Artist: THE FLOWER KINGS
Album: INSTANT DELIVERY LTD. EDIT. (2DVD+2CD DIGI)

Year: 2006
Media type: CD

“Welcome To The Paradox Hotel! We want to make your visit as pleasant as possible”, Flower Kings’ Hans Froberg greets the Tilburg audience at the 013 where this concert was filmed last April. He adds, “We want to make you feel at home!” And the Dutch fans gladly accept his invitation. Now with the release of the superb double DVD “Instant Delivery”, fans of the Flower Kings from all over the world can check into the “Paradox Hotel” whenever they like and enjoy the experience.

Those who know the Flower Kings also know that a visit to one of their live shows is never just a flying visit. With their latest double album “Paradox Hotel” providing a lot of new song material in their luggage, the band toured Europe in spring 2006 where they performed for almost three hours each night. The Swedish prog band spent the least amount of time yet recording “Paradox Hotel” live in the studio, and live on stage the material stands up as some of their strongest yet. Despite their vast back catalogue, Roine Stolt & Co. decided to dedicate the lion’s share of the set list to nine songs from the new album.

The new material came across extremely well, as audiences responded enthusiastically to tracks such as the bluesy rock of the title track, the delicate piano ballad “Jealousy” or the aptly named potential hit “Hit Me With A Hit”. Funnily enough, despite being known for their extended compositions (their last DVD “Meet The Flower Kings” consisted almost entirely of tracks running between 15 and 30 minutes in length!) the band completely overlooked the epics from “Paradox Hotel” in favour of the more concise tunes from the album. Some of the band’s older tracks were also shortened this time out. The inclusion of material such as “Love Supreme” (“Adam & Eve” - 2005), “The Truth Will Set You Free” (“Unfold The Future” - 2002) and “I Am The Sun” (“Space Revolver” - 2000) gave the concert more of a rock feel throughout and the band evidently enjoyed playing a longer but more varied set.

“Instant Delivery” offers the viewer the opportunity to take a closer look at each musician during the band’s more elaborate instrumental passages. Hans Froberg is on particularly good form as he rocks out on the left hand side of the stage, the perfect counterpart to the extravagant Master of Ceremonies, Roine Stolt well positioned at stage right. Jonas Reingold, the man in the hat puts in a convincing performance with his fluid bass playing while Tomas Bodin is brilliant as ever conjuring up a plethora of both classic and modern keyboard sounds. The band’s newest addition Marcus Lillequist, plays his relatively small drum kit with a dynamic approach and suits the band well. The music is complemented by the spot on delivery of perfect vocal harmonies, which help to define the band’s sound so well.

The band closed the show with their incredible piece “Stardust We Are” with much bombast, after which the audience checked out with an obvious feeling of euphoria. Fortunately, a return to the “Paradox Hotel” is now always possible with the capture of this magical performance, now released as “Instant Delivery”.

“Instant Delivery” contains the complete four hour Tilburg concert recording on two DVDs. A limited edition deluxe version will also be available and features an audio version of the concert on two CDs as well as a bonus 20 page colour booklet. This version will be limited to 8000 copies.

TRACKLIST:

DVD 1/ CD 1:
1. Paradox Hotel
2. Hit Me With A Hit
3. Last Minute On Eart
4. In The Eyes Of The World
5. Jealousy
6. What If God Is Alone
7. Pioneers Of Aviation
8. Love Supreme
9. The Truth Will Set You Free

DVD 2/ CD 2:
1. Touch My Heaven
2. Mommy Leave The Light On
3. End On A High Note
4. Life Will Kill You
5. I Am The Sun
6. Blade Of Cain
7. A Kings Prayer
8. Stardust We Are

LINE-UP:

Roine Stolt (Guitars, Vocals)
Tomas Bodin (Keyboards, Vocals)
Jonas Reingold (Bass, Guitar, Vocals)
Hans Froberg (Guitars, Vocals, Percussion)
Marcus Liliequist (Drums, Percussion, Vocals)