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Rachel Flowers — Bigger on the Inside
(Bandcamp Rachel Flowers Music RFM 004, 2021, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-04-04

Bigger on the Inside Cover art

Rachel Flowers is a composer and one-woman band who’s been getting a fair amount of attention lately. Thousands have watched the video of her guest spot with Zappa Plays Zappa, where she tosses off a great guitar solo. Bigger on the Inside is her third solo release, and on it she plays all the instruments and provides all the vocals as well. The nine tracks are far from simple affairs, being fully realized pop-rock songs with progressive elements and elaborate arrangements. The instrumental “A B” starts out the album with a crunchy guitar in a fusiony style. It’s a great track filled with solid keyboard and guitar playing, with a high energy level — the listener would never guess it was the work of a single person. With “Take Me Away” we encounter another side of Flowers’ talent. This track stretches to nearly twelve minutes, and starts with a grand intro on pipe organ which is joined by the sound of a full orchestra (simulated, of course). This is followed by a section featuring her delicate voice backed by string and woodwind parts that builds to a dramatic climax featuring brass, piano, and lots of harmony vocals. Electric guitar, bass, and drums swoop in to announce that this song will not be confined to a simple category. As it progresses, it becomes apparent that a good reference point is “Pirates” from Emerson Lake & Palmer’s Works. Flowers counts Keith Emerson and Greg Lake among her mentors, so this influence comes as no surprise. What may be a surprise is that it’s so good, and far from imitative in any way. It’s a big sound, and in lesser hands could come off as overblown and pretentious, but she pulls it off, and the track justifies its length with a surfeit of ideas. While Keith Emerston is clearly her main template on keyboards, other tracks show the influence of one of her other mentors, Herbie Hancock, and veer towards the jazzy side. The result is something wholly her own and quite original. Yes, other artists have combined rock music with orchestral arrangements, but not quite in this way. The thing to remember about musicians who have impressive technical abilities is that having good ideas is an entirely separate skill. Rachel Flowers has both, and Bigger on the Inside describes her as well as this album.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Rachel Flowers

More info
http://shop.rachelflowersmusic.com/album/bigger-on-the-inside

 

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