Search - The Flower Kings :: Unfold The Future (2CD)

Great background music interrupted by moments of brilliance

open-eared-one | California | 03/11/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is no shortage of creativity here. Roine Stolt and the Flower Kings have assembled a tremendous display of ideas. You'll hear some great rock and fusion in parts of "Genie in a Bottle," "Fast Lane" and "Rollin' the Dice. And you will find several pleasant ballads including "Vox Humana," "The Navigator" and "Solitary Shell."Add to this a pair of undistinguished improv-jazz pieces "Christianopel" and "Soul Vortex" and a pair of epic-length pieces without epic themes. The overall effect is dilution.There are truly great passages included here, and plenty of them. Clear standouts are the symphonic "Silent Inferno," the bass and trumpet driven "Devil's Danceschool," the afore-mentioned sweet ballad "Vox Humana" and large sections of "The Truth Will Set You Free" and "Devil's Playground." The problem is that the filler quotient is too high. Each of the tracks mentioned here as standouts contain passages that add nothing to the mix, doing nothing to move the song along. Had as much effort gone into editing as went into the initial creativity, "Unfold the Future" would have ended up a 60-70 minute masterpiece. Instead, it is a 2-hour set of damn good background music, interrupted by occasional moments of brilliance. I'll keep it in my collection, and I will pull it out from time to time, but it won't be getting the call with a great deal of frequency."

The New Lineup Is Awesome

x_bruce | Oak Park, ILLINOIS United States | 12/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs have been discussed at length. My comments are simple, the long form songs are well realized with less needless twists and turns that have little or nothing to do with the larger song structure. Almost all prog bands are guilty of this but the Flower Kings do a fine job of cleaning things up compositionally.The bass and drum playing is excellent and brings the jazz side of the Flower Kings up a level from previous bands. If there is one negative keyboardist Thomas Bodin and guitarist Roine Stolt aren't really up to the serious jazz playing of the rhythm section. It's not terrible listening to the jazz oriented songs, in fact it's a pleasant surprise but you can tell who's really in the groove when the jazz improvs hit.Beside this the recording is excellent. The material is varied and well sung. I'm not sure who is singing what at times but if the vocals are Has's I'm completely impressed. Finally he comes to the fore as a lead vocalist. Still it's always nice to hear Roine sing and in the harmonies he shines as well as in lead vocals.This is both a progression in style from The Rainmaker which was probably their weakest album as a whole although still very good.If you like the Flower Kings, especially Space Revolver and Stardust We Are you will likely be impressed with Unfold the Future. The vocals are much more consistant and the areas of memorable epic songs and experimentation with the Flower Kings sound are very much evident here.Some have complained about filler on this double CD but I have to disagree. The quieter tracks are nicely arranged and performed with humanity. It may not be as sonically intense as most of the album but it's a good change of pace.This is a fine album, a good place for new listeners as well as fans. I can not stress enough how much better the writing and arranging is on Unfold the Future. A purchase well worth making."

This is the one

G D | Washington, DC | 11/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best album by The Flower Kings.



Firs thing you'll notice is Zoltan Czorsz on drums. After first hearing him live last year I was skeptical about Roine's claims that he blows Jaime out of the water - This must have had to do with the setlist they had. Here he is absolutely phenomenal, overflowing with energy and a groove so tight yet full of accents and new rhythms. Like Jonas Reingold on bass, he is coming from the jazz camp, and these songs give him a chance to blow. The improvs (yeah!) especially (there are 4 if you get the limited edition), Zoltan is in command. Jonas is a monster on this album. Finally we have some music where he can really stretch his chops. You've never heard a progressive album with a bass player like this. Beautiful alternate modulations, funky percussive 8th note extravaganzas, melodic and tasty fretless overtones, Squire-like beefiness....he's got it all down. Tomas Bodin on keys has once again expanded his sound library. New sounds, beautiful textures - so many great compositional moments (Tomas gets a lot of credits!). Hasse Froberg is....Hasse - the range of Jon Anderson in the mid 70s with 5 times the power and expression. Perhaps he gets a little overshadowed by guest Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation). Daniel is a welcome addition with a powerful and distinctive voice. Besides using a fantastic arsonal of effects and tonal varieties, Roine's contribution to this album is first as an unmatched composer of progressive music and 2nd as a world-class producer. If you have not heard Roine on guitar, you are missing a contemporary master.



This is a serious step ahead for this band. That said, it will take you a couple of listens to appreciate - there is so much music. If you were to make a comparison to Yes, this would be their Relayer. In 8 years The Flower Kings have released more music than Yes has in their whole career. But there is no way to compare this album to that or anything else because there is so much else coming in - Zappa, electric fusion, King Crimson, Stravinsky, funk, Beatles, Miles...but mostly Roine Stolt, Jonas Reingold, Zoltan Czorsz, Tomas Bodin, Hasse Froberg.



This is a defining moment in new progressive music."