Roine Stolt
The Flower King

Imagine a fairground...

But not like the modern ones, with bumper cars, chains, and improbable shooting ranges. A fairground from the old days, with merry-go-rounds with horses, the tunnel of love, the haunted house, the candy apple stall, and the typical music of barrel organs...
But above all, imagine the colors, so many colors: this is the main component of this album, which is an immense kaleidoscope of sounds and sensations.

In the early '90s, Roine Stolt, co-founder in the '70s of the Swedish progressive group Kaipa (which has recently returned to release three excellent albums, although the blond guitarist left due to too many commitments with other projects), brought to life this amazing album with the first incarnation of what would become the immense band, the Flower Kings (but I wonder where they got the name from...?).

In this case, writing a track-by-track review seems rather pointless to me, given that the entire album can be conceived as a single, cohesive musical flow. If I really have to point out a particular track, I would recommend listening to "Dissonata". Just to give you an idea of the album's stylistic directions, it can be said that it's a successful synthesis and reworking in a personal key of much of the progressive musical experiences of the '70s first and the '80s later. The music of "The Flower King" reprises some typical timbres and the complexity of structures from '70s progressive while softening the verbosity and making them more melodic, but also that sense of orchestration typical of '80s progressive, without replicating its sometimes exaggerated pomposity.

The sounds of the instruments are modern and rock (although the mellotron often makes an appearance) also because the structure of the tracks often highlights Roine's guitar (he is the one, except for the drums, percussion, and sax, who plays all the instruments). Ah yes, the guitar... I believe that, despite his lack of notoriety with the general public, Roine Stolt is one of the most expressive guitarists I have ever heard, even though he's not a virtuoso: the lyricism he manages to manifest with his instrument reminded me of the most inspired David Gilmour and, at times, also Steve Hackett (moreover, Roine has never hidden his love for Genesis), with an added background melancholic vein typical of Scandinavian musicians.
However, do not think that "The Flower King" is a difficult album to listen to: it is true that almost all the tracks are "dense" and made up of multiple overlapping themes (which can be grasped only after a few listens), but the album is immediate and enjoyable even without delving too much into it. Like many progressive records, this one also grows over time, and I personally never tire of listening to it.

One last consideration: as stated by Roine Stolt himself, the "Flower King" is the personification of all noble human sentiments (love, kindness, sweetness, etc...), without rhetoric or mawkishness, and the music of this splendid album is the evident transposition of this.
Not only those who are tormented can compose great music!