THE FLOWER KING

You may know Roine Stolt as the leader and guitar player of The Flower Kings, even though he has a rich and storied past in music since the 70's. You may be unaware that he filled important roles with other groups such as Kaipa and Fantasia. Stolt is another one of those legendary guitar maestros that started off playing the bass, which seems to be more common than not in the development of any artist that plays the six-string. His second solo album The Flower King was released in 1994 and was subsequently reissued on Inside Out America in 2001.

Stand out solo albums such as this will separate an artist from all of his contemporaries. Stolt is not only the consummate professional and leader of one of the most successful prog-rock bands in the world; he has the talent and vision to create music that is able to stand on its own merit without any reflection on previous collaborations or projects. That in and of itself is the most difficult thing to overcome when an individual has a vast repertoire to look back upon over a long period of time such as Stolt does. The format he follows with the albums sequence is classic prog-rock. He uses an intelligent combination of instrumentals and vocal tracks along with the expected multi-tiered prog- rock magnum opus as the meat of the recording. "Humanizzimo" runs over twenty minutes and breaks down into six parts. With help from his band mates from TFK he creates a steadfast and unyielding project from start to finish. Instrumental tracks such as "The Sounds of Violence" spotlight Stolt's innate ability to squeeze every ounce of resonance and beauty out of his guitar without uttering a word. Talented players like this man eliminate the need for vocals (even though he has a good voice). The beauty of his craft becomes personified in a note for note interpretation of feelings and a well spring of spontaneous emotions. He not only transcends all preconceived ideas of what the ideal guitar player and musician can be, he defines it.

It's time for the world to take it upon themselves to delve into the history and back catalog of music that Roine Stolt has given us to enjoy, only then will we completely understand his importance and the critical contributions that he has made in regards to the development of a continually evolving and blossoming musical genre. Sitting in the fan's seat for a moment as an enthused listener ... I would like to see him come up with the unexpected the next time he records a solo album. Something like a completely instrumental acoustic recording to show his diversity and ability to cross over to another style seamlessly would be appropriate, and a welcome change. I have no doubt that he can do anything he decides to do and the fan base of TFK will continue to grow and flourish because of his open ended approach to music.

4 1/2 stars

A solo album from the guitar virtuoso Roine Stolt set my expectations high, and when I listened to this album, The music exceeded my expectations and is my favourite Flower Kings album for now!. This is a guitar-driven prog album with a sound very similar to the Flower Kings. The album sounds much less influenced by 70s prog bands than the early Flower King studio albums. As a consequence, the music here is very fresh to one's ears. Also, because this is a solo album, you hear more guitars than usual. What surprises me is that Tomas Bodin is not in here and Roine plays all the keyboards himself!! The vocals are not abundant in this recording because Roine is such a gifted musician and arranger that he needs no vocals to portray emotions in his music. His vocals are solid, but not really necessary.

The album begins with The Flower King which alone defines what the band Flower Kings sounds like and what it is about. It sets the whole theme of the band. The music is happy, playful, and professionally done. The song begins with a guitar solo and a pop structure follows. The music on the background is beautiful and has guitar melodies as a counterpoint to Roine's cathcy vocals. The chorus is even better! "We believe in the light, we believe in love, every precious little thing. We believe you can still, Surrender! You can ... serve the Flower Kings" The lyrics are wonderful and the vocal melodies that sing this line are some of the best Roine has produced. The song itself has a similar structure to 'Back to the World of Adventures' and 'In the eyes of the world' in which they begin with a pop song, continue on an extended instrumental section full of soloing (the soloing here is some of the best and serves as a roller coaster of happy emotions), and ends with a reprise of the melodies of the pop side of the song. This song is majestic, and one of Roine's best.

That song, while it may be the strongest track of the album, is not everything The Flower King has to offer. All the remaining tracks are very strong in quality too. 'Dissonata' is a very strong song that begins with vocals and follows with guitar melodic playing. This song has a similar song structure to The Flower King. 'The Magic Circus of Zeb' is a wonderful symphonic instrumental full of guitars and a good keyboard solo in the middle. Some guitar solos are just too wonderful to my ears. Brilliant! 'Close Your Eyes' is a short relaxing tune with vocals and of course bluesy guitar playing. 'The Pilgrin's Inn' is another highlight of the album, being an instrumental full of melodic guitars and keyboards. Ths song goes through many different moods, sometimes beautiful, sometimes a little aggressive and sometimes dreamy. The Sound of Violence is a semi-heavy instrumental with excellent use of the guitars. Humanizzimo is the most challenging track of the album and is 20 minutes long, althrough it is not as hard to get into as songs like 'The truth will set you free' and 'Devil's playground'. The first 4 minutes are instantly likeable with that wonderful keyboard line and those easy vocal melodies. Then, it transforms into a accelerated section (my least favourite part of the song), later a short melodic one that sounds like the Flower Kings that is followed by a brilliant instrumental one. After the melodic vocals appear again, the big highlight of the album is next (even though it is much better played on the DVD). This highlight I am talking about is the powerful section with those vocal hooks ("This is the night") and the extraordinary beauty coming from the instruments (especially that church organ and saxophone). The song finishes strongly in a powerful climax with saxophone clashes and a guitar going berserk. Spectacular!!!! The album ends in the best way possible : a reprise of the most beautiful melodies from the title track.

1. The flower king (9.5/10) 2. Dissonata (8/10) 3. The magic circus of Zeb (8/10) 4. Close your eyes (7.5/10) 5. The Pilgrims Inn (8.5/10) 6. The sounds of violence (8/10) 7. Humanizzimo: (9.5/10) 8. Scanning the greenhouse (8/10)

This album should be owned by anyone interested in good music!! It is also the best way to begin the musical journey of the Flower Kings because it is the easiest to get into and because Roine is at his absolute best in here.

