The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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Sweden played a crucial part in the progressive rock revival of the 1990s, but amid dark-sounding King Crimson-influenced bands like Anekdoten and Anglagard, the positive-thinking Yes-enlightened act the Flower Kings felt almost out of place. Yet, the Flower Kings became, along with the American Spock's Beard, the '90s prog rock band with the largest fan base, the biggest sales, and the widest international appeal.

the Flower Kings came to life in August 1994, but retrospectively, their first album came out before their inception. That year, guitarist/singer/composer Roine Stolt, who enjoyed relative European fame in the 1970s as a member of the Swedish progressive rock band Kaipa, brought together ex-Jonas Hellborg drummer Jaime Salazar and ex-Samla Mammas Manna percussionist Hans Bruniusson to record a solo album, The Flower King. Stolt's music was graced by a Jon Anderson-like aura and combined complex structures with catchy heartfelt melodies, and the prog fans welcomed the album with open arms. Roine brought in brother Michael Stolt (bass, vocals) and longtime friend Tomas Bodin (keyboards) to perform the material live, and thus the Flower Kings were born and The Flower King, the album, is now usually perceived as the band's first.

Back in the World of Adventures was released in November 1995 on the band's own label, Foxtrot Music, and contained the stage favorite "Big Puzzle," while the Flower Kings started to tour in Europe. It was shortly followed by Retropolis (May 1996), the band's most '70s-influenced album to date, which yielded "The Judas Kiss" and "There Is More to This World," still arguably one of their best anthems. Retropolis helped the Flower Kings reach Japan, South America, and North America (especially Quebec). The mammoth two-CD set Stardust We Are, which included "In the Eyes of the World," "Church of Your Heart," and the 25-minute epic "Stardust We Are," was released in 1997. With four albums (including one double CD) released in less than four years, music critics around the world started to wonder how Roine Stolt managed to write this fast. Obvious filler material on Stardust We Are had people thinking the band should have been a bit more selective and made it a one-CD affair. Still, the band's fan base was growing, as were the sales. A compilation album, Scanning the Greenhouse (containing a fantastic rendition of Genesis' "The Cinema Show") was released to prepare Americans for the band's first U.S. tour, and a limited-edition CD containing live improvisations and unreleased tracks was issued by Ipso Facto for the Quebec market, while Roine Stolt released his critically acclaimed solo album Hydrophonia – all in a year's work.

Another two-CD set, Flower Power, saw the light of day in early 1999. Even more ambitious, it contained the 60-minute suite "Garden of Dreams" and the quirky "Psychedelic Postcard," which paid tribute to one of Roine's main (although rarely detected) influences: Frank Zappa. Flower Power was the band's first album to be released in the U.S. by Inside Out Music America, which acquired rights to the band's complete catalog for domestic distribution. the Flower Kings' first live album, Alive on Planet Earth, was released in 2000 while Roine was touring with the supergroup Transatlantic (with Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Neal Morse of Spock's Beard, and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater). A new studio album, titled Space Revolver, followed later that year with bassist Jonas Reingold replacing Michael Stolt. Unfold the Future appeared in 2002, with the live set Meet the Flower Kings following in 2003. Paradox Hotel was released in 2006.

by François Couture, AMG

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The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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Roine Stolt's voice is strong, full, passionate, and delightfully accented. The Flower Kings' lyrics are heady, compelling, and hook city. The guitar work is extremely melodic and rates right up there with anything Brian May or David Gilmour has offered. Stolt is expertly meshed in this band with brother Michael on bass and voice. Tomas Bodin excels on Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano, and flute. Hans Bruniusson plays percussion alongside Jaime Salazar on drum kit, while Ulf Wallander guests on sax. The ten songs here are split between five instrumentals and five featuring great vocals mingled with extended instrumental bridges and a variety of sonic excursions. Each piece is a rocking, swirling matrix of multifaceted sound, with the opening "World of Adventures" a particular highlight. Take the best of Crack the Sky, Pink Floyd, early Genesis, and the slick cool pop/rock of Queen and Prince's 1999, mix everything together in the cauldron of Stolt's vision of world peace, and out comes a fresh batch of magic.

by John W. Patterson, AMG

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The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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Retropolis is the album that brought the Flower Kings from an interesting underground progressive rock band to an act that simply couldn't be ignored by anyone interested in the genre's 1990s revival. Roine Stolt and consorts' aim for Retropolis was to dive a little more into vintage progressive forms (retro) and, indeed, this album is the most nostalgic and closer-to-the-roots-sounding of the band's catalog. From the Pink Floyd-shaped "Rhythm of the Sea" to the poignant Yes-like hymn "There Is More to This World," the Flower Kings sound like they are paying tribute to the groups that brought them to do what they are doing, without ever falling into plagiarism or sacrificing the band's own identity. "Melting Pot," "The Judas Kiss," and the powerful instrumental "Retropolis" are the album's other highlights. Very strong composition-wise, Retropolis lacked some cohesion. It is one of the band's most song-oriented albums (with The Flower King). In comparison, the following effort Stardust We Are will have a stronger identity but at times weaker material.

by François Couture, AMG

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The Flower Kings: 4CD (1995-1997) [2015, Belle Antique, Japan]

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The Flower Kings' fast rise to the top of the progressive rock community was equal to their recording pace. The two hours of music on Stardust We Are completed a four-album run in a little less than four years. Roine Stolt's creativity seemed without limits, but listening to this two-CD set, one finds a little more filler than usual, mostly in the form of poppier tunes (like "Different People," "Kingdom of Lies," and "Compassion") and short instrumental pieces meant as bridges between more significant songs. Strangely, it didn't affect the album's cohesion or interest (it wouldn't be the case for Flower Power) and, although it could have been stripped down to an even stronger 75-minute CD, Stardust We Are made a strong impression and opened the U.S. doors for the Swedish band. The opener "In the Eyes of the World" has the strength and positive drive of the best Stolt songs and became an instant live classic, as did "Church of Your Heart," which also contained all The Flower Kings trademark ingredients: a memorable melody; intelligent shifts in time signature, speed, and key; lush arrangements; spirited musicianship; heartfelt vocals (alternating between Stolt and Hans Fröberg, depending on register and the emotional effect required); and a positive attitude toward life. "Circus Brimstone" is a strange and complex instrumental piece with backward voices inherited from Frank Zappa – one of Roine Stolt's least-suspected influences. Disc two contains less strong moments: "The End of Innocence" is a good track, but afterwards it seems "Different People," "Kingdom of Lies," and "If 28" are just there to kill time before the epic "Stardust We Are," a 25-minute tour de force, full of well-developed music ideas seamlessly stitched together. More cohesive as a whole than the previous album Retropolis, Stardust We Are was on the other hand weaker musically speaking, but it remains one of the very good Flower Kings albums, if only for the opening and closing tracks.

by François Couture, AMG