The Flower King
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Artist: Roine Stolt
Label: Inside Out U.S.
Category: Music
Average customer rating:
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
UPC: 727701401324
EAN: 0727701401324
ASIN: B00005J9ZD
Release Date: 2001-07-24 |
The Flower King
Related Categories:
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Progressive Rock
| Progressive
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Tracks:
- The Flower King
- Dissonata
- The Magic Circus Of Zeb
- Close Your Eyes
- The Pilgrims Inn
- The Sounds Of Violence
- Humanizzimo: Twilight Flower/The Messenger/The Nail/Only Human/This Is The Night/The Flower Of Love
- Scanning The Greenhouse
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Album Description
This is the CD that started the entire Flower King's legacy. The first installment from Flower Kings mastermind Roine Stolt. Symphonic, lush and oh so progressive. 8 tracks. 2001 Century Media release.
Customer Reviews:
A Masterpiece of our Times.......2004-05-20
I recently purchased "The Artwork Collector's Series" version of this incredible CD. It is my second copy. I bought the first back in 2001 after discovering the Flower Kings work in 1999. I have to say that even to this day that this is one of my all-time favorites of any, by anyone. I have to disagree with the one reviewer about the title track. I think the vocals are excellent and totally fit. To the other reviewer who mentioned Stephen Zauner, yes he was (is) brilliant and I owned the Prizms and Views album. Played it to death. Loved it. Although I thought his sound and songwriting lent much more to early Genesis than to Yes. In fact I heard very little that reminded me of Yes. But anyway, Roine Stolt is the man of the 21st Century. Brilliant. Love pretty much anything he touches. And if you have never heard anythig by the Flower Kings, this is the best place to start.
Shades Of Greatness To Come.......2004-04-29
After having become a dedicated fan of the Flower Kings over the last several years, I went back to FK leader Roine Stolt's early days in order to hear him in his developmental stages as a musician and a songwriter. Some of his other solo works are currently unavailable, so I settled on The Flower King.
Let me tell you, if he had done nothing else after this CD, the Flower King would stand alone as a progressive rock masterpiece.
On first listening, I was sceptical. The title cut has virtuoso instrumentation but lame, commercial-sounding vocals that remind me somewhat of Journey. This sin is compounded by a reprise of the same vocal style on track 8, which is essentially the same song as the title cut. In reading the liner notes, I see that one Hasse Froberg is responsible for the vocals on both those cuts. Fortunately, those are the only two songs on which he is lead vocalist.
But then there is the rest of the album, which is pure enjoyment all the way through. Roine Stolt is a much better vocalist than Froberg and he proves it time and again. Throughout the listener is dazzled by the beauty of the music and the skill of its interpreters. Froberg's vocals aside, I enjoy the rest of the album, its quasi-religious message and some pretty spectacular instrumental work. I especially like The Sounds of Violence and the nearly 21 minute long Humanizzimo sequence that is reminiscent in scope and spirit, but not in sound, of Procol Harum's opus In Held Twas In I of 35 years ago.
Those who had the good fortune to hear this when it was first issued were unknowingly listening to shades of greatness to come as Stolt has gone on to issue many great CDs with his band The Flower Kings and also has been a participant in some memorable side projects like Transatlantic. I urge all fans of intelligent, progressive rock who has not yet heard The Flower King to add it to their collections while it is yet available.
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