A masterpiece.

Grade : A-

Many people consider Stolt's The Flower King to be the first Flower Kings album. This is most likely because this album captures the essence of the Flower Kings sound. Also, core members of the Flower Kings are participants of this album, including Jaime Salazer and Hasse Bruniusson on drums, Ulf Wallander on sax, and Hasse Fröberg on vocals. But of course, the Flower Kings would take their name from the title of this album. But one important fact to remember is that Stolt is the only composer of this work and takes care of all guitar, bass, keyboard and lead vocal work. In a sense it feels partly like a solo album, and partly like a Flower Kings album. Think of it as a prototype or precursor.

The album starts off with the mostly-accessible, 10+ minute The Flower King. A charming song, fit for AOR radio play, and filled with psychedelic-inspired lyrics (a common Flower Kings trait). This is followed by the highly energetic and powerful Dissonata, with its driving bass lines and some masterful guitar work. This is the crowning jewel of the album and is one of the best songs Stolt has ever composed and performed. The Magic Circus of Zeb is a wonderful instrumental with some amazing guitar solos by Stolt. Close Your Eyes is a short ambient piece, comparable to the average Flower Kings filler. This leads to The Pilgrims Inn, another instrumental with excellent guitar work and some great sax playing. The Sounds of Violence is another instrumental, not quite as good as the previous one, but still a great song. Next follows what one would expect to be the best song, the 20+ minute, six-part suite Humanizzimo. Yes, it's a great song, but by the time you're more than midway through it, it starts to drag on and lacks the energy of the earlier songs on this disc. It appears to be about humanity and its struggles, partly Christian-inspired in its third part. Scanning the Greenhouse, the closing piece, is basically a reprise of the themes from the first song.

As mentioned earlier, this has a strong Flower Kings sound to it, but other influences include ELP, King Crimson, Kaipa, and Yes. It has very few dull moments on it, is a very enjoyable listen, and one of the best releases of the 1990's. Stolt's performance, not only as a guitarist, but also as a bassist and on the keyboards is extremely well done. The production is tight, and seems less sloppy than some of the early Flower Kings albums. The lyrics are somewhat nonsensical in places (just like the Flower Kings), but I've found his lyrical style to be charming. You also have to remember his native language is Swedish, so expect English translations to be off slightly, if not strange in places. Sometimes I find the lyrics rather humorous. I think The Flower King is better than the first two Flower Kings albums and a few of their later ones. I highly recommend it to symphonic prog fans, and although not a masterpiece, this is easily an excellent addition to anyone's prog collection. Essential for Flower Kings fans. Well worth four stars.

A True Masterpiece!

"We believe in the light we believe in love, every precious little thing. We believe you can still surrender, you can serve the Flower King".

Well . where have I been man? How come I only knew the power of this album only couple of days ago? It's a pity because I have been collecting every album of The Flower Kings (the band) from "Back in The World of Adventures" until the last one "Adam and Eve" - and is now expecting "Paradox Hotel" and never pay any attention to this album? And now I realize that "the Flower King" album is truly the basis, the foundation, of what The Flower Kings (the band) music is going to sound like. I know exactly why I never pay any attention to this important album - because I never owned it, it happened that I borrowed the CD from my prog colleague and had no time to enjoy it. But when I purchased the CD couple of weeks ago .. oh I was amazed with the music even at the first time I spun the CD. It blew me away! It's a true a masterpiece prog album.

This album offers great music from opening track "The Flower King" until the last one "Scanning The Greenhouse" (which later became the title of The Flower Kings compilation album) with various styles combining jazz, rock and a bit of blues in its composition. Musically, it's nothing different at all with the music of The Flower Kings (the band). Roine Stolt is one of great and talented prog musicians.

The opening track "The Flower King" (10:28) is probably the most accessible piece of music this album offers because the music is quite straight forward with a blues based rhythm section. The power of this track is on its nice melody that makes the listeners emulate the segment especially during chorus line "We believe in the light we believe in love, every precious little thing. We believe you can still surrender, you can serve the Flower King". . Oh . what an excellent segment! Even though there is practically little variation in terms of tempo changes but this track is good enough to pump up our prog soul especially during stunning guitar solo. The intertwining Hammond sound played by Roine Stolt is also enjoyable.

"Dissonata" (9:57) is a logical continuation of the opening track where the song starts with nice soft keyboard work with Hackettian style guitar at the background. The music enters in relatively medium tempo where the excellent vocal line is accompanied with howling guitar wonderfully played by Roine Stolt. The music seems ambient during opening part but it moves smoothly into a symphonic prog composition with good combination of guitar and keyboard.

"The Magic Circus of Zeb" (7:05) is a track with faster tempo, led by the stunning guitar work combined with the work of xylophone. As the sleeve mentions there are only two musicians play this track: Hasse Bruniusson on TAMA Artstar Drumkit while Roine Stolt does the rest: Gibson ES175, Les Paul Goldtop & IBZ guitars, Shergold Bass and keyboards. It's an excellent instrumental track exploring guitar and keyboard.

"Close Your Eyes" (3:10) is a one man band where Roine Stolt plays all instruments and also sings. Through this track he seems to provide a sort of musical break because the track is mellow and slow in nature.

"The Pilgrims Inn" (9:11) kills me really! From its touchy opening - combining a very nice and smoothly played soprano sax, guitar and flute-like sounds which probably played through keyboard - this song brings me to the ultimate musical orgasm. Oh man .. The melody, the combined sounds of soprano sax and stunning guitar sounds have made me truly "stunned". No no no .. I'd rather use my local term here . nggeblak! Yeah man . my mind really paralyzed when I enjoy the beauty of all instruments played here. In a way the nuance of this song reminds me to "Starless and Bible Black" of King Crimson and the flute-like sound reminds me to the music of Sinkadus. Nothing similar musically but the nuance! (please don't get me wrong). The guitar solo augmented with soprano sax is killing me. The ending part of this track seems like "disjointed" from the original tagline melody. But the more I listen to this track, it grows on me and I accept the change of style started with acoustic guitar.

