Flashback (album)

Flashback was recorded and released about three years after the release of the previous album Who Is Jo King? . During this time, the group experienced a second change in composition: in the fall of 2014, guitarist Gabriel Holtz, who left the group in 2007, announced his return ^[3] . At the beginning of 2015, keyboardist Torsten Kiefer joined the band ^[4] . In the early summer of that year, Klaus Müller, who played drums, left Fool's Garden. ^[3] Leaving the group, Muller continued his solo work ^[5] . Ian His was invited to replace him ^[6] .

In 2015, Fool's Garden, not only for the first time since their education, presented themselves as a team of six members, but also discovered new horizons ^[7] . For the third season of the Formula 1 music show, broadcast by RTL , which was released under the motto “90s,” the group performed ten cover versions of songs that achieved success on the charts, in a unique style familiar to them ^[7] . For ten consecutive weeks, Fool's Garden performed each song under the direction of presenter Peter Illman ^[7] .

This album differs from all previous albums of the group in terms of the fact that this release is a collection consisting of cover versions of famous hits of the nineties. Among the musicians whose songs Fool's Garden recorded covers are worth noting Depeche Mode , Backstreet Boys , Bruce Springsteen , Madonna , Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , Duran Duran , Joan Osbourne , No Doubt and Annie Lennox ^[2] . However, all these songs were recorded in the usual Fool's Garden style ^[2] .

“Honestly, initially we were skeptical about this idea, since we were not really a cover band and never wanted to be one. On the other hand, our greatest successes were in the 90s. In addition, the record company and RTL gave us complete freedom to arrange the songs as we would like, and, in turn, we were pleased with this. We have always been very outcasts and sought experimentation. The result speaks for itself, today we are more than happy that we recorded this album. ”

Original text

Honestly, at the beginning we were skeptical about the idea because we actually are no cover band and also do not want to be. On the other hand we had our really big time in the '90s. Besides, the record company and RTL gave us all the freedom to arrange the songs as we wanted and that in turn we liked. We have always been very adventurous and keen to experiment. The result speaks for itself, today we are more than happy that we have recorded this album.

- Peter Freudentaler about this album ^[2] .

In addition to cover versions, the Flashback album also contains old, previously released songs by the group: re-recorded versions of the songs “ Wild Days ” and “Suzy” released in 2009 on the High Times hit collection - The Best of Fools Garden , studio versions of songs “Welcome Sun”, “High Time”, as well as versions of the compositions “Innocence” and “Maybe”, adapted for radio stations ^[8] . Of the new material, it is worth noting only the romantic and sensitive Christmas version of the song “ Lemon Tree ” ^[2] , presented on the disc called “Lemon Tree (2.0 Version)” ^[8] . Also, the original studio recording of this song ^{[2] [8]} was included in the album as a bonus track.

According to RTL , the sound of the album is a musical cosmic authenticity and earthly guitar-oriented sincere rock and pop music ^[2] . In some places, it even takes an indie direction, as, for example, in the dense atmospheric cover version of Depeche Mode's song “ Enjoy the Silence ” ^[2] . It was also noted that all covers bear the imprint of the independent style of Fool's Garden, which has also improved over the past two decades ^[2] . In conclusion, it was said that Flashback is an extraordinary and strong in terms of music conceptual album ^[2] .

• Peter Freudentaler - vocals
• Volker Hinkel - guitar , backing vocals , vocals
• Dirk Blumlain - bass
• Gabriel Holtz - guitar
• Thorsten Kiefer - keyboards
• Ian His - drums

• Album on the band's official website
• Flash Back on Discogs