Customer Reviews

Scanning the Greenhouse

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Scanning the Greenhouse by the Flower Kings is my pick for 'best prog CD' in the past two decades at least, if not all time. It is the one I give as a gift to entice friends into the prog genre. Everything about this CD is great: Roine Stolt's guitar work, his brother Michael's all-knowing bass support, flawlessly integrated and creative keyboards, state-of-the-art drums, hearty and satisfying vocals, and some of the best writing ever in the genre. Also, unlike some of the other best bands in the genre, there is a consistently positive and inspiring spirit behind the lyrics. The recording and production quality are top notch.

The CD comprises selected best recordings from 1993 to 1995, but the influences are firmly rooted in the finest traditions of progressive rock.

To give you an idea whether you might feel as I do when you hear this CD, I was born in 1953 and have followed progressive rock since its inception. I have played in various prog bands over the years,(and still do), supported myself as a guitar player for a few years in the 70s, and I occasionally compose in the genre. My favorite albums pre-1980 (when progressive rock was somewhat mainstream) were Fragile and Close to the Edge by Yes, Pictures at an Exhibition by ELP, and the like. My favorite "recent discoveries", thanks to John Szpara's "Exposure" radio show devoted to progressive rock, are Ever by IQ, and a few cuts by Spock's Beard. I most like hard-hitting, musically intricate, positive-energy, sonically rich, chordally complex, classically inspired, frequently contrasting progressive rock, played by "musician's musicians" in terms of their playing skill. The Flower Kings really nail it for me.

A sampler CD of the half-dozen or so full- (and sometimes double-) length albums released by Sweden's Flower Kings. There's nothing wrong with the selection, but the overall effect is a little anemic compared to the actual albums. Flower Kings are one of the very best 90s bands extant, and SCANNING is certainly no dog, but try instead to grab one of the proper releases: THE FLOWER KING, WORLD OF ADVENTURES, RETROPOLIS, STARDUST WE ARE, FLOWER POWER or the related solo albums by Roine Stolt and Tomas Bodin.

I was extrememly fortunate last year when my brother won tickets to see the Flower Kings first New York City performance at the Wetlands, September 1998. From the first moment the band took to the stage and played "Retropolis" from begininning to end, I was totally enthralled!!!! Their outstanding musicianship impressed me for days, and weeks to come. I now have all of their records. "Hydronphonia", the solo record by Roine Stolt is my absolute favorite. Check out the Flower Kings' website for retailers who carry their records. They are more than well worth the effort!

If you like Yes and Genesis (Peter Gabriel era), you definitively should try this band. They really huge. The band may not be as famous as Yes, Genesis and the others, but their music is simply brillant.

The Flower Kings are simply amazing. The beauty and power of their music will overwhelm you. For all those progressive rock lovers who thought that the music died in the 70's, here it is in all its glory in a fresh, modern interpretation. All lovers of Yes, Genesis, Spock's Beard, etc. will simply love this album.

So it seems there are at least three versions of this floating around. Mine is the Japanese import that includes Cinema Show, but lacks some of what is on the others. So even though amazon lumps all reviews together, mine will refer to the Japanese version.

Scanning the Greenhouse is an excellent introduction to the music of the Flower Kings for newbies who don't know where to start with the band's daunting catalogue. It is even a great go-to recording for the experienced listener having a hard time deciding whick FK CD to bring on a road trip.

Every song is well chosen and delightful, but I particularly enjoy In the Eyes of the World, the re-recorded version of The Flower King, the re-recorded Stardust We Are, and the dynamic cover of Genesis' Cinema Show.

This version is accompanied by an attractive booklet containing lots of pictures, pertinent album information, and the lyrics as well as an informational insert in Japanese. If you can't obtain this version, you'll miss out on Cinema Show but in return you'll get to hear something I didn't. But do obtain one of the versions however you can and you will be rewarded with some fine music.

I enjoy intelligent rock & roll, and The Flower Kings are that. This LP I downloaded from the web-site eMusic, of which I am a member. All I can say is get all of The Flower Kings you are able to because their LP's play well over time.

Excellent compilation, with 2 updated tracks in 1998. Powerful, melodic, beautiful, soaring, contemplating, etc. The Kings reward! Roine rules!

...I finally found a copy of this (along with Retropolis and the original Roine Stolt release titled The Flower King) at a used CD store (Thank You-Sound Exchange). The music is deceptively simple (so I am told by people who know that sort of stuff)symphonic prog that is greatly indebted to Mid 70s Yes and Camel and Gabriel and Hackett era Genesis. There is a strong Pro-Christian (and pro-hippie) bent to the lyrics, but they usually aren't overwhelming with the message. Of the 3 releases I obtained, I like Scanning The Greenhouse the least. It is a sort of "Best of" FKs first 4 albums, and while it gives a pretty good representation of their output, it mainly focuses on songs with vocals. While these are good, I am most impressed with FKs instrumental output. I also believe that this version (and the one I have) does not include the Kings version of Genesis' "Cinema Show" that was recorded for a Genesis tribute CD and included on the Japaneese Version of Scannng the Greenhouse. This is an OK starting point to discover the Flower Kings, but you will really be missing a lot of great material that is included on the first three Kings releases.

The comparisons to Yes and others are often valid, but these guys more than stand on their own! At times I feel there is more of an influence of 70's fusion - headphone friendly musical journeys in the vein of "Romantic Warrior" - rather than pure progressive. Reine Stolt is a wonderful guitarist - the middle bridge of "The Flower King" sees him go from Zappa and Santana influences to Steve Howe all in five incredible minutes. As a lapsed drummer, I feel that Jaime Salazar just may be the best drummer around, with taste rather than chops (which are also pretty amazing i might add) being the standout feature. The rest of the band is also amazingly brilliant to boot. The album is very well produced. There is a short interlude of Church organ (track 3) which will give any subwoofer a serious workout!!! This album is just a sampling of the 4 albums (total 5 CD's) already released in the 90's (with another double CD just released!!) Unfortunately they are only available as imports at this time (through Pangea in California - they are the guys who released this treasure - my favorite album for years!!!!!) We should be lobbying Amazon to carry them all! We all know that feeling when you first put on an album you've scoped out on the net and it is not quite what you had hoped it would be. Well trust me!!! Buy this CD and within 2 minutes you will know you have hit the motherlode!!!!!!!