This album was released in the U.S. during the summer of 1998 as "Cruel Summer", but it was butchered and altered for American consumption. "Flowers" is the original, European version of Ace of Base's third full-length album. Flowers contains 14 tracks as opposed to Cruel Summer 's 12, some of which appear in alternate versions. Ace of Base, unfortunately, was maimed by his presence. Bear in mind, not all of the failure of Cruel Summer is his fault. Flowers is the third album by the Swedish pop music group Ace of Base. With hits like Life is a Flower, with its gospel lyrics/choruses and positive message, the remix of Banarama's Cruel Summer, and Don't Go Away with its romantic lyrics, the album's end result proves how Ace of Base is a talented music group. AllMusic Review by Jose F. Promis. All for the worse, in my opinion. Due to his meddling on their US version of the album (titled Cruel Summer here, Flowers evrywhere else), tracks were dropped, and songs and lyrics were changed. Flowers is the original version of Ace of Base 's third album, which in the U.S. became Cruel Summer. For example, "Donnie," a gem of … It was released in … Third release from their music presses, Ace of Base's "Flowers" is a clever new accordion of songs from the Eurodance-Reggae Swedish group.