Stardust We Are - Disc 1  (58:32)
	01	In the Eyes of the World						10:38
	02	A Room With a View						01:26
	03	Just This Once						07:54
	04	Church of Your Heart						09:10
	05	Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar						02:44
	06	The Man Who Walked With Kings						04:59
	07	Circus Brimstone						12:03
	08	Crying Clown						00:58
	09	Compassion						08:40
Stardust We Are - Disc 2  (71:42)
	01	Pipes of Peace						01:19
	02	The end of Innocence						08:29
	03	The Merrygoround						08:17
	04	Don of the Universe						07:02
	05	A Day at the Mall						00:45
	06	Different People						06:19
	07	Kingdom of Lies						05:47
	08	If 28						02:15
	09	Ghost of the Red Cloud						04:37
	10	Hotel Nirvana						01:49
	11	Stardust We Are						25:03

Roine Stolt Electric & acoustic guitars, lead vocals & keyboards
Tomas Bodin Waldorf Synthesizer, Hammond organ, piano, pipe organ, Rhodes piano, Optigan accordion & effects
Hasse Froberg Lead & backingvocals
Michael Stolt Bass
Jaime Salazar Drums
Hasse Bruniusson Percussion

Guest appearance:
Ulf Wallender - Soprano saxophone
Hakan Almqkvist - Sitar & tabla


FOX CD 018 (2CD)


The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are

Released: 1997/2000
Label: Inside Out Music America
Cat. No.:
Total Time:


Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, February 2002
Stardust We Are was originally released in 1997 on Foxtrot Records, marking the entrance of lead singer and guitar player Hans Froberg. This version was pressed in 2000 under the auspices of Inside Out America Music. This two album set is very ambitious, and it is what broke the group here in the U.S. It also made people recognize what a significant contribution they were making in the popularization of progressive rock.

The more I hear from this group, whether it's a new release or delving into their back catalog, the more impressed I am with their sense of musicality and creativity in every song they make. I recently interviewed the talented and gracious guitar player Roine Stolt, and I asked him what his favorite album was and he said that Stardust We Are was his choice because of its scope and breadth and the fact that it got the group going in the direction they are currently moving in. Well of course I had to hear it immediately, and label man Bob Snyder expedited me a copy.

Okay, now my challenge is to cover the highlights of this prog-rock masterwork, which is not an easy task considering the entire album was so terrific. "Church Of Your Heart" is an incredible illustration of keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass, and drums ... actually every piece is, and it's always a group effort beyond compare. Some of the musical zeniths are "The Man Who Walked With Kings," which is total instrumental ecstasy that leads you into the melodic and enticing "Circus Brimstone." The brilliance of this group is evident at every turn as they expertly carve out each song to make sure that it leads directly into the next. It's the key to a successful flow and the means to an eventful end. Roine Stolt plays some unbelievable guitar, the man is just spellbinding. His varied approach allows the sensitivity and lushness of a track to come alive with color and passion. Whether he is playing a flat out rocker, or an acoustic warm up to a tour de force like the twenty five minute closer "Stardust We Are," his influence and professionalism are paramount to maintaining the groups magic. This crucial intangible element applies to the entire group of course as everyone contributes equally, and very laudably.

The zealous feelings you will have while listening to this remarkable music will put you in the middle of your own movie soundtrack. I feel I can't say enough about this band, they are definitely one of the best in the world, and that encompasses every genre, not specifically prog-rock.

The production value is outstanding and sonically it couldn't get any better for this type of music. I can't get enough of this stuff, and I won't be satisfied until I hear everything they have ever done. This album was such an all out group effort regarding every facet of the process that I felt it was necessary and only fair to list all the credits.

More about Stardust We Are:

Track Listing: Disc One: In The Eyes Of The World / A Room With A View / Just This Once / Church Of Your Heart / Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar / The Man Who Walked With Kings / Circus Brimstone / Crying Clown / Compassion

Disc Two: Pipes Of Peace / The End Of Innocence / The Merrygoround / Don Of The Universe / A Day At The Mall / Different People / Kingdom Of Lies / If 28 / Ghost Of The Red Cloud / Hotel Nirvana / Stardust We Are

Musicians:
Hans Bruniusson - percussion
Ulf Artan Wallander - sax (soprano)
Jaime Salazar - drums
Tomas Bodin - synthesizer, piano, accordion, organ (Hammond), pipe, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, mixing, optigan, effects
Roine Stolt - guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), keyboards, vocals, voices
David Palermo - artwork, image design
Hans Froberg - vocals, vocals (bckgr), voices
Hakan Almorvist - sitar, tabla
Hippiefied Art - Book
Don Azzaro - Producer
Stefan Bodin - Photography
Lilian Forsberg - photography
Dexter Frank Jr. - engineer, mixing Per Nordin - photography
Michael Stolt - bass