"The Sounds of Violence" (5:53) demonstrates how Roine can play great keyboards with Hammond sound. It reminds me to ELP but the style is truly The Flower Kings (band) style. I like the pulsating keyboard sound combined with guitar work. Not only that! The melody is really touchy! It's a great instrumental track.

"Humanizzimo" (20:55) is to me like Yes' "Close To The Edge" or "The Gates of Delirium". Not because of the duration of this track is very close with Yes' but it's more on the structure and style. The opening part with soprano sax combined with stunning guitar is really a thread for me. This is the kind of music that kills me! Especially when the vocal starts to enter the music "Midnight, you take me down to the waters. Slowdown, I've seen too much and too soon .". Oh my God . this is really good. As an epic with seven parts this track offers a blend of styles with many tempo changes from one part to another. All parts form the overall music cohesively. It's a great epic.

"Scanning the greenhouse" (3:32) concludes the album with memorable segment of "the flower king" put into the music, i.e. the part with "we believe in the light ..etc.".

Overall, it's highly recommended. For those of you who claim The Flower Kings (band) fans must have this album. I don't have any clue of not giving this album with a full five stars rating. Keep on proggin' .!

Peace on earth and mercy mild, GW

A fine disc to own if you are a fan of Ronnie and the Flower Kings. Although its a solo album, it has all the trappings of a Flower Kings album. It is heavy on Ronnie's guitar and light on keyboards, you won't miss it much because the arrangements are top-notch. The first song, 'The Flower King' has everything a Flower Kings fan would want; good singing by Ronnie and Hans, fiery guitar and catchy lyrics. Excellent all the way through! There are a few instrumentals and Camelesque songs, but my favorite is "The Sounds Of Violence". Its your typical Stolt song, but I really like the middle section, hyper and speeded up it makes up for the silly lyrics. The album does have one massive song, "Humanizzimo", alittle too long for my taste. It loses its way half through, but ends nicely; again a Camel-like song. The last song reprises the first bookending the album nicely. Overall a pleasant album that all Flower Kings fans should own. For all you others who may not own a disc by the group, this would be a nice start. Not as risky as some of the early albums and not as heavy as the later. Its a safe album: 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

After leaving Kaipa for a couple of unsuccessful projects, Roine Stolt returns with a solo album that would launch one of the greatest modern prog groups. Aptly titled The Flower King, it is everything you would expect, regardless of whether or not you already listen to The Flower Kings. Much of what The Flower Kings present is also presented here: great melodies, guitar solos, Ulf Wallander guest appearences on saxophone, Salazar and Brunisson on drums (though Salazar would assume full-time drum duties and Brunisson would be on percussion), and a couple appearances of Hans Froberg singing a few bars on the end pieces. Stolt plays the rest. As he is obviosuly not an expert with the keyboards or the bass, the guitars dominate the albums music. The bass and keys just provide what they must to complete the songs. It's nothing that warrants complaining though, considering this is a guitarist's solo album. And coming from that perspective, this album is incredible. Very rarely do such albums bear such value in compostion and emotion. Stolt is a brilliant songwriter, simply put. This album is well rounded and well written. Plenty of focus, and not just a bunch of cool riffs and solos thrown together as I would usually expect from a guitar album.

Every song is solid. Very solid. I can't pick out any top tracks, because they are all so good. There are three instrumental tracks: "The Magic Circus of Zeb," "The Pilgrims Inn" and "The Sounds of Violence." All of which feature great solos, and great music in general. Qualtiy from start to finish. The songs with vocals are made up of three giants: The Flower King, Dissonata (both at 10+ minutes) and the 21 minutes "Humanizzimo," a short mainly acoustic piece "Close Your Eyes" and the closer "Scanning the Greenhouse." As I said, all are great.

This album is really worth 4 1/2 stars. It's not a full-fledged Flower Kings album, and that's all that is keeping it from being a full five star album. The songwriting aid and keyboard work from Bodin was the start, but the later addition of Jonas Reingold on bass was "the icing on the cake." Still, it's extremely enjoyable, and very well written (especially considering it's a solo album). Stolt's guitar work is top notch as usual, and really, it's better than the first couple group efforts The Flower Kings put out. Why not own this? It's well worth your time and money.

I found this CD in a import store at a high price. At the time I had bought 3 The Flower Kings albums: Retropolis, Back In The World Of Adventures and Space Revolver. On the strengh of that amazing trio I decided to take my chances and buy The Flower King without hearing a single not. And When I got home and put the disc on I could not believe my luck! It was worth every penny (and then some!).

Many people label this CD as the first Flower Kings album and I agree with them. Not only the sound is very similar, but some key members of the band are already playing on it. The only notably absence is keyboards virtuoso Tomas Bodin, but you hardly miss him. My european CD issue is quite contraditory to who played what in this album. On the back cover Roine Stolt is credit only as guitarrist and singer, with future TFK producer Don Azzaro on bass and Dexter Frank jr. (another associate of the band) on keyboards, while in the boolet Stolt is credit as playing all instruments bar the drums and sax. Apparently, the latter configuration seems to be real one .

Well, whatever! The album is an absolute masterpiece! It is a little more guitar driven then the susequent group releases, but the sound is unmistakenly TFK. I was quite surprised how the instrumental tracks and the ones who have vocals on it work together without a flaw. Both his voice and guitar work is passionable and precise, the songwriting beautiful and original, the production is very good. Not a single filler or average song here. Only top notch tunes that would stand out in any TFK classic album. The Flower King is not only the starting point of one of the most important modern prog bands but also a classic prog album of the 90's on its own.

