The album that started it all...
01/28/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Roine Stolt is an interesting guy. A *Swedish progressive rock guitarist*. Those words can be extremely intimidating for the listener, making one recall too many Yngwie Malmsteen albums. Imagine, for a second however, that just maybe this Swedish guitarist had enough soul in his system that you couldn't bleach those blue notes out of him with Clorox--and yet still knew how to invoke the classical/jazz/folk/rock muse that progressive music used to do. That's what happened. Twenty years after his teenage involvement with the band Kaipa (Sweden's answer to 1970s Genesis), Stolt released a "solo" album that promptly launched one of the best bands in the current prog scene-the Flower Kings. Simply put, Stolt is moved by the same "love, light, and kindness" flower-child ideals of Jon Anderson, and he wanted to make an album celebrating those very things, in classic prog fashion. The conceptual song character who embodies his ideals is the Flower King--"prophet, healer, hippie, joker, spacetraveller and...possibly...the son of God." If it sounds like a hidden reference to a particular Nazarene, it probably is; but the message is not beaten into the listener. Stolt is a progger; not a proselytizer. By being true to himself he presents a glorious album of some of the most gorgeous music I've ever heard.Stolt's anatomy as a guitarist--and bassist, singer, keyboardist--is complex. The closest comparisons which strike out at you, is that Stolt could be the long lost brother of both Steve Howe and/or Steve Hackett. His tone, stylings, and technique are lyrical and joyous, imbued with a deep emotional sensitivity--he hints at some blistering technique, but never does the kind of obscene "fret-wanking" which torpedoes so much other progressive music. If anything, Stolt's style is particularly bluesy, as evidenced by the middle guitar solo in the title-track--one might say classic Robin Trower. He doesn't stop there, however; his influences range from almost Carlos-Santana-esque tones and technique and Zappa-eque atonality, Satriani-like wah-drenched reels on "The Magic Circus of Zeb" which contains one of his most passionate, gorgeous solos, Crimsonic mayhem, gently flowing Genesis guitar-and-keyboard unisons, and the occasional soaring lead line which hints of the fluidity of Allan Holdsworth. His basswork (he was a bassist before being a 6-stringer in Kaipa) and keyboard-work are staggeringly good for not being his main instruments--he turns in pummeling, Rutherford/Squire picked bass work; his keyboard skills are quite decent and tasteful--he does a Tony Banks-style job behind the keys, shown by his synth solos on the title track and his blistering organ work in "The Magic Circus of Zeb". On half the tunes, one could simply take "Selling England by the Pound"-era Genesis, remove Messrs. Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherford from the fold, and let Mr. Stolt do all the work--I swear you would not be able to tell the difference. From the mellow strains of "The Pilgrim's Inn" to the massive thunder of "Dissonata" to the epic flavor of "Humannizzimo", this is the album which started Stolt on his journey, and a worthwhile journey it is."
THANK GOD I FOUND THIS GUY AND THE FLOWER KINGS
ccbcsc | kirksville, mo United States | 05/12/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I JUST GOT THIS CD TODAY IN THE MAIL... IT IS TRULY AMAZING. ANY ONE THAT IS INTO PROG., ART ROCK OR JUST INTO FANTASTIC MUSCIANSHIP MUST HAVE THIS! ALSO, DON'T FORGET THE REST OF HIS FLOWER KING MUSIC. NOW, TRANSATLANTIC WITH ANOTHER ONE ON THE WAY. I CAN'T GET ENOUGH. I HAVE BEEN INTO WHAT THEY CALL PROG. FOR YEARS. THE FLOWER KINGS, SPOCKS BEARD AND TRANSATLANTIC ARE THE STUFF. IF THESE GUYS WOULD HAVE BEEN OUT IN THE EARLY 70'S ETC. THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ON TOP OF THE WORLD. THAY ARE IN MY BOOK NOW IN THE YEAR 2001. I LOVE THE GROUP YES, BUT EAT YOUR HEART OUT. CHECK OUT HUMANIZZIMO A 20:55 MINUTE TRACK ON THIS CD. FANTASTIC! NOBODY AROUND WHERE I LIVE HAS THIS MUSIC..."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1