NOTES FROM THE PAST

In 1979 Stolt left Kaipa due to musical differences with the rest of the band.Which were these differences remained to be seen in the next album ''Haender'' (1980 with Max Ahman on guitar) and later on ''Nattdjurstid'' (1982, with Pelle Anderson on drums in the place of Ingemar Bergman), Kaipa now played an uninteresting blend of Pop and Rock.The band then was put on ice with Hans Lundin releasing some solo albums in the 80's, while Roine Stolt revamped his career in the 90's as a solo artist and founder of The Flower Kings.In 2000 Lundin and Stolt decided to recollect the ashes of Kaipa and reformed the band with Ritual's Patrik Lundström on vocals, The Flower Kings' bassist Jonas Reingold and drummer Morgan Agren.With the help of female singer Aleena and with each member recording its parts individually ''Notes from the past'' was a triumphant 2002 comeback for the Swedish legends on InsideOut.

With a strong return to their progressive roots and soundwise revisiting the echoes they established themselves back in the second half of the 70's, Kaipa proposed an elaborate Symphonic Rock with long tracks, interesting melodies, flawless instrumental executions and melodramatic, sentimental lyrics, which should have been a pure pleasure back in the day.With Lundin dusting out his Mellotron and Hammond organ and adding the synthesizer in his armour and Stolt already in full shape due to his stint with THE FLOWER KINGS, the album is a trully enjoyable listening of retro-styled Prog Rock, featuring mellow Mellotron waves and more dominant organ passages, surrounded by a talented Stolt and his always emotional guitar playing.Of course some of these stylings were already borrowed by Stolt some years back, when he was musically reborn through THE FLOWER KINGS and Kaipa now sound a bit similar to the new legends of Prog Rock.Lundstrom's vocals are not bad at all, they are just too sweet for surrounding Kaipa's epic music style and lush, symphonic orchestrations, but the combination of his voice with the impressive musicianship, the symphonic underlines and the sometimes complex time signatures works well for most of the time.The production is superb, nothing with the old dusty sound of the 70's, and a correct step for the band, which tried to succesfully blend the old and modern days of Prog Rock.Some of the melodies are simply stunning and the arrangements are mostly great, retaining some colors from Swedish Folklore in the electric tunes.

The first of a mass of second-era Kaipa albums.Nice Symphonic Rock with old-school vibes, plenty of Mellotron and organ and some grandiose yet melodious musicianship.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.