THE FLOWER KING: MANIFESTO OF AN ALCHEMIST

Not quite a continuation of the Flower Kings, nor a totally new project, but probably a pimped out version of his solo work, charismatic Swedish multi-instrumentalist Roine Stolt returns with 2018's `Manifesto of an Alchemist'! The ex-Kaipa, Kaipa da Capo and The Sea Within composer here delivers an eclectic and diverse prog-rock crossover work that doesn't just simply fall back on the symphonic-prog approach perhaps expected of the artist, instead he incorporates plenty of blues, pop smarts and classic rock song-writing that highlights his social, political and spiritual observations, and it also boasts musical contributions from superior musicians such as bassist Jonas Reingold, drummer Marco Minnemann and others, as well as singers Nad Sylvan and Hasse Froberg.

After `Rainsong's dreamy vocal fragment introduction, `Lost America' opens properly with chugging riffing, Max Lorentz' sparkling electric piano and trickles of Hammond organ, Jonas' sweetly murmuring bass and Roine's charmingly accented raspy croon, and while much of the tune isn't particularly memorable, there's also plenty of tasty bluesy guitar playing from Stolt and the second half smoulders in all sorts of directions. The eerie `Ze Pawns' holds drowsy and weeping guitar strains over icy Mellotron slivers and desperate bursts of dramatic tension, Roine offering a melancholic vocal and sombrely cryptic lyric, and the twelve-minute `High Road' will remind many of the Flower Kings with its delirious, joyful, whimsical and kaleidoscopic approach. Hasse Froberg even pops up to sing alongside Stolt on the piece, and there's no shortage of unpredictable psychedelic interludes, dreamy harmonies and colourful soloing (and its damn cool to hear Roine play some big fat Rickenbacker bass on this one!).

Finally, `Rio Grande' is the first of three purely instrumental pieces that really take the disc even higher, and it initially burns with a jazz-fusion-like fire by way of rumbling drumming, splintering electric piano runs and strangled guitar, but there's an exquisite Mellotron-lifted ethereal passage in the middle that drifts into unhurried heavens of bliss with joyous Moog spins and victorious guitar reaches. The poppier `Next To A Hurricane' holds traces of Roine's idol Prince in its chorus and guitar soloing, and instrumental `The Alchemist' grooves with jazzy vibes and exotic sax soloing from guest Rob Townsend (and the piece probably wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Flower Kings' fusion-heavy `Unfold the Future'). The divine and placid ballad `Baby Angels' could almost pass for a Beach Boys `Sunflower'-era outtake, and `Six Thirty Wake-Up' is a final instrumental that emerges gently with tranquil flute, shimmering organ and embracing guitar comforts. The politically- charged ten minute `The Spell Of Money' closes the disc, and it bristles with an emotional heaviness and lurking menace, constantly reprising a frantic chorus and closing on grandiose guitar wailing full of defiance.

Roine's thoughts in the accompanying booklet of `Manifesto...' state how he and the other players were happy to keep less than perfect performances and unfished instrumental ideas from the recording sessions because they still captured plenty of spontaneity, and that mentality shines throughout the entire sixty-nine minute CD/LP. A disc that grafts a vintage sensibility to a firmly modern sound, Stolt and his friends have delivered a surprisingly fresh, gorgeously melodic and infectiously uplifting work with `Manifesto of an Alchemist', and it subtly proves to be one of the prog highlights of the year - long live the king/s!

Four stars.