FLOWER POWER

1998 was another busy year for The Flower Kings.Roine Stolt released his second solo album ''Hydrphonia'', while the press was still talking about an emerging monster, writing and producing extremely good music at high rates.For the first time the band was preparing to travel to the States and the compilation ''Scanning the greenhouse'' was released to on Avalon as a taste for what the audience would deal with.The Flower Kings played at the 98' Progfest, but still kept writing music in a prolific way for a fourth release before the end of the millenium.''Flower power'' was released in 1999, the first album of the band to be released in four different countries: Sweden, USA, Germany and Japan.

Needless to say this was another 2-CD effort by The Flower Kings, the rate of producing music by Stolt was reaching shocking levels.This album is apparently known for containing one of the longest prog pieces ever recorded, the 59-min. ''Garden of dreams''.The Flower Kings' sound was always versatile, although fairly grounded in 70's Classic Prog, and this piece sees the band moving away from the strict symphonic orientations of the previous releases.While the music is always melodic, sophisticated and fairly symphonic with evident CAMEL, KAIPA and GENESIS influences, the track's length allowed Stolt to experiment with different styles and deliver as many as moods possible, as a result ''Garden of dreams'' contains certain segments with a strong jazzy flavor, some more Electronic-showered lines and even some surprising bluesy solos, prooving why Stolt is regarded one of the best guitarists in the league.On the other hand there are tons of proggy, complex themes with symphonic keyboard flashes and more striking guitar tunes over sentimental vocals to keep things going for the traditional prog listener.The final feeling is mixed, definitely the musicianship is great and almost flawless, but the display of so many styles hurts the track's consistency and overall value.Seeing this as separate pieces will definitely increase the general listening pleasure.

CD one closes with a typical instrumental Flower Kings piece ''Astral dog'', but CD 2 is the definitely winner here, containing a few full-blown prog epics along with some shorter tracks, where the style of the band becomes instantly recognizable.Compositions with great melodies, decent singing lines and a collection of grandiose textures and complicated twists and turns in the vein of 70's Prog, always flavored by a modern production and sound.Stolt's guitar work remains a highlight and Bodin had already become a hot name among Prog keyboardists.Laid-back electroacoustic instrumentals, covered by pompous symphonic orchestrations and touches of a melodious side, creating monumental and trully enjoyable Progressive Rock.They still find some space for rockin' parts and a bit of a jamming mood among the elaborate arrangements, which is always a good thing in my books, if placed and performed well.Echoes of YES, GENESIS, CAMEL and a maybe even a slight Canterbury/jazzy feel are the guiding lines of ''Flower power'' second part.

Rating comes hard.The very long epic is good, but not always great with often a very loose approach, the second part of the album sees The Flower Kings in a creative orgasm, featuring rich and convincing arrangements.Strongly rcommended to say the least, the best moments of the album belong among the best of 90's Prog as well...3.5 stars.