RETROPOLIS

Swedish band The Flower Kings was founded in 1994, after a number of band members assisted singer/guitarist Roine Stolt earlier that year during the recording of his solo album "The Flower King". The group's popularity is increasing rapidly and after just a few albums they are commonly deemed, the standard bearers of progressive rock, together with Spock's Beard. These musicians owe this title entirely to themselves. Especially the musical capability and the own identity that is created with it is unprecedented. In particular, the achievements of frontman Stolt and his keyboard-playing colleague Tomas Bodin are top-notch. On "Retropolis" from 1996, their sophomore album, as discussed here, it is clear that their rapid rise to fame is more than justified.

First of all, the cover artwork catches the eye. We see part of an imaginary city called Retropolis. The time factor does not seem to exist as past, present and future merge into each other. A look at the booklet makes it clear that this has led to poetic lyrics. Musically, this gives you license to justify the large number of tempo and atmosphere changes. Necessary, because "Retropolis" is full of said changes. Inherent to progressive rock, The Flower Kings know how to let their music, heavily inspired by Genesis and Yes, go in all directions.

After the ping-pong sounds of the short opener Rhythm Of Life, which I think is a variation on a heartbeat, the instrumental title track follows, lasting eleven minutes. Here Stolt and Bodin give free rein to their creativity, resulting in a tasteful and lush song that captivates. It is a series of bombast, cinematic music and Santana-like jazz prog with wonderful Hammond playing. In addition, there are things like psychedelic darkness, lots of exuberance and a brilliant ending with acoustic guitar. Anyone who accuses The Flower Kings of copycat behavior is missing the point in my opinion, this song (and actually the entire album) shows a lot of their own identity, my brothers and sisters. The subsequent Rhythm Of The Sea has a mild character with a beautiful synth line. Stolt makes himself immortal once again with his elusive touch. It's the perfect precursor to the album's three highlights to come.

There Is More To This World: get a load of this. It goes through life as a wonderful song for the first few minutes until the acoustic guitar makes its appearance and Hasse Fröberg takes over on lead vocals. What happens then is magical. Fans of the angelic voice of Jon Anderson (ex-Yes) can indulge themselves here, especially when Fröberg increases the intensity. At the end the chorus from the beginning returns and Fröberg and Stolt together sing the song to an end. Extraordinary.

Another highlight is undeniably the instrumental The Melting Pot and yes, it is indeed a gigantic melting pot of styles. Here the band mixes progressive rock with fusion and world music, with Ulf Wallander trying to blow the copper from his sopranosax like a true Klaus Doldinger (Passport). Great!

The third wow song is the slightly heavier The Judas Kiss, a catchy song with strong guitar lines and a somewhat jumpy synthesized bass section. It's funny that the song is full of barking dogs and howling wolves, the lyrical protagonists. Halfway through the band ends up in dark jazz after which it goes in all directions. We also find such bursts of creativity in the catchy Silent Sorrow, where the atmosphere changes after a few minutes. This time the band comes with smooth jazz blues in all colors of the rainbow.

For variation, there are also three tracks composed by Bodin. In addition to the aforementioned opener, these are the piano intermezzo Romancing The City and the electronic Retropolis By Night, which builds on a keyboard theme from the title track. It's also nice to be able to step out of the atmosphere of the album to refresh your mind for a while.

The last two songs form the finale of the whole. Flora Majora is a beautiful instrumental track with a stunning melody that is a finale in itself. The majestic The Road Back Home then finalizes it completely. Filled with a host of reflective feelings, it's over.

"Retropolis" is an incredibly exciting CD. The subsequent albums "Stardust We Are" and "Flower Power" are a bit better, but the desire to return to "Retropolis" is always there.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com