4 1/2 Stars
First, I am sure you noticed, this dog usually gets his
capital letters in the right places. However, those young pups from flow
do not like to use capital letters in their name and CD titles, and who am
I to argue? After all, the Beatles couldn’t spell. flow’s second album
in their trilogy (seeds, roots, and flowers), roots comes two years after
the first album and confirms flow as one of Thailand’s leading rock
bands, although only Mit Witchitwatee was born in Thailand; the rest of
the band has made Thailand their home.
In all departments of their trade, flow has come on in
leaps and bounds. Out the front, when flow takes to the live stage, is
Rick Montembeault. As well as being the sole songwriter in the band, he
also possesses one of the most unique and emotive voices in Rock ‘n’
Roll. Rick’s collection of songs flow beautifully throughout the album.
Opening with the introductory ‘flow river flow’, which builds from a
quiet beginning allowing each member of the band to slowly integrate
themselves into the song. Straight away it is thrust into your ears. The
regular gigs all over Thailand have made the band tighter and their
confidence is infectious.
The rhythm section of Peter Fleischhaker with Mit
Witchitwatee fair punch each song, Peter playing his bass guitar in the
more modern style, like a lead instrument, rather than traditionally as a
rhythm instrument to underpin the song (especially on the rocky ‘easier
to be gone’). Mit Witchitwatee’s drumming is also pushed right to the
front of the mix. If his funky drumming was a feature of seeds, then he
excels himself on roots, cementing his place as Thailand’s drummer’s
drummer.
On lead guitar and star of the live set is the man with
more nicknames than he can remember, Roland Fleischhacker, a.k.a. ‘The
Character’, or to most of his friends ‘Breez’. Breez’s (see, Mott
the Dog’s a friend) guitar playing throughout is exemplary and is the
only lead guitarist that flow could ever have, as he manages to play in
all the different styles that Rick Montembeault’s songs demand. You are
never going to get bored listening to a flow album. Even through this one
Breez’s playing leaves you in no doubt that you are listening to a
collection of flow songs. One of my small gripes about this set is that
Breez is only once allowed to blow up into a hurricane with his axe
playing (during ‘hey old man’). For two and a half minutes Breez rips
through his strings bringing the song to a roaring climax. I hope on the
final piece of the trilogy Breez is given a little more rope to let it all
hang out. It certainly would add so much more excitement to proceedings.
Unfortunately third song in ‘non-song’ is exactly
as the title suggests, and perhaps could of been left on the cutting room
floor. It sounds a bit like an outtake from seventies spoof band Alberto Y
Los Trios Paranois, thereby incurring the loss of half a star. But this is
more than made up for by what follows in ‘the money song’, ‘then
there’s me’ and the amazing ‘wooden indian’. They are the central
songs of the set and are by far the best songs ever to come from the pen
of Rick Montembeault. If you had to pick one song it would have to be
‘wooden indian’ with its Led Zeppelin influences flying high. Hey,
everybody has influences; best to get them from the top. ‘wooden indian’
is a tribute to native North Americans. It is hard to think of a better
crafted song in the world of rock music and is worth the price of the CD
on its own.
To add to the splendor the talents of ‘Life After
Nine’ (whose debut album ‘Stomp’ is a must for any lover of good
time music) violinist Steve Cipolline have been used on the song, giving
flow’s sound a whole new dimension. Showing complete unity with
Thailand’s musicians, the multi-talented keyboard player Keith Nolan of
‘Cannonball’ has also gainfully been employed. Now there is an idea,
next time flow graces Pattaya or Chang Mai with a concert, perhaps they
could bring these two with them. Now that would be something to behold.
‘the money song’ is not only a very fine rocker,
it’s also very funny to boot. The glee in Rick Montembeault’s vocals
as he sings:
“Money makes the world go round, But why?
It can’t buy happiness, But it’s fun to try,
And you can’t take it with you when you die,
In the end only cockroaches, Keith Richards, and money will survive,
Money is evil, And I should know because I’m poor,
Money is evil, But I’ll need more to be sure.”
Great stuff, Doubloons indeed. Music to tap your foot
to and put a smile on your face. Final song ‘the wheel keeps turning’
brings the whole set to a rousing conclusion.
The album comes in a gatefold digi-pack with a separate
booklet with lots of photos, all the lyrics and as much information as you
are likely to need on the band, all designed by long time flow stalwart
Richard Wilson. All in all a very nice package. I look forward to the
final chapter of the trilogy - flowers. As flow say, roots - dig in and
dig it.
Ed’s Note: flow have booked to play Shenanigans
Pattaya on Thursday October 2. Be there, aloha.
The
book, the Bones of Contention sports the subheading on the cover - The
Fossil that Shook Science (ISBN 0-7195-6059-4) and is written by Paul
Chambers and published in paperback this year.
These
adventure / sci-fi movies are my favourites, as they have great special
effects. A lot like the Matrix, this movie continues on a feud, this one
being ‘The Howling VI vs The Freaks’. There are vampires, werewolves
and all manner of freaky characters that have been fighting each other for
centuries.
Mott’s CD review: flow - roots
by Mott the Dog