Search - Kaipa :: Notes From the Past

Awesome classic prog.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 07/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What year is it again? Right, 2002. It's been a long time since the original progressive rock renaissance was kicked off by innovators like Yes, King Crimson, ELP, and Genesis. And yet, listening to Kaipa's Notes from the Past, you could very easily think you've stepped through a time warp. This album's sound is vintage! Still, it goes to show that a magical band can come along and work with the classical sound in wonderful ways that make everything old seem new again. You _must_ have this album if you like the classic keyboard-heavy prog sound, but if you hate walls of 'tron and Hammond organs...RUN AWAY!Headed by keyboardist Hans Lundin, Kaipa is a Swedish band that released a few albums in the 70s. Guitarist Roine Stolt was also a member of this band, and now many know him as the head honcho behind The Flower Kings. Notes from the Past is the first album released under the Kaipa name since the early 1980s. Even though the progressive rock genre has been through a lot of changes since the 70s, this is a great record independent of musical epochs. For those interested in Roine Stolt's involvement, it should be noted that everything was written by Lundin. Stolt's voice here is his guitar playing, which is surprisingly vibrant and exciting. His creativity is endless. On this album, he cuts loose with some of his most exciting playing ("The Name Belongs to You") and some of his best textural playing (virtually instrumental section). The vocals of Patrik Lundstrom are excellent, a bit like Stolt himself actually but with a duller accent and simply a more powerful voice."Morganism" is one of my favorite prog instrumentals. It apparently gets its name from Morgan Argen, the drummer, known for playing with Zappa and Mats & Morgan. It's an awesomely groovy instrumental (and huge, close to 11 minutes), blending funk, big band, jazz, and disco-rock. The best is the end, marked by an aggressive drum solo with a slow, eerie background for a strange effect. All of the drumming is excellent, actually, definitely approaching alien-octopus levels but always tasteful. "A Road In My Mind" precedes this track, featuring female vocalist Aleena. Although she perhaps tries to sound too much like a rock star, it's hard not to like the song with its beautiful acoustic guitars and vocal & synth melodies.The album's selection of great melodies are apparently limitless. Very singable choruses ("Mirrors of Yesterday", "Leaving the Horizon") are combined with appetizing instrumental hooks with makes the album entertaining through and through. And I'm astonished that the album seems so short. At 79 minutes, it's actually quite long CD-wise, but it seems over much sooner.The only thing on the album I don't care for is "In the Space of a Twinkle", which is spacey musak ruined by some lady's robotic narration. Still, given that the song is only 3 1/2 minutes out of a 79 minute album, and most of it is music anyway, it's a very small complaint.Instead of whipping up a conclusion paragraph, I'll take the lazy way out and refer you back to the final sentence of the first paragraph. An expedient use of time!"

3.5 stars

Lord Chimp | 06/11/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This 2002 recording by Sweden's Kaipa is somewhat misleading in that the only two Kaipa members present are the Flower Kings' Roine Stolt and keyboardist, composer, Hans Lundin. Bassist Jonas Reingold, also of the Flower Kings, is present as well. Carrying on in Kaipa tradition is the use of absolutely horrid vocalists. The majority of the singing here is by Patrick Lundstrom. This guy over-emotes at every turn. He comes across more like a refugee from a bad Andrew Lloyd Weber production (is there any other kind). He really spoils things but doesn't manage to ruin them. The two female vocalists (one cut each) are no better. The compositions and musicianship are terrific but it is no small task getting past the vocals and embarrasingly weak lyrics. Thankfully there are a number of instrumental cuts. Proceed with caution...Simon"

Relies far too heavily on stale clichés

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 04/09/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As a group, Kaipa has been part of the progressive rock scene for a while and released five albums during the 1975-1982 timeframe with a single blurb in 1993 (Stockholm Symphonie). My understanding is that the first three albums and Stockholm Symphonie are not bad, although I have not heard any of them. Of the original group, only Hans Lundin and Roine Stolt (of the Flower Kings) play on this 2002 release, so this is in no way a "revival" of the classic Kaipa lineup. My general impression of this album is that it builds upon the late 1970s stadium rock style and as such, fuses hard rock with aspects of classic progressive rock. Indeed, this group is (to my ears at least) stylistically closer to the American stadium rock groups like Kansas and Styx circa 1977 than Genesis, ELP, Yes or King Crimson circa 1973.



With respect to the musicians on Notes from the Past, the core is comprised of Hans Lundin (Hammond C3 organ, mellotron, synthesizers, piano and vocals) and Roine Stolt (electric and acoustic guitars), with guest musicians including Flower Kings bassist Jonas Reingold, Morgen Agren (drums), Ritual singer Patrik Lundstrom (lead vocals) and family members (of Hans) Aleena and Thorn Lundin providing additional vocals. The band members are all solid and there is some good ensemble work on the album.



Unfortunately, there are aspects of the music that did not sit too well with me. One complaint that I have is with the lead vocals (in English with a bit of an accent) - they are very contrived and "corporate" sounding (something along the lines of an excessively dramatic version of Journey lead singer Steve Perry). When combined with the weak lyrics, I found that the quality of the listening experience was lowered substantially - even in spite of the fact that instrumental passages dominate. In all fairness though, it may very well be the case that something was lost in the translation of the lyrics from Swedish to English.



I also have real (and perhaps more significant) issues with the fact that the entire approach to composition used on this album is essentially based upon a cobbled together patchwork of clichés taken from the classic English progressive rock style (soloing over an ostinato etc.) - clichés that the American stadium rock bands essentially drove into the ground by 1978. Even the approach of Roine Stolt on this album relies heavily on techniques lifted directly from the groundbreaking virtuoso progressive and jazz rock guitarists of the 1970s (right down to the exact tone and phrasing). His nearly complete avoidance of the acoustic and a preference for a hard-edged and distorted tone on the electric also spoiled the listening experience for me. In this regard, I really wish that Roine had simply backed off and that Hans had more of a voice. This is especially odd given that Hans wrote a significant proportion of the music.



While these guys do have a good grasp on melodies however, they strictly avoid harsh textures and odd chord structures (no whole tone harmonies here). Moreover, there is an overly processed and homogenized feel to the music. I think that this has a lot to do with the polite approach to composition, the de-emphasis of pronounced dynamic contrasts, the limited range of tone colors selected and the overly calculated ways in which this band attempts to sound "progressive". For me, the ultimate effect of this was an extremely dull listening experience - in fact, there were times when I found myself wondering aloud when the album was going to end (at 79:07, Notes from the Past is of double album length). Come to think of it, I don't ever recall feeling nearly this bored when listening to other double albums like The Lamb Lies down on Broadway (Genesis, 1974) or Tales from Topographic Oceans (Yes, 1973).



I think it is unfortunate that these guys have adopted such a formulaic approach and I see this group becoming trapped in an infinite loop of self-quotation - if it has not become so already. Fortunately, there are other groups out there that are taking risks, synthesizing a broad spectrum of musical styles and plugging away in the truly restless spirit of progressive rock. Most importantly however, these other groups have an ability to (Janus-like) glance backwards to the past for inspiration, while simultaneously looking ahead to the future. I just wish Kaipa would do the same."