Илья Прутов: Альбом славной шведской группы настолько же хорош, насколько и длинен - 2CD общей длительностью свыше двух часов! Это именно арт-рок, классический "Symphonic", несмотря на то, что группа шведская, музыка по своему духу...английская(!), близкая к Camel или же Caravan, но именно близкая по духу, настроению, а в целом - своя, оригинальная. Альбом довольно эклектичен - от явных хард-роковых интонаций до...рэгги, правда, в ритме рэгги всего одна композиция - "Ghost of the Red Cloud", но и она нисколько не выбивается из общей концепции альбома. Более того - она имеет явное латиноамериканское влияние - может быть, это заслуга барабанщика Хайме Салазара, чилийца по происхождению? :-) Техника игры музыкантов абсолютно феноменальна: Ройне Столт - возможно, один из лучших гитаристов в арт-роке вообще, как и Стив Хакетт, их манера игры немного похожа, но Столт еще и очень хороший вокалист, а Томас Бодин - великолепный клавишник, который может играть всё - от джаза и до органных произведений. В записи альбома принимало участие два барабанщика - Хайме Салазар, постоянный концертный барабанщик группы, а также Ханс Бруниуссон - ветеран шведского арт-рока, барабанщик групп Samla Mammas Manna и Ensemble Nimbus. Ханс Фреберг на этом альбоме выступает как "чистый" вокалист, бас-гитарные партии взял на себя Михаэль Столт. Настроение альбома в целом очень светлое, Ройне Столт и его коллеги играют жизнерадостную и жизнеутверждающую музыку, как Майк Олдфилд, Yes и Caravan - их влияние несомненно, хотя есть на альбоме и довольно трагическая композиция "Compassion", - но все же настроение и идея альбома укладывается в то самое словечко "Humanizzimo" - название одной из композиций в первома альбоме группы. Действительно - очень добрая и гуманная музыка, что тут еще скажешь? Только то, что Ройне Столт и остальные "Цветочные короли" - неисправимые романтики. :-) Всего девятнадцать композиций, из них семь - коротенькие инструментальные миниатюры или просто короткие вступления - это "A Room With A View", "Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar" - короткая, но замечательная пьеса для акустической гитары...и так далее - возможно, еще услышите. :-) Первая композиция, открывающая альбом - мощнейшая "In The Eyes Of The World" - десятиминутный шедевр! Каждый диск содержит одну длинную эпическую композицию, на первом диске это "Circus Brimstone" - двенадцатиминутный инструментальный эпик, начинающийся со звуков шарманки(?), потом перерастающий в зловещие меллотронные джунгли - в лучших традициях King Crimson, но мрак отступает, настроение становится все более праздничным и светлым, гитарные и клавишные партии приобретают явное арабское или вообще некое восточное звучание, и - конец. Заканчивается же диск довольно суровой композицией "Compassion", которая начинается почти в индустриальном духе - искаженный вокал, зловещие синтезаторные пассажи, булькающая электронная перкуссия. Постепенно электроника отступает на второй план, композиция становится более мелодичной, но печаль так и не отступает. На этой мрачной ноте и заканчивается первый диск. Второй диск открывается короткой, но величественной органной композицией "Pipes Of Peace", затем начинается длинная и довольно спокойная композиция "The End Of Innocence", "Merrygoround", а затем - инструментальная пьеса "Don Of The Universe" - опять-таки с восточными интонациями,партиями ситара и общим чувством расслабленности и безмятежности - в лучших традициях славных кентерберийцев Caravan! Затем - короткая, меньше минуты, интерлюдия "A Day At The Mall". "Different People" - возможно, самая близкая к поп-музыке вещь, это явная стилизация под психоделию шестидесятых - даже звук сделан таким, как тогда - барабаны в одном канале, перкуссия - в другом, в общем - пресловутое "старое стерео". "Different people, different worlds", хиппи, цветочки, ягодки и прочее - немного наивно, но очень мило. Мощная, прямо-таки могучая композиция "Kingdome Of Lies" - это уже, по сути своей, самый настоящий хард-рок. Мощный, несколько монотонный ритм, великолепная гитара Ройне Столта и вокал Ханса Фреберга. "If 28" - короткая фортепианная миниатюра. "Ghost Of The Red Cloud" - почти что самое настоящее рэгги, да еще сдобренное вначале южноамериканскими интонациями, но КАК это сыграно! Даже мне, ненавистнику рэгги, эта вещь понравилась! :-). "Hotel Nirvana" - опять короткая пьеса в духе старой доброй психоделии. "Stardust We Are" - вот он, двадцатипятиминутный шедевр, наконец-то! Описать это бессмысленно, это надо именно слышать - словами такое не передашь...

