STARDUST WE ARE

''Retropolis'' seemed to be a key album in The Flower Kings' discography, opening the gates of fame for the markets in Japan, South America, and North America.From this point on the band would be marked as a very prolific team, crowned as the king of double albums, starting from ''Stardust we are''.This work was recorded between December 96' and April 97' at the band's Foxtrot Mobile Recorders in Uppsala.They would again collaborate with ex-Nya Ljudbolaget Ulf Wallander on sax, while they also received help from Ensemble Nimbus' leader Håkan Almkvist on sitar and tabla.''Stardust we are'' was originally released on Foxtrot Records, but it was also distributed in Japan via Belle Antique.

''Stardust we are'' is a classic Flower Kings offering, stylistically grounded in the music of YES, GENESIS and KING CRIMSON with balanced use of vintage and modern keyboards and combining short, more accesible songs with longer, cinematic pieces full of demanding orchestrations, quirky executions and bombastic interplays.The album's length gives the chance to the band to explore some new music territories, especially during the second CD.As a result it contains some new-insterted ambiental soundscapes and Ethnic influences in a few pieces, not much suited to a work full of dense and grandiose musicianship, but again these cuts show The Flower Kings' extreme diversity and Roine Stolt's unique talent as a composer.Over 100 out of the 130 minutes of the contained music though will never escape from the principles and values of Classic 70's Prog.The music is absolutely great and often astonishing with jazzy and bluesy blips among an otherwise very symphonic-oriented material.Bodin's Mellotron and Hammond organ dominate the pieces with dark atmospheres and powerful passages, Stolt's guitar is flawless and flexible and the appropriate modern vibes will come through the massive synth soloing.The ability of the band to slip through so many different moods with comfort and consistency is absolutely scary, especially if considering the fact that their first few albums were released in a very short time.Classic Prog fans will love this work's epics.No less than 9 tracks are over 7 minutes long with symphonic and jazzy inspirations, highlighted by another monumental composition by the Swedish masters, the 25-min. title-track, a tour-de-force of melodic soundscapes, complex Progressive Rock and Classical-inspired preludes.

130 minutes of music are maybe too much to result an album with no dead holes.But at least half of ''Stardust we are'' is certainly incredible, well-crafted and elaborate Progressive Rock with apparent 70's hints.Highly recommended.