stuff as a drummer. He's got speed, he's got power, he's got flash, he's a great drummer, and for everone's sake I'm trying not to compare him to Zoltán Csörsz. The bass line does get a little repetitive at the end.

Roine is happy because he doesn't have to sing.

“Retropolis” closes things off, and considering how much I love the original, this one is an immediate disappointment: They only play half the song! They play it quite well, though, with a lot of energy and an almost metal vibe in the climax. It's missing the finer nuances of the heavily layered original, but it really does sound like this is the most noise the four of them can make, so it's as worthy a concert closer as you could hope for. You know, considering it's only half a song.

Circus Brimstone Live: BrimStoned in Europe is by no means essential listening, but should be enjoyed as the little bonus oddity that it is. If you enjoy the instrumental material of TFK – and why shouldn't you – as well as Roine's and Tomas' solo albums, you're probably going to get a kick out of this. It's no Meet The Flower Kings, but it's perfectly good for what it is.

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