BACK IN THE WORLD OF ADVENTURES

When I put myself to the task of listening back on through their discography, I'm not sure I knew what I was getting myself into, knowing full well that an hour+ is the norm... Fortunately for me, this 70-some minute debut from one of Sweden's best exports (in my opinion) isn't the "worst" of it. I find, starting here in 1995, The Flower Kings were fairly consistently great for nearly a decade straight. I'm curious how I'll feel now, as it's been years since I've seriously delved into these albums (I wonder why). A year following frontman Roine Stolt's third solo album, since then aptly named The Flower King (1994), the band of approximately the same name released this'n. I always felt that The Flower Kings and their truest contemporaries (Echolyn, Spock's Beard and IZZ, for instance), were heads and shoulders above the Neo-Prog of the '80s they followed (and thankfully departed from). Phenomenal, fresh compositions performed by exemplary musicians for a new generation of Prog listeners (in a very new world musically). These bands, I feel, paved the way for bands like Big Big Train, Transatlantic (shocker), The Tangent (also a shocker haha), Beardfish, Wobbler and the like.

"World of Adventures" starts us off in nearly full form. It's a now-classic balance of heavy and soft, melody and rhythm, and a great showcase of the band's overall talents (from all present instrumentalists to Roine's layered vocals). There's something about this composition that I feel has more in common with the American Prog of what I consider the Second Wave (Kansas, Styx, etc.) than it does with the original Prog of the UK and Europe at large. As a song, in good form (sometimes the Flower Kings have me wanting when it comes to the more basic things, if anything); awesome soloing later on, especially from the great Tomas Bodin. On the next, "Atomic Prince / Kaleidoscope", they capture the sort of Medieval vibe of Gentle Giant or Greenslade. The start is a show of Roine's own talents as a guitarist to truly be reckoned with (and this isn't even the best of it here). Calling from the other side of Prog, they evoke ambience and soundscape in the second half ("Kaleidoscope"). This, too, eventually falls away in its own way to lovely acoustic soloing.

One of the more memorable songs, by my current estimation, is "Go West Judas" [my estimation being correct]. When Roine (and Co.) go hard, they go hard. And even at 65 today (in 2022), he's still bringin' it (in recent, I'm glad to recommend "Owl Howl" by Transatlantic). After the 2 minute mark, back to his soloing, he has this quick little thing, but it is... anything but small haha. Crazy tone, too. And then the solo proper. Just sheesh (a tad Fusion, a tad neo-Classical). Around minute 4, the rhythm has a slight Reggae-type lilt. And then there's a hint of twang on it as we near the end (a la Steve Howe), though all the while we are set within this grandiose symphony. Epic; especially in its further classic evocations of Yes or Genesis. "...Judas" is juxtaposed to the thematically similar, though more positive (barely...) "Train to Nowhere". Love his voice or hate it--this is just before the happy inclusion of the much more vocally talented Hasse Fröberg--this is one of Roine's better vocal performances. As for the song, a lowlight, by the way. Continuing right along, we have the feature of Ulf Wallander on sax on the jazzy Space Rock of "Oblivion Road" (not dissimilar to Gong, but with more classic symphonic trills). Very chill.

In comparison, we enter the bombast on "Theme for a Hero", another where we get a fantastic performance by Bodin. And around minute 3, another moment of Howesque playing by Stolt. They are one of the best in generating moving material in [mini]epic form. Great bridge section around minute 5, and featuring awesome drumming by the excellent Jaime Salazar. An instrumental track and, to me, it's the strongest thus far. Next is the shortest of the bunch by far, the minute-and-a-half "Temple of the Snakes". Our apparent snake gods summon us forth at the start of the upbeat (Worldbeat?) "My Cosmic Lover". Such a cool feel over an amazing groove, fortified so strongly by Michael Stolt's bass playing. Classic melodies! Fantastic everything, really. At the end we get another sax feature from Ulf. Another stark juxtaposition is found in the next, "The Wonder Wheel", starting off soft and ethereal. Super classic, like something you might expect in the middle of a Happy the Man album? Really cool interlude track anyways. The album closer, "Big Puzzle", is almost the exact length of its opposite bookend (just over 13 minutes). Man! More Bodin, please! [Amazing he was effectively let go a few years back... Still don't know about it in depth.] Great melodies here, too! What's there to complain about? haha. It's a great Symphonic Prog epic by a great Symphonic Prog band!

Certainly not perfect, but truly an excellent debut record. Excited to dig into the rest. It's been far too long, and my body and mind are together readied.