Stolt, Roine - The Flower King

Year of Release: 2001
Label: InsideOut Music America
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 69:11:00

You may know Roine Stolt as the leader and guitar player of The Flower Kings, even though he has a rich and storied past in music since the 70's. You may be unaware that he filled important roles with other groups such as Kaipa and Fantasia. Stolt is another one of those legendary guitar maestros that started off playing the bass, which seems to be more common than not in the development of any artist that plays the six-string. His second solo album The Flower King was released in 1994 and was subsequently reissued on Inside Out America in 2001.

Stand out solo albums such as this will separate an artist from all of his contemporaries. Stolt is not only the consummate professional and leader of one of the most successful prog-rock bands in the world; he has the talent and vision to create music that is able to stand on its own merit without any reflection on previous collaborations or projects. That in and of itself is the most difficult thing to overcome when an individual has a vast repertoire to look back upon over a long period of time such as Stolt does. The format he follows with the albums sequence is classic prog-rock. He uses an intelligent combination of instrumentals and vocal tracks along with the expected multi-tiered prog-rock magnum opus as the meat of the recording. "Humanizzimo" runs over twenty minutes and breaks down into six parts. With help from his band mates from TFK he creates a steadfast and unyielding project from start to finish. Instrumental tracks such as "The Sounds of Violence" spotlight Stolt's innate ability to squeeze every ounce of resonance and beauty out of his guitar without uttering a word. Talented players like this man eliminate the need for vocals (even though he has a good voice). The beauty of his craft becomes personified in a note for note interpretation of feelings and a well spring of spontaneous emotions. He not only transcends all preconceived ideas of what the ideal guitar player and musician can be, he defines it.

It's time for the world to take it upon themselves to delve into the history and back catalog of music that Roine Stolt has given us to enjoy, only then will we completely understand his importance and the critical contributions that he has made in regards to the development of a continually evolving and blossoming musical genre. Sitting in the fan's seat for a moment as an enthused listener ... I would like to see him come up with the unexpected the next time he records a solo album. Something like a completely instrumental acoustic recording to show his diversity and ability to cross over to another style seamlessly would be appropriate, and a welcome change. I have no doubt that he can do anything he decides to do and the fan base of TFK will continue to grow and flourish because of his open ended approach to music.

Roine's Equipment List

• Gibson Les Paul "Gold Top" 1953 (commonly used in recording sessions for solos because of it's nice tone)
• Gibson ES -175 "Cherry Sunburst" 1963 (circa) (commonly used in studio for Rhythm parts, dry percussive, warm sound)
• Ibanez Pro Solist "Customized" 1987 ("On stage guitar" because of it's stable tuning & intonation)
• Epiphone Sorrento (orange) 1997 (Semi acoustic /electric with P90 pickups)
• Fender Precision Bass (sunburst) 1966 (customized with added Jazzbass pickup)
• Shergold Bass & 12string electric (Custom) (it's history goes back to the KAIPA days 1976)
• Seagull 12-string acoustic
• Guild Jumbo acoustic (warm and huge tone, love it)
• Ariana Nylon acoustic
• Custom -72 Jazzmaster Bass (I built this one myself in school 1972, with Fender Jazz Pickup and Heffner neck)
• Digitech GSP 2101 Tube Preamp/Effect processor
• Tech 21, 60 W combo amp (from makers of Sans Amp N.Y.C.)
• Marshall JTM 45 Tube amp
• Marshall 4x12 Vintage cabinet (1960) top
• Marshall 4x12 Vintage cabinet (1960) bottom
• MosValve Poweramp 2x70W
• Vox wha-wha
• George Dennis wha-wha
• XXL distortion pedal, from Tech 21, N.Y.C.

Originally released in 1994 via Foxtrot (FOXCD 011); by InsideOut Music in 1998 (IOMCD 052/SPV 085-31822) and again by InsideOut in 2004 as part of the Artwork Collector's Series (TACS003/SPV 087-31828)

Tracklisting:
The Flower King (10:32) / Dissonata (10:02) / The Magic Circus Of Zeb (7:06) / Close Your Eyes (3:12) / The Pilgrims Inn (9:20) / The Sounds Of Violence (5:41) / Humanizzimo (20:53): A. Twilight Flower - B. The Messenger - C. The Nail - D. Only Human - E. This Is The Night - F. The Flower Of Love / 8. Scanning The Greenhouse (3:45)

Musicians:
Hans Bruniusson - percussion, drums
Ulf Artan Wallander - soprano sax
Roine Stolt - acoustic and electric guitars, bass, percussion, , keyboards, vocals
Jamie Salazar -drums
Hasse Froberg-lead vocal (1, 8)

Discography:
Kaipa - Kaipa (1975/1993)
Kaipa - Inget Nytt Under Solen (1976/1993)
Fantasia (1979/1992)
The Lonely Heartbeat (1989)
Kaipa - Stockholm Symfonie (Japanese bootleg) (1993)
The Flower King (1994/2001)
Behind The Walls (LP) (1995)
The Flower Kings - Back In The World Of Adventures (1995)
The Flower Kings - Retropolis (1996)
The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are (1997/2000)
The Flower Kings - Scanning The Greenhouse (comp) (1998)
The Flower Kings - Edition Limit?e Quebec (only 700 copies!) (1998)
The Flower Kings - Flower Power (1999)
The Flower Kings - TFK fanclub disc (2000) (free CD exclusive to fanclub members only)
The Flower Kings - Alive On Planet Earth (2000)
The Flower Kings - Space Revolver (2000)
The Flower Kings - Space Revolver Special Edition (2CD set) (2000)
The Flower Kings - The Rainmaker (2001)
The Flower Kings - The Rainmaker - Special Edition (2001)
The Flower Kings - Unfold The Future (2002)
The Flower Kings - Live In New York: Official Bootleg (2002)
The Flower Kings - Fan Club CD 2002 (2002)
Kaipa - Notes From The Past (2002)
Hydrophonia (2002)
Kaipa - Keyholder (2003)
The Flower Kings - Fan Club CD 2004 (2004)
The Flower Kings - Adam & Eve (2004)
The Flower Kings - BetchaWannaDanceStoopid (2004)
Kaipa - Mindrevolution (2005)
Kaipa - The Decca Years 1975-1978 (5CD set) (2005)
Wall Street Voodoo (2005)
The Flower Kings - Harvest (2005)
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (2006)
The Flower Kings - The Road Back Home (2007)
The Flower Kings - The Sum Of No Evil (2007)
The Sum Of No Evil (Special Edition) (2007)

The Flower Kings - Meet The Flower Kings - Live Recording (DVD) (2003)
The Flower Kings - Instant Delivery (2DVD) (2006)
Instant Delivery - Limited Edition (2CD/2DVD) (2006)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin SE

Added: March 24th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.flowerkings.se
Hits: 4263
Language: english