Conclusion: a must have for any Flower Kings fan. Highly recommended not only to any prog lover but to anyone who enjoys general good music. One of my all time favorite albums.

Mr. Stolt's vision of a world unified in happiness is one I do not share. Call me a bitter, dysfunctional old cynic. Followers of his work in Kaipa, his personal albums, the woeful Transatlantic and the eventual Flower Kings ensemble that grew logically from this album may regard the sum of his output as "uplifting" and I'd agree, so long as we all realise that the term is synonymous with "Disney-fied" - a much more accurate way to describe his music.

What we have here is a collection of hyper-extended, sophisticated pop/AOR songs, replete with stadium production, vaguely Americanized singing (although I know the man hails from Sweden) and hooks a-plenty. Of course, it's all run through a Banksian(TM) obfuscator and left packaged and layered with multiple solos, classic organ patches and technoflash time signatures, but, without wishing to further disparage Roine Stolt's musical approach, I can only consider his output progressive insofar as it greatly improves upon dreck like Styx, Toto and elevator muzak the world over. The debut track has a particularly regrettable and radio-friendly chorus, repellent enough to the likes of me that I almost failed to perservere.

"Dissonata" disappointed me even more because of inherent false advertising. Believe it or not, switching from one major-minor seventh to another does not make you sound like Univers Zero, and modifying the riff from "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, part II" does not make you as innovative as the Crimson King. Call me a stickler for accuracy. I do give Mr. Stolt credit here - and his second star, the first being for undeniable musicianship - for trying something outside of major cadences but I can't celebrate the song.

From there on we have lots more mid-tempo rainy rock station sop-balladry. Defend it how you will, but "The Flower King" should really be 35 minutes long and be composed of eight glittering, world-changing pop-rock songs. I'd be much happier if it was, because what I'm reviewing right now is akin to a set of short, narrow pillowcases stuffed full of feathers - mostly of the dodo variety - in an effort to make ... well, I can't work out how to finish this analogy; should I go for "a hovercraft" or "linen foie gras"? This is getting silly and I apologise unreservedly.

All you really need to read of this review is this paragraph: if you like predictable, incredibly soppy and patronising balladry then you should buy "The Flower King" and play it to your collection of carebear plushtoys until they can croon it back to you, word for agonizing word.

This album by Roine and his companions is a funny one because it's somewhere in between a solo-album and a TFK-album. This is a.o. proven by the fact that Humanizzimo, the great epic of this album is played quite a few times on TFK live albums or DVD's. On the other hand, the line up of musicians on this album is not exactly the later Flower Kings line up. So it's not really TFK. But many people regard this as the forerunner for TFK who produced their first album a year after this one. I already mentioned the classic Humanizzimo, one of the best songs Roine has ever produced, but there is more. My personal favourite is Dissonata, to me the ultimate proof that Roine Stolt is at least one of the best guitarplayers ever. What a performance his displays on this song !! The third top song to me is Magic Circus of Zeb, another one with fantastic guitarriffs. The title track and opener of this album is ok too but I don't really like the chorus to be honest.

But the standard of at least 3 top quality songs is easily reached here and to me at absolutely deserves the 5 stars.

After reading Chicpah's enthusiastic review of the latest THE FLOWER KINGS album "The Sum Of No Evil" I figured it was about time I reviewed their records. I decided to start here where it all began.This is not an official THE FLOWER KINGS album, but given it's title, and the fact everyone playing on it would become members of the FLOWER KINGS I felt this was the place to start. Even the final track "Scanning The Greenhouse" would become the title of THE FLOWER KINGS compilation record. I have already (some time ago) reviewed two of their double albums "Stardust We Are" and "Flower Power". I have to say the guitar playing of Mr.Stolt impressed me greatly on this one. I also like the thoughts he shared in the liner notes as to what he was in his thinking when he recorded this record. "I wanted to come out as an alternative to the flood of destructive, dark 'n evil-hardcore-death-thrash-speed-black n' suicidal metal music of today. So I created "The Flower King" - Prophet, Healer, Hippie, Joker, Spacetraveller,The Great Gardener and possibly...son of God." R.S. 1994.

"The Flower King" opens with some tasteful guitar.This is simply a feel good song with positive lyrics and a sing along chorus. I like Roine's unique sounding vocals, but having Hasse Froberg singing lead during the chorus was a wise move. The guitar just soars beautifully on this one,as well Roine fires off some raw solos as well.There is a GENESIS feel to the keys as we get about 5 1/2 minutes of pure instrumental work before the vocals return before 9 minutes. "Dissonata" reminds me of THE TANGENT, with Salazar (who plays with them) on drums.This is more of a serious tune with Stolt doing his Fripp impression at times. After 6 minutes Roine sounds just like Vai.Then 7 minutes in we get some latter day KING CRIMSON heaviness. Ok maybe not quite that heavy, but it does sound like them. "The Magic Circus Of Jeb" is an instrumental. Other then the drums this is all Stolt who plays guitar, bass and keys. He's so fluid on the guitar, and 4 1/2 minutes in he goes on and on. Nice. "Close Your Eyes" is a mellow tune with tasteful guitar throughout.

