Retropolis

The Flower Kings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Inside Out U.S.
• ASIN: B00004XSOJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,908 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Retropolis

2. Rhythm of the Sea

3. There Is More to This World

4. Romancing the City

5. The Melting Pot

6. Silent Sorrow

7. The Judas Kiss

8. Retroplis by Night

9. Flora Majora

10. The Road Back Home

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What more could you ask for?, November 28, 2001

By 

Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retropolis (Audio CD)

I stumbled on The Flower Kings via Transatlantic, the side project for FK guitarist Roine Stolt, Dream Theater drummer extraordinaire Mike Portnoy, Spock's Beard frontman Neal Morse and Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas.

I'm sure glad I did, too. This music is superb.

Progressive rock -- even well-played "neo-prog" -- is head and shoulders above other music these days. The level of musicianship is vastly superior to today's run-of-the-mill New Rock/Alt Rock/Metal bands. The music is deeper, more intricate and bears repeated listenings. (Try that with Rob Zombie, Bush or Incubus.)

On Retropolis, The Flower Kings show uncommon musical talent, with songs running the gamut from delicate and atmospheric ("Rhythm Of the Sea") to purely bombastic and fun (the title track, "Retropolis") to completely captivating ("The Judas Kiss" -- which I can listen to on Repeat all day long -- or "Flora Majora").

The vocal style reminds me of John Wetton circa King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black or Red era.

The keyboards are reminiscent of '70s era Yes, ELP or Genesis. Roine Stolt's guitar playing often sounds like Steve Howe of Yes (check out "There Is More To This World," if you doubt me) with just as much virtuosity. (The whole song has a Yes-like feel to it, circa Tormato or even one of their more recent releases -- The Ladder, perhaps. It even features raspy bass playing, a tenor vocalist who sounds like Jon Anderson, and an optimistic lyric -- all of which smacks of Yes.)

The Flower Kings' Retropolis is precisely the music I most enjoy listening to. It's upbeat, intricate, mostly instrumental, showy and fun. It's perfect for the office, where I do most of my listening. In fact (and I know I'll get tar-and-feathered for even thinking this), in many ways I prefer it to Yes, a band I adore. The musical landscape is more diverse and the musicianship is, if anything, even more flamboyant and creative.

If you're looking for music well-played, with hints of Yes, Genesis, ELP and Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings will fit the bill nicely. In fact, I couldn't ask for anything more from this album.

I highly recommend Retropolis.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost Epic..., March 26, 2002

By 

x_bruce (Oak Park, ILLINOIS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retropolis (Audio CD)

Retropolis starts out simply with Rhythm Of Life and blazes into Retropolis, a stunning instrumental featuring progressive rock but mixing modern synthesis and elements of electronica along with tradmarked organ and mellotron washes. Roine Stolt's guitar playing is melodic and assured, he doesn't need to play fast to show you how good he is, he plays what is necessary letting the music speak rather than technique.

The next two songs Rhythm Of The Sea and There Is More To This World move more into pure progressive rock and set the tone of this excellent album. The changes in dynamic, both mood and volume are as good as any progressive act I've heard but with a modern twist and overall sound that is unique to The Flower Kings.

One man does not a band make and Tomas Bodin aptly shows this on keyboards. Michael Stolt's bass is more subdued than is typical for this genre of music but fits well in the overall sound. Jaime Salazar is an excellent drummer who can sit back in a mix and find moments to expoit with Bruford-like fills. The two wild cards here are Hasse Bruniusson's percussion work which adds character to the music and Hans Froberg's vocals which augment Roine Stolt's. Froberg has a pure tone and to some might seem the better singer but Stolt has the better delivery. He has an empathic style whereas Froberg is super articulate.

When listening to The Flower Kings I keep appreciating the ensemble work. Stolt's guitar work is wonderful and owing considerably to Steve Howe, Steve Hackett and Frank Zappa yet he pulls it together using these guitar slingers as influences while retaining his own style. More importantly he doesn't overshadow the band when soloing, instead his solos fill in musical spaces keeping the music cohesive.

I read a bunch of reviews here, I'm glad I did because the sound clips would never have convinced me to purchase Retropolis.

Having grown up on Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant and King Crimson and having moved on to mostly electronic and post rock/experimental music in part because of how unimpressive commercial rock became it was a pleasant surprise to find The Flower Kings. Had it not been for Transatlantic's two fine CDs I probably would never have known about them. Having found out I purchased four of their albums in a month.

Retropolis is focused with no filler and would make a good initial album for first time listeners.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, tight album, August 1, 2003

By 

Michael Rawdon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retropolis (Audio CD)

The Flower Kings' second album is, if anything, a bit better than their first, Back in the World of Adventures. After the throwaway intro "Rhythm of Life" is the lengthy and soaring instrumental title track which keys album by painting a cinematic and portentious mood.

The next two tracks are the album's highlights - almost. "Rhythm of the Sea" is a relatively quiet track of gentle longing, and it's followed by the anthemic "There is More to This World". The latter has a rousing and punchy first half, but rather than tailing off it evolves into a quieter and more intricate repetition of the refrain, interlacing several voices, before building back to its crescendo. It took a few listens before I really got into it, but the second half really makes the song.

The next several tracks are something of a mixed bag. Though vocalist/guitarist Roine Stolt writes most of the Kings' material, keyboardist Tomas Bodin adds the occasional piece. But all three of his tracks here are of little note: The aforementioning "Rhythm of Life" is 30-seconds of a ping-pong game; "Romancing the City" is a 1-minute - if pleasant - piano piece; and "Retropolis by Night" is a dour collection of mostly-synthetic sounds and little melody (a kind of depressing counterpoint to Stolt's overture piece).

Stolt's middle pieces are also so-so. "The Melting Pot" is a good instrumental. "Silent Sorrow" borders on mainstream rock but ultimately isn't very interesting. "The Judas Kiss" feels grating.

But the album goes out with a bang. "Flora Majora" is the Kings' first truly classic track, a throbbing, soaring, thrilling instrumental which starts with Bodin's tendency to work with highly repetitive melodies, and then evolves by adding some of Stolt's best guitar work as Bodin provides the harmonic underpinnings in much the same way Pete Townshend's synthesizers did on some of The Who's best work. After this, you'd think the concluding "The Road Back Home" would be a bit of a letdown, but it's actually an understated track with echoes of some of Paul McCartney's Beatles work coming through it. A satisfying closer to the album.

It would be a while before the Kings surpassed this album (though they finally did in 2000 with Space Revolver), and it's a modern prog masterpiece nonetheless.