The Flower Kings 'Space Revolver'

While I would love to write a review about the new Flower Kings album Space Revolver. I feel that now running their official site Flower Power, in keeping with BOA's Independent policy it would be unfair of and on me to continue to review their material. But how could we ignore this release!!!

So it leaves me to welcome guest reviewer Christopher Oberst with his personal view of the new release
Ian Oakley

Label: Inside Out Music
I Am The Sun (Part One) (15:03)
Dream On Dreamer (2:43)
Rumble Fish Twist (8:06)
Monster Within (12:55)
Chicken Farmer Song (5:09)
Underdog (5:29)
You Don't Know What You've Got (2:39)
Slave Ot Money (7:30)
A King's Prayer (6:02)
I Am The Sun (Part Two) (10:48)
Total Time: 75:04

Musicians:
Roine Stolt - guitars, vocals, keyboards
Tomas Bodin - keyboards
Hasse Fröberg - voices
Jonas Reingold - bass
Jaime Salazar - drums, percussion
Hasse Bruniusson - percussion, voices

"So Much for The New Progressive Mainstream"

On certain other 'Prog' sites the current (commercial) Prog hierarchy are becoming either being dismissed outright or put into a new subsection of "New Progressive Mainstream" (NPM). Which has lead to many discussions on other sites concerning "Prog Snobbery" and do we really care anyway….
If the underlying idea of the NPM is bands that are either retro or pop with a few prog trimmings, then the new TFK album 'fails' on both counts. It's a genuine prog album with few obvious borrowings from either Yes or Genesis. Quite an album, really.

One word of warning up front: Space Revolver does not seem to me as 'catchy' as previous efforts. It is a more difficult album because it does not have any songs that conform to normal pop song writing structures, as previous albums have had (think "Kingdom of Lies," "Deaf Numb & Blind" or "There is More to This World"). It is not as 'comfortable' to listen to, in part because it does not clearly reference old-time prog. You have to live with it for awhile to really get what the band are doing, but the effort pays off, I assure you. It is a very deep album.

Perhaps those of you who do not have the album yet wonder what previous TFK album it sounds the most like. The answer is "none of them", basically. When I first picked up a copy of this album at a recent US TransAtlantic concert I stated on the Flower Kings fan list that the album is not a radical departure from previous efforts, and that is true--it definitely has the TFK sound--but it is a pretty big evolutionary leap for Roine and co. Perhaps the most succinct way to describe the album is "a tighter, more focused, fusion of Flower Power and Stardust We Are". I don't know if that's helpful, however.

The one factor that jumps out at me about how this album has moved the band forward is that it really does sound like a *band* on this album. Previous albums have occasionally had a feeling like the "Roine and Tomas Project", where the rhythm section was not quite an equal partner. No more. Jonas Reingold has entered the band with a splash, and he seems to have energised drummer Jaime Salazar. The rhythm section really plays with fire on SR, and it puts some kick into the album.

One other factor making it more of a band sound is the relative lack of Roine guitar solos. Of course there are solos, but Roine's playing is not as much in the spotlight as on previous albums. Actually, most of the album concentrates on vocal pieces--there is only one instrumental piece--and the instrumental breaks in many of the songs concentrate more on composition than on solos. This is not to say that Roine's playing is bad. Quite the opposite--his playing is exquisite, as always.

As far as the vocals, most people seem to love or hate Roine's singing. I really like his singing--he sings with heart and conviction, and he certainly has much better pitch sense than any number of commercially huge singers. His singing is interesting on this album. He has become better at emphasising the meaning of the lyrics--which can't always be easy in one's second language. Hans Froeberg (is it Hans or Hasse? I've seen both in different liner notes...) provides his usual dramatic singing support to Roine. He seems to sing about the same proportion of the material that he did on Stardust We Are.

In addition to the vocals, I believe the lyrics have taken a step forward, as they have on most of TFK albums. Roine seems to get more comfortable writing in English all the time and his lyrics get better at expressing various kinds of thoughts. I would say that the lyrics on SR are not as 'flowery' as some previous albums! I sense a growing desire by Roine to address more worldly concerns on songs like "Chicken Farmer Song" and "Slave to Money.

On to the songs:

"I Am The Sun"

This epic is split into two parts that open and close the album. That was a good decision, I believe. As much as I love 25 minute pieces of music, the way the piece begins and ends, it deserves to *be* the beginning and the end of the album. As a piece of music, I think it is more coherent than "Stardust We Are", although it might not be quite as stirring as this first TFK 25 minute epic. The sections of music flow more naturally than "SWA" and the way that the sections refer to each other is a bit more nuanced. The first thing that hits you on this piece is Roine's heavy rock rhythm guitar playing. That is something new to TFK, as far as I can tell. Don't worry, though--TFK are not mutating into the Swedish Dream Theater!!
Actually, his rhythm guitar playing and sound on this song remind me a little bit of Ty Tabor of Kings X. The quieter sections of this song use some pretty jazzy chord progressions and melodies that are an unexpected treat. And the ending instrumental section is pure symphonic rock heaven! The ending to "SWA" is almost mundane, by comparison. Absolutely brilliant. It reminds me slightly of the fading instrumental end of "Ritual" by Yes but is more developed and lasts longer. What a way to end the album.

"Dream on Dreamer"

This is a quiet 3:00 piece with music by Tomas and lyrics by Roine. It is immediately proceeded by a quiet section of "I Am The Sun" that segues so effectively that you can almost miss the transition if you aren't listening closely. "DoD" is a beautiful jazzy/spacey piece that is nice contrast to some of the noisy music elsewhere on the album.

"Rumble Fish Twist"

Wow. TFK does Mahavishnu Orchestra. This is a thundering instrumental workout that moves along quite nicely. Most of you have probably heard the excerpt of this song on the Flower Power site featuring Jonas doing his best Jaco Pastorious imitation. That is only a small part of "RFT"--the rest is a very interesting jazz-rock fusion piece that is one of the highlights of the album for me. It's also the only instrumental. I guess with only one disc of music, the band wanted to concentrate on vocal pieces. Still, if you only have one instrumental, this is a good choice.

"Monster Within"

This piece took awhile for me to get into. It is the "other epic" on the album, being 13 minutes long. "MW" is more aggressive and edgy than most of TFK's previous work. It is definitely not "easy listening". But give this piece some time. There is value in it.

"Chicken Farmer Song"

With a title like this, one might expect a country music parody. Not at all. Actually, the music is quite lifting, with some more wonderful harmonies thrown in here and there. The lyrics are relatively serious, even if the title is not. The song expresses the idea of escaping the pressures of daily life as a sort of daydream--Roine would rather "be where the chicken farmers run". Has Roine ever been near a chicken farm? It wouldn't be my first choice... :)

"Underdog"

This song features Hans Froeberg more prominently. It's another fairly serious song, and has the highest concentration of Tomas' sound collages of any piece on the album. After all the seriousness, though, Tomas throws in hilarious sample at the end: a commercial announcer touts the "John Holmes Pizza"--so big you can hardly get it in your mouth. A very odd end to the song, but I like it--reminds me a bit of Zappa.

"You Don't Know What You've Got"

Another quiet interlude in the surrounding storm of sound. This one was entirely written by Hans Froeberg. His first writing contribution for TFK was "Magic Pie" on Flower Power, which, to be honest, I really don't like. This song is much, much better--it's actually one of the songs on SR that sticks in my mind the most. Very interesting Indian percussion on the song, going along with primarily only acoustic guitar and the voices of Hans and Roine. Nice.

"Slave To Money"

Another song with lots of Hans Froeberg vocals. In some ways, the first section reminds me a bit of "Kingdom of Lies," but more complex, and not quite as hooky. It features several section changes. The later part of the song would fit nicely as part of "Garden of Dreams." This might be the piece that sounds most like what TFK have done before. It's a good solid progressive song, even if not the best on the album.

"A Kings Prayer"

This has been described as an 'epic.' It's only six minutes long. Maybe a "mini-epic"? Had "I Am The Sun" not been split, this would have been the album closer, I am guessing. It's a beautiful stirring piece of music. Not very high on the irony scale, but there's too much of that around these days, anyway. Some soaring Gilmour-esque guitar playing at the end. Yeah, works for me...I'll take it. :)


Now, for the bottom-line (finally!). How would I rate this album in the TFK pantheon? The band has never made a bad album, including this one, so perhaps the question is silly. If I were forced to choose one TFK studio album to take with me, however, I think I would still choose Stardust We Are. There are some musical heights on those albums that are unbelievable, and perhaps SR doesn't quite reach those heights, even if it is overall more consistent. The one thing I really find lacking on SR is a more uptempo rocker. "In the Eyes of the World" is a classic album opener, and SR maybe could have used something in that vein. As it is, SR comes off a bit moodier, darker, and denser than previous albums. It doesn't grab you immediately, but after awhile; the damn thing won't leave your CD player! So maybe I would choose SR for its depth instead of SWA...ah hell, I usually take several FK albums with me when I travel to work, so I guess I couldn't choose very easily.

Bravo to the band for another fine album! I am eagerly hoping for a U.S. tour this autumn.

Christopher Oberst July 2000
Coberst@pf.com

A footnote from Ian

As no one has heard the August released Japanese bonus disc yet Ill just add a little to wet the appetite…

Details of the Japan Space Revolver bonus CD :-
1 - The Meadow
2 - A good Heart
3 - Dream on Dreamer (Tomas lead vocal)
4 - Venus Fly Trap
5 - Last Exit (Instrumental version of 'The Kings Prayer'

All in all 25 mins of great Flower Kings music. All tracks flow into each other. David described it as "A Flower Kings mini "Chill-out" album".My favourites are 'The Meadow' - Featuring Jonas on a very ambient, Jaco Pastorious type number and the stunning 'Last Exit' with Roine playing a 6 minute lead guitar solo - Wonderful stuff! - Ian