Alive On Planet Earth

Album Review

Alive on Planet Earth is the first live album from one of the most popular progressive rock acts of the 1990s: the Flower Kings. Disc one was recorded in September 1998 in Chapel Hill, NC, and Quebec City, Quebec (Canada); disc two presents excerpts of shows in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan) in March 1999. Both tours were supporting the release of Stardust We Are and the music is taken from every record of the band up to and including that one. The album opens with the positive anthem "There Is More to This World" from Retropolis; another song from Retropolis, "The Judas Kiss," is later given an extended treatment approaching 16 minutes in length. Three tracks from the two-CD set Stardust We Are are also delivered: "Church of Your Heart," "Stardust We Are" (the last ten minutes), and a very powerful rendition of "In the Eyes of the World," one of the highlights of this live set. Another strong moment is the complex "Big Puzzle," representing Back in the World of Adventures, while "The Flower King," a usual show-closer, arches back to the band's first album. Keyboardist Tomas Bodin has his moment to shine on "Three Stories" (from his solo album). Fans will mainly be interested in the band's heretofore unrecorded version of Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." Sadly, the Flower Kings' live show didn't include material from guitarist Roine Stolt's beautiful solo CD Hydrophonia but, this point aside, Alive on Planet Earth is a very satisfying live album. Fans of the band won't find much new material here, but the feeling of the Flower Kings' energetic and emotional show is nicely conveyed by this set. The sound quality is very good and the album is packaged with beautiful artwork. ~ François Couture, Rovi