"The Pilgrims Inn (Part 1&2)" is my favourite song on here. An instrumental that recalls CAMEL. It's simply gorgeous with sax and what sounds like flute.The guitar starts to slowly break my heart. At 6 minutes the flute-like sounds and guitar join together to end part 1 of this track beautifully. The last 2 minutes (Part 2) is different with gentle acoustic guitar and flute-like sounds.The last 30 seconds is a soaring guitar solo. "The Sounds Of Violence" is another instrumental that opens with some uptempo keys and ripping guitar 2 minutes in. The drums are crisp and very active. The last 2 minutes are calm and reflective. "Humanizzimo" is an almost 21 minute epic. Hasse Bruniusson is back on the drums as he and Salazar share the duties on this record. Hasse played drums for both SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA and ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA previous to this.This long track has so many amazing moments. Very pastoral early with lots of smooth sax melodies before we get many twists, turns and mood changes. More angular guitar from Stolt. "Scanning The Greenhouse" opens with some scorching guitar melodies before the vocals arrive. Froberg adds some lead vocals to this one. Great sound ! The bass from Roine is prominant. The song ends with a reprise of "The Flower King".

I know some people feel that this is too sugary, that Roine is living in a dream world. And although I wouldn't want to listen to this all the time,"The Flower King" truly is a symphonic pleasure to listen to. Easily 4 stars.

I already knew that Roine Stolt is a helluva guitarist but until I heard this album I had no earthly idea how incredibly multi-faceted he is. I've collected quite a few of The Flower Kings' CDs over the last year and really like what Tomas Bodin contributes to that band on keyboards so when I read that he's nowhere to be found on this disc I had some trepidation about how it would sound in that department. Well, knock me over with a feather! I didn't miss him a bit. In fact, this recording is on a par with the best that Roine's subsequent group has ever created and that's saying quite a lot. And if you're a guitar player or even merely a fan of the instrument you owe it to yourself to indulge your senses in what I consider one of the finest displays of axe virtuosity I've ever witnessed. "The Flower King" is an inspired, well-thought-out presentation of work that never becomes predictable or devoid of feeling. I am amazed.

The album's namesake tune starts out simply but soon blossoms as it settles into a strong rock groove consisting of only Stolt and his gifted drummer Jaime Salazar, yet it comes off as cohesive as a tightly- knit combo of individuals that have been honing their craft together for years. Roine's thinly veiled homage to the Son of God is admirably amplified in the stirring, positive lyrics of the verses and the highly memorable chorus topped off by Hasse Froberg's distinct tenor. A fiery guitar riff opens the solo segment of the song and here you're treated to the first of many fantastic rides from Stolt that you'll encounter along the way. The tune travels through an exciting evolution that culminates in an awesome, suspense-filled passage that will make the hairs on your noggin bristle. Roine truly understands the overall concept of and how to carefully construct a symphonic progressive rock epic as he transports you to a towering climax that leaves you breathless. Wow and double wow.

"Dissonata" follows and it's far from being a let-down after that extravaganza. The number's tight and intense 5/4 time signature roars down the road with you in the sidecar as densely layered keyboards create a backdrop for Stolt's penetrating vocals. He speaks as one who has learned to be harmless as a dove but keen as a fox when dealing with the record industry fat cats when he sings "Smile when you face suspect, corrupt, degenerate merchants of melody" and "You can count me out from your silly games 'cause I'm not your stupid toy." The song includes another stellar guitar ride that doesn't overstay its welcome as it draws you into an extended melodic interlude that never gets boring for a nanosecond. The expert arrangement couldn't be better. What follows is "The Magic Circus of Zeb," an instrumental that not only introduces percussionist Hans Bruniusson as he takes a turn on the drumkit but treats you to a bright, upbeat melody line. When the song breaks down into a half-time section Roine delivers a gut-wrenching guitar solo that is so emotional that it literally brings tears to my eyes. (I was a guitarist for many years and I can tell you that this kind of fervent, heart-to-fingers playing is truly a rare talent that few are blessed with.) It is devastating and it exaggerates what distinguishes this mostly one-man show from most others of that ilk in that he allows spontaneity to thrive within his meticulously structured compositions.

After experiencing those three monster tunes, a calming change-of-pace is in order and Stolt delivers with a restful few minutes of serenity in "Close Your Eyes," a graceful love song that could be directed toward either his messiah or his lady love. "The Pilgrim's Inn (Part 1 & 2)" is another instrumental piece that starts off with smooth Mellotron flutes before politely ushering in Ulf Wallander on soprano sax, providing a new dimension to the proceedings. Part 1 sports a lively, jazzy atmosphere and more superb guitarisms from Roine's fluid fingers while Part 2 features gorgeous acoustic guitars leading to a crush of sound that swallows you up in the song's grandiose exit. "The Sounds of Violence" has a distinct ELP vibe about it with some respectable organ playing as Jamie Salazar returns to dazzle you with his stick work. As always, the song is melody-driven and the beautiful resolution at the end is a joy to behold.

The nearly 21-minute, 6 movement suite called "Humanizzimo" is the album's most ambitious undertaking and it succeeds often on many different levels. "Twilight Flower" opens things up with another dose of Mellotron flute, a tight rhythm track and Stolt issuing a subtle warning that you must be mindful to "hold on to your love/'cause suddenly it's all over." (Truer words were never sung.) "The Messenger" employs a somewhat annoying polka-like beat that's a little too brittle for me (it doesn't go on too long so no permanent harm results) as he relates that "deep down you know well/when you're doing wrong/you'd rather be a saint/but then temptation is too strong." Next comes "The Nail" which is big and enveloping in scope, is the most impressive demonstration of his skill on keyboards so far and contains the loftiest of spiritual sentiments you'll encounter. "Only Human" has an unmistakably Yes- ish, full12-string aura about it and the depth of field he builds is astounding. "Even if the spirit fly/and voices of arc angels passing by/we're puzzled by the speed of life." he sings. "This is the Night" starts out with a cavernous cathedral organ (Roine knows exactly how to tug at the strings of my prog heart) that interacts with Wallander's soprano sax in a stately dance. "The River of Love" features a deep bass resonance that rattles your bones as he wraps up this epic with a surprisingly quiet ending. It's not without some sand traps in the fairway but you've gotta give him props for attempting such a challenging endeavor.

