The Flower Kings - Space Revolver



1. I Am the Sun (Part One) (15:03) 2. Dream On Dreamer (2:43) 3. Rumble Fish Twist (8:06) 4. Monster Within (12:55) 5. Chicken Farmer Song (5:09) 6. Underdog (5:29) 7. You Don't Know What You've Got (2:39) 8. Slave to Money (7:30) 9. A King's Prayer (6:02) 10. I Am the Sun (Part Two) (10:48)

Total Running Time: 76:24



The first time I was introduced to The Flower Kings (circa Flower Power), the band was described to me as "the Yes of the new millennium." And while the Roine Stolt-led ensemble did remind me of Yes, it certainly didn't remind me of new. Yes, yes, I know, I have just condemned myself to receiving unending streams of hate mail for the next year, and I should have probably kept my mouth shut, but trust me, all this is leading somewhere.

Here's where: when I gave Space Revolver the last go before writing this review, I was happily surprised at the maturity that this band has acquired through the years, leaving behind much of the symphonic rock musical babble that had kept me doubtful of all the hype and acquiring instead a greater punch, an organic musical flow, and a newer lease on life and perspectives. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Easy. I like The Flower Kings better than I did back then, simply because I think that the band has grown and developed its own sound by modernizing it a bit. Although I must give in and admit that Stolt's visual obsession with flowers is more than a bit unnerving at times.

Unnerving flowery imagery notwithstanding, and leaving aside what at times comes across as too a happy-go-lucky lyrical approach, Space Revolver is one mean symphonic mother. Not suprisingly, the album's best tracks are its longest ones, with the "I Am the Sun" suites, "Rumble Fish Twist," and "Monster Within" stealing the spotlight completely in a multi-movement focus that jumps through moods with the hearty vigor of a young hare. Best of all, however, is when the selected mood of the moment is a funky (or soul-drenched) one, as that's where Roine Stolt seems to be most comfortable both as guitarist and vocalist.

The matter is, I can't really let Space Revolver go by unscathed, because it shouldn't. While the album's lengthy opuses, in conjunction with the excellently wistful "Dream On Dreamer," are immediate classics, the band does stumble in its honoring of Seventies progressive rock roots a couple of times when deciding to utilize the old symphonic clichés and thus present moments of utter embarrassment, such as "A King's Prayer." But hey, with an album that lasts nearly eighty minutes, pressing "Skip" a couple of times won't hurt much. The Flower Kings: The Yes of the new millennium? You bet.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

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