Vertigo (The Flower Kings, 2019)

The Flower Kings' Waiting for Miracles is one of my favourite albums by Roine Stolt's band and this for its good taste and musical balance. Never too showy, never too trivial, this 2019 release includes some well structured and even better composed songs. Intricated as only prog can be, but also full of melodies and lively rythmic lines.

One of the best cover arts by The Flower Kings, IMHO.

Vertigo is one of those pearls: it features not only a catchy and majestic main theme, but also a very long and charming musical section, where Roine Stolt performs one of his best guitar solos ever. And that's saying something. While the rest of the band weaves a colourful tapestry of sounds, our Swedish guitarist makes us fly on his magical broomstick swinging between stingy accents and pure poetry. Flesh and spirit all at once. 

Stardust We Are (Flower Kings, 1997)

The title song of "Stardust We Are" by Flower Kings is a manifold suite full of changes and charming interplays, as usual with this band. If I choose this one for my post, however, it's because I feel more emotion in this epic than I usually feel listening to Flower Kings. The fusion between acoustic and electric instruments is perfect, and this surely adds a warmer touch to the big picture. On the other hand, the melodies are well found and the arrangements forbid any boredom and redundancy.

It also exists a 3LP+2CD deluxe set of this album... did you know?

I especially like the down tempo passages, full of misty guitars not too far from early Genesis. There's a strong coherence in this suite, also because it is divided in only three parts, even if it lasts more than 25 minutes! The three sections plot, IMHO, allows a more fluid and easy exploitation of each theme and a good deal of variations on them. In short, "Stardust We Are" is a song I always listen to with pleasure and surprise.

The Truth Will Set You Free (The Flower Kings, 2002)

The quintessential Flower Kings, I'd say. A long - very long: more than 30 minutes - and highly variated suite, including melodies and rythmic sections, long instrumental passages and well written sung sections, electronic effects and acoustic corners, fast tempo progressions and calm interludes. There's all an average prog fan is fond of, with some slightly soul vibrations, as usual with Roine Stolt's band. Most of all, IMHO, this is a collection of well found themes, set up in a pleasant and unpredictable frame, where all the parts perfectlt fit in.

This suite opens the double CD "Unfold The Future".

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Some of the passages are really original (especially some guitar solos), some other are reminiscent of past prog heroes (ah... those vocal harmonies!), but the entire track has a strong character, a well defined structure, so that one can immediately recognise it. A special mention goes to Hasse Bruniusson's creative percussions: if this huge track's never boring, it's also thanks to him, IMHO.

World without A Heart (The Flower Kings, 2001)

The Flower Kings like long and intricated epics, so that you won't find in their discography many traditionally written songs, but this is the case with the gentle song "World without A Heart", taken from the album "The Rainmaker". Of course, this is a Flower Kings' track, meaning that arrangements, sounds and architecture aren't so plain as they seem to be in the first place.

I like this dark artwork very much.

So, there are verse and chorus, but also an instrumental bridge full of original solutions; there's a catchy melody (especially in the chorus), but each minute of this song features clever interplays involving all the instruments and the vocal harmonies enhance Roine Stolt's mighty performance.A ballad, yes, but a prog one, with a beautiful atmosphere and a rich range of instruments and a good balance between acoustic and electric sounds. And the epics? Next time, my friends, let me enjoy this relaxing song once more...

Numbers (The Flower Kings, 2012)

This long suite opens "Banks of Eden", The Flower Kings' eleventh album, and it's a really good example of synphonic rock, with energetic guitar riffs, impervious keyboard progressions and airy, melodic sung themes. The sound is full and it features many changes of tempo, with the first 10 minutes equally divided between perfecty entwined electric walls of sound and choir and acoustic, intimate ballads. Then, I also appreciate the atmospheric section between minute 10 and 12, another good specimen of the spectacular, arcane but also ironic style of the band.

Silas Toball's wonderful cover art for "Banks of Eden".

This section is immediately followed by one of the best guitar solos in recent Roine Stolt's production. And when you think surprises are over, here you are sort a black music part, softly sung on a bass and hammond background. What else? A splendid keys / guitar duel (starting around minute 18) and a guitar-driven section in a crescendo of drums and choral arrangements. The finale begins with a taste of late '70s funky, then we're back in a melodic electric guitar solo. I don't always like The Flower Kings' epics, but this one is stunning and unpredictable, in a word: progressive.

World of Adventures (The Flower Kings, 1995)

Maybe I'm not always fond of this swedish leading new prog group, but some of their songs really take my heart away. This is the case with "World of Adventures", taken from "Back in The World of Adentures", the first official release of The Flower Kings and still my favourite. This is a well organised and well written track, starting with a Yes reminiscent intro, then exploring new and old prog ways. Actally, in more than 13 minutes you'll never find twice the same idea, it's a phantasmagorical series of musical and vocal passages perfectly interlocked. Of course, Roine Stolt's guitar plays an important role here, but there's plenty of space for keyboards too.

Yes, prog is back.

Do you recognize any old friends in this cover?

The song's title says it all: it's like welcoming home all the prog fans, and the lyrics bode a new journey through the progressive world: "I'm deep into sonical changes", says Roine, then: "We're getting high on adventures / say goodbye to the pressure / prepare to fly." And we really fly here, high in the prog rock skies, we recognize many old friends (yes, the band quote some classics... find them out yourself!) and we see new ones. A great debut for those Kings... after all, you'll hear the say: "We're children of the Woodstock nation /lost in peace and contemplation." Great.