"Scanning the Greenhouse" is a rockin,' no-holds-barred track that serves as a brilliant closer in that it encompasses all of the elements that make this such a majestic album. When the final note decays into the ether you're left with absolutely no doubt that Stolt is a master musician who truly "believes in the love" with all of his being. This whole project is a sincere statement of personal faith and belief that is astonishing in its open, honest approach and very appealing whether you acknowledge his religious views or not. What it definitely ain't is preachy.

No wonder Roine was able to ride upon the swift momentum created by this CD and proceed to form a permanent group called "The Flower Kings" that would go on to produce hours and hours of high-quality progressive music for a long time to come. I can think of no better way to introduce one's consciousness to his inventive and unique aural art than by way of this impressive album of songs. You'll be hard pressed to find better symphonic prog anywhere in the world.

I will describe my love/hate relationship with Roine Stolt and the Flower Kings as if only.

If only this spectacularly expressive, creative, virtuosic, and thoroughly powerful guitarist didn't record albums which put that vomit taste in your mouth with spiritually trite lyrics and syrupy thick evangelization. Nothing ruins a soaring, two-minute Roine Stolt solo like the rest of the album.

Harsh, but I acknowledge that Roine and co. are some of the best instrumentalists around. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I like the purely instrumental passages of this album quite a bit. They have solid, bluesy grooves, Roine's guitar obviously taking center stage. Yet, I get headaches from grinding my teeth whenever he starts singing about the master plan, the message from the king of kings, or the blood of Jesus on the nail... come on!

I can take optimism in my music, and I can certainly take beauty... but The Flower King[s] is neither-- it's slop dredged from the bucket of Christian rock disguised as something progressive, then slapped against the ears until one finally breaks down and joins the Flower Kings bandwagon. Be forewarned! If you equate musical elegance and class as patronizing morality-- then Stolt's collective body of work is for you!

Me, I'll take brooding cynicism and forward thinking creativity any day over this sugary-sweet bombast. I am off the wagon and loving it!

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 1 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

"The Flower King" is the 3rd full-length solo album by Swedish artist Roine Stolt. The album was released through Foxtrot Records in 1994. It´s the successor to "The Lonely Heartbeat (1989)". Stolt had been a member of Swedish progressive rock act Kaipa in the 70s and appeared on the albums they released in the 1975-1978 period, but he subsequently left Kaipa and formed the Fantasia project in 1979 and released two albums under that monicker before releasing his first solo album "Behind the Walls" in 1985. At the dawn of the 90s fellow countrymen in Landberk and Änglagård began having success with their progressive rock releases, and Stolt found a renewed interest in creating a progressive rock album (the previous solo albums had featured other music styles), and assembled a recording lineup to record the material featured on "The Flower King". As the album proved a huge success Stolt and the key members of the lineup who recorded "The Flower King", formed The Flower Kings band.

The material on the 8 track, 70:35 minutes long album is 70s influenced progressive rock featuring elements from both classic 70s progressive rock like Yes and Genesis, jazz rock/fusion, hard rock, psychadelic rock, and blues. It´s quite the eclectic combination of musical elements but Stolt and his band master all styles with ease and conviction. Most lead vocals are performed by Stolt, who has a pleasant laid back vocal style, but Hasse Fröberg (who would become a permanent member of The Flower Kings) is introduced on the opening title track and on the closing track "Scanning the Greenhouse", and helps add some vocal variation to the album, as he has a very different voice and vocal style to Stolt. While the vocals are of course an important part of the music, the material is actually predominantly instrumental or at least long sections of the tracks feature only instrumental playing and no vocals. Epic keyboards, blistering guitar solos, and varied rhythm work.

The album opens strong with the title track, the dark "Dissonata", and the jazz/fusion influenced "The Magic Circus of Zeb". The latter features a nice Frank Zappa influence in the way the melodies are composed and the with the use of marimba. The 20:54 minutes long multi-suite "Humanizzimo" also deserves to be mentioned as one of the highlights of the album. It´s a diverse track featuring a lot of different sections and musical styles. Intriguing and adventurous throughout, and featuring some of the most beautiful vocal melodies and lyrics Stolt has ever produced.

"The Flower King" features a detailed, clear, and organic sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Stolt is credited as producer of the album, so not only has he composed all material on the album, and performs both vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and some percussion, he is also a skilled technician and producer. Upon conclusion "The Flower King" is a strong release by Roine Stolt, and although it´s not officially the debut album by The Flower Kings, it´s often mentioned as part of The Flower Kings discography and for fans of the band this is of course a mandatory listen. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

The Flower Kings first, or for a more accurate phrase, Roine Stolt's best solo album! This is a masterpiece of symphonic prog! The title track is to me the best in the album with it's hippie-like theme and catchy melodies. Dissonata is also pretty good the title sounds like a play on words to ELP's Tocatta but it sounds nothing like that. The Magic Circus of Zeb is an excellent instrumental and Close Your Eyes is a beautiful typical Flower Kings ballad. The Pilgrims Inn is an instrumental with hefty guitar parts by Roine which makes it stand out. Sounds of Violence seems a little un-needed at first but in the end you realize why it's there. Humanizzimo is the epic track. It reminds me of the Yes classic Gates of Delirium not so much because of the music but because of the tempo. It finishs with the Flower King reprise Scanning the Greenhouse which is just as good as the first. This is the album that started all of the Swedish bands excellent work and yes, it is a masterpiece!

Roine Stolt is one of the treasures of the prog rock world. And thanks to the Internet, he is finally getting some of the recognition he deserves.

This album, as should be obvious by it's title, was the prototype for the band The Flower Kings. The sound of The Flower Kings is here, as it should be, since TFK members Hans Fröberg (vocals), Hasse Brunisson and Jaime Salazar (both on drums) are all present on this album.

Stolt has a way of progressing his music, while also paying homage to the past heroes of prog. On The Flower King he seems to be channeling the spirit of Steve Howe in his guitar fills. Dissonata has a very obvious reference to King Crimson's Red. And I hear a bit of ELP in The Sounds Of Violence. All the while the pieces are not clones. They all have Stolt's unique vision driving them.

If you are a fan of classic styled prog, and especially if you like The Flower Kings, get this one.

Those who enjoy The Flower Kings ought not pass this sterling album with Roine Stolt at the helm. Excepting the distinct bass work from Jonas Reingold, this album has all the ingredients fans of The Flower Kings would love even though it predates their proper debut by a year. There's nothing more to say really- an excellent symphonic progressive rock album by one of the genre's most respected guitarists.

'The Flower King' Soothing lead guitar sweetly sings in before a sound breaks through that is distinctively The Flower Kings: And that refrain has to be the most definitive archetype for them- happy, uplifting, and even a little bit silly. Stolt demonstrates his proficiency with blues guitar, eventually stepping aside for a symphonic synthesizer solo. Overall, it is a wondrous piece of music and the crown of the album.

'Dissonata' A bit on the darker side of The Flower Kings, this second tune has a bit of cabaret camp that tries to masquerade as serious and sinister. The melodic theme and its variations in the middle passage are well-executed and a welcome evolution.

'The Magic Circus of Zeb' A mostly peppy and colorful instrumental, this piece evokes the spectacles of a circus without ever becoming hackneyed in the course of doing so. It features soulful guitar work.

'Close Your Eyes' The Flower Kings are, for me, notorious for filler tracks. This is one of those. It is a slow, plodding bit of new age with decent vocals and good guitar.

'The Pilgrims Inn' The musicians return to the uplifting sound from before but add some baroque flourishes. It is full of both electric and acoustic guitar exhibitions.

'The Sounds of Violence' As the title implies, this one hangs on the heavier and darker music Stolt and company are capable of. The last bit consists of bass and electric guitar soloing quietly around one another.

'Humanizzimo' The twenty-minute piece starts with the most subdued music on the album, consisting of Mellotron flute. About a quarter of the way through, the music becomes a tad too giddy for my liking. My take on this is similar to my judgment of many epics from The Flower King (and there are many): Sonically pleasant but rarely engaging. I enjoy this song in parts, but as a whole it tries to accomplish too much.

'Scanning the Greenhouse' The final three minutes and forty-five seconds of this album offer some more guitar soloing before launching into a fine vocal passage that culminates in a reprisal of that elevating refrain from 'The Flower King.'

Roine Stolt's The Flower King was, of course, the project that brought together the Flower Kings, and it's kind of the blueprint for every subsequent Flower Kings project - particularly when it comes to lyrics which depending on your mood might come across as hippy-dippy preachy nonsense or sunny and optimistic, retro-prog excess with a focus on long-form compositions, and the various other gimmicks which the Flower Kings have kept coming back to.

In other words, if you find that the Flower Kings are not usually to your tastes, there's nothing here to prompt you to change your mind - though over time, I've found the album has grown on me. Though The Flower Kings would go on to spearhead the retro-prog movement, there's a wider range of musical influences at work here than I had previously given credit for; on the title track there's moments where a gospel-ish chorus gives way into a raw, bluesy-funky jam for instance, which is the sort of thing most bands trying to just riff on the prog of the past would not have bothered with.

Whilst much has been made of Stolt's future Transatlantic bandmate Neal Morse and his career left-turn into combining progressive rock with explicitly Christian themes, people don't talk so much about Stolt producing overtly Christian-themed prog at least as early as this album. If prog was a dirty word in the early 1990s, "Christian rock" was even more sneered at, and still is, and with some justification - there's masses of third-rate artists out there who are fobbing off vapid, substandard work on the paying public under the guise of "Christian" music because they know there's an instant market that'll latch onto their work.

That said, this certainly doesn't seem to be the case here: The Flower King is a solid progressive rock album which refuses to compromise on the virtuosity and the progginess of the material, but also sees no reason to flinch back from Stolt's personal expressions of faith in the lyrics. There might be some hippy-ish moments here and there, but that's certainly preferable to some of the more dourly disapproving religious material out there, and the lyrics express an endearingly welcoming and non-exclusionary vision which is here to share joy, not to offer disapproval. Even if the lyrics do nothing for you, the soaringly emotional music can't help but be uplifting, and as such when you want to listen to something which is resoundingly upbeat it hits just the spot. On the strength of this, I'm certainly inclined to give the Flower Kings another chance, since I think I may have given them short shrift in the past.

If we had any question as to who the Monarch was here...

I'm not going to necessarily shy away from the fact that I'm younger, but at a fresh 28 years old I am as old as this album before us, which, given the broad subject matter of Progressive Rock, is still a relatively new release. Of course, we don't usually look at media that is nearly 30 years old in this lens, but it's somewhat relevant. What really drives home the age of this album is its and my relationship to ProgArchives. I've been posting reviews for less than a year now and the most recent review for this album was posted 5 years ago. I don't exactly know what all that means to you, but I do take it as an honor to 'look' at it with 'fresh eyes'; and interestingly enough I would figure it's been about 5 years since I've listened through this, Roine Stolt's pre-Flower Kings and therefore timely solo effort--I often forget it's not his debut. Being just a year before the steady stream of Flower-Kings-proper releases, this features now-familiar names: Hasse Fröberg on shared lead vocal responsibilities; [less familiar here, but] Ulf Wallander, the guest-spot sax player since the beginning until the present; [similarly consistently guest-spotted] Hasse Bruniusson on drums and percussion; and I would think most famously Jaime Salazar on drums and percussion [his involvement ended in 2001].

Most recognizably showing his lineage from Yes and their symphonic ilk is the introduction of "The Flower King", our title track and album opener. And this just is The Flower Kings; this is what they sound like. It's classic Symphonic Prog fitted for a more modern audience by a [slightly] younger generation of excellent musicians. At 10 minutes in length, it is our first of three mini-epics. As the verse continues, its age and timeframe of recording is very evident. Hard to explain, but you'll get the picture. I guess you could say some of the melodies and swelling instrumentation is in the least bit 'dated'. The riff around minute 3 is also of a very different time and nature than today, but I think ye fans of contemporary guitarsmith Steve Vai may find something familiar here, as I did. If you somehow don't know it yet, Roine is a very capable guitarist himself and, I would say thusly, surrounds himself with comparably apt musicians. The drumming of Jaime is exemplary, for instance. The Yes comparisons can be made increasingly here, as Roine solos over warm, bright accompaniment (he plays the keys here as well). And in the spacious aftermath of that bombast, we can also hear the natural lineage from Genesis clearly for the first time (around minute 7).

As the title implies, "Dissonata" starts off low and creeping, slowly opening up with warm but wary synth, finally building to the verse by minute 1. This track has a great beat and, as I've certainly come to expect from him, everything is well mixed and full. One of those great moments in which you have to come to grips that most all instrumentation and layers are provided by this single person. Impressive to say the least. I don't entirely understand how one so masterfully combines darkness with optimism, as I'm not a composer haha, but again, just excellent work here. And in classic Roine fashion, he is equally a compositional master in his proficiency of holding our attention throughout 10+ minute tracks (my mind can't not go to the 30+ minute epic, "The Truth Will Set You Free", released 8 years later). Once again, he also shows off his virtuosic guitar skill around minute 6. Beautiful and sweet notes... that fall away to the dissonance we were so wary of from the start. This segment feels a bit like a King Crimson lift. A nice nod, I'll say. Overall, a surefire highlight.

If I wasn't impressed enough by Roine's overwhelming muscianship, "The Magic Circus of Zeb" is lifting that veil: He plays this incredible keyboard solo at the frontend that blew me away... Also, some synthy[?...] goodness that should totally appeal to mid-to-late-70s Zappa fans! A mimicry of mallets? It does say he played percussion starting on this track (including the excellent drum performance here!!!)... This is then followed by this emotive, beautiful guitar solo. Good God, this man has it. Yet another must-hear for Symphonic Proggers like me. Goodness gracious... This is followed by the balladic and soft "Close Your Eyes"--the lowlight, as I purposefully did not bold it as I do for album highlights. In comparison to the prior 3, not a whole lot to see here--I should have figured the album wouldn't ring out 'perfect'. Oh well haha. [Wild that without this track, my personal average would have brought the album to a 4.5/5.0]

Our final mini-epic, at just over 9 minutes, "The Pilgrims Inn", is our true introduction to the other drummer here, Hasse Bruniusson: an excellent percussionist. This track also features the aforementioned Ulf Wallander on soprano saxophone. It brings to mind some Fusion bands like Passport mixed with a familiar darkness early enough featured by King Crimson, especially via the more established Red-era lineup. Really beautiful stuff, but again dark and moody. Around minute 7, a super memorable theme starts off on acoustic guitar. A sort of melody that makes me think of European Folk or an image of a troubadour. Killer track. I think it is really nicely juxtaposed by the next, "The Sounds of Violence", which feels like a preparation for wartime... Very sinister key melody. These are the moments I really get excited about for Roine. For instance, I now think back to Transatlantic's latest, The Absolute Universe. The favorite for me there was the very dark and very obviously Stolt-penned "Owl Howl". At just shy of 6 minutes, "Sounds..." is pretty much a perfectly incapsulated Prog song for me.

As we come to the close of this landmark release, "Humanizzimo" is our 21-minute epic. Ulf returns to the sax, and I guess it's just the fact that it's a soprano(?), but I can't help but think of Passport. Could be something to that... Our first shift is around minute 4, from swelling, personal beauty to... Rockabilly?! haha. Nothing is truly surprising to me at this point. [It would be at this point, nearing the album's close, that of course the disclaimer I frequently feel is on my mind: Roine Stolt's voice is very likely an acquired taste. I like it. But it is not a standard voice. I think he's quite talented vocally. It's just that his tone... You get it.] It is also for the first time in his known-by-me career where I must wonder about his personal faith: Is Roine a Christian? It would certainly make his relationship with Neal Morse in Transatlantic all the more sound/logical. Lyrically, this track talks of upright morals, facing temptations and a certain call to repentance. Then the lyric turns most specifically to actual regard to Jesus Christ himself: "With the blood of Jesus on the nail / we turn the balance on a scale / In pain and fearless suffering / lies a message from the King of Kings". He speaks of spiritual warfare, of heaven ("enter in the hall of grace"), of an apparent personal relationship with God the Father ("safe in your daddy's arms"?) and that love is "all in his name". Seems like a dead ringer, if you ask me. Around minute 17 or so, a very clear homage to Yes's latter-day epic "Awaken" can be heard... This was driving me nuts and it took me a while to figure out what was being referenced. See "Awaken" around 8:20 and onward with Wakeman's grandiose church organ. And wow... the ending on this... Gee-whizz! haha! And now, speaking of endings, we get to our album finale, "Scanning the Greenhouse", which feels like another less pointed homage to Yes. Hasse Fröberg returns on shared lead vocals here. As an opposite bookend, we get a return of "The Flower King" refrain. Another great number and therefore a great way to finish out this very very, most excellent album.