THE FLOWER KING

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.