Оценка: 10 из 10.


REVIEWS
"Stardust We Are"
FOX CD-018
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This is the Masterpiece that took us by surprise, the record of the year, regardless of the fact that a couple of months are still left of 1997!
Roine Stolt & Co. has proved that it's possible to write modern Progressive rock, that serious writing didn't die along with the masters of 70:ies progressive, they gave me back the faith in a new era of seriously crafted music of extremely high quality. The musical variation of these discs are worth tons of awards in itself. Within the more than 2 hour of playing time the audience are treated with ambient landscapes,pure pop music,progressive rock,fragile instrumentals,symphonic rock, jazz, dissonant psycedelia,church music and whatever. This is the Symphonic-progressive record that YOU, without further knowledge of this kind of music, must check out.
Geir Larsen / Metal Shuffle, Norway
Now he return with "Stardust We Are", a double CD and an immediateprogressive "album of the year" contender. What is certain is that every single moment of "Stardust" is nothing short of Awesome. Stolt is one hell of a guitarist, but his band-Tomas Bodin, Jaime Salzar, Michael Stolt and Hasse Bruniusson are all exemplary players whose extraordinary musicianship, when combined with Stolt's brilliant writing makes for some truly astonishing and inventive music. Given this wealth of talent, it would be easy to stifle the songs under a heavy blanket of vituoso playing, but the great thing is that Stolt and his merry men allow the songs to breathe. Quite frankly, space does not allow a review to do "Stardust" full justice. Stardust We Are is conclusive proof that Roine Stolt is a musical genious and his fellow Flower Kings are worthy companions for the most exhilarating musical journey of 1997!
Nick Shilton / Frontiers Magazine, England

With "Stardust We Are", The Flower Kings deliver the best release of this year. It wouldn't surprise me if their concert in Tivoli on December 14th will make history as the best progressive concert of the year. With their 3 previous CD:s they are making a cross-over between traditional Symphonic Rock and more Jazzy improvisations like Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck or Steve Hackett.
Edwin Ammerlaan / Oor magazine , The Netherlands

The Flower Kings have with "Stardust We Are" definitely made their way into the top division of progressive and rock acts!!
Bjorn Norsterud / ScreemMagazine, Norway

Many bands have a problem filling up a double CD. Not this band. With a total length of 130 minutes on this double CD, everything is pure enjoyment. All twenty tracks are worth listening to. It simply has to be in the record collection of everybody who likes progressive rock in the vein of YES and Genesis.
Henri Strik / Background Magazine.The Netherlands

The new Flower Kings double CD opens impressive with a heavy symphonic work that remembers me of the weird, but brilliant opening of the Yes classic "Close To The Edge" followed by a very strong Hackett -like......... After an opening like this I dare to use the word impressive! The Same expression can be used about the rest of the CD......
Paul Reijkers / IO pages /The Netherlands

Stolt has the knowledge to carry the seventies spirit into the nineties. In his virituos guitarplaying Stolt sometimes echoes Robert Fripp or Steve Howe but in terms of feeling certainly closer to Jeff Beck. All songs are pearls of progressive rock, if you can and will follow The Flower Kings into their world of brilliant melodies and dreamy soundscapes.
Peter Viertel / Music Express/Sounds, Germany



Flower Kings - Stardust We Are Progressive Ears  Submit A Review
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Release Date: 1997

Member: Hippy Pants
Date: 10/25/2003
Describing a Flower Kings CD is pretty hard because they all are pretty broad in scope, dense, have a grand sweep to them, and cover quite a bit of ground, fitting into all sorts of categories. In short, I really like Stardust We Are. If you are drawn to bands similar in vein to King Crimson, Yes, ELP, among others, then, more than likely, you'll really enjoy this band as well. Even though the FKs are influenced by many of the top prog acts, they are by no means a waterdown version of them.

Stardust We Are is a two CD set. The first CD is a bit weaker than the second, but there's more than enough material on it to warrant listening to over and over again. With "The Eyes Of The World" they start out with a sort of rave up jazz number. One of the first things you'll notice is the full use of keyboards supplied by Tomas Bodin, and the excellent guitar work from Roine Stolt, and the other band members are excellent players as well. But rather than any one player standing out in showmanship fashion for too long, the FKs pretty much are integral in their sound, giving each member room to express themselves. On the first cut alone they undergo many tempo shifts, different textures, wonderful melodies, and so forth.

"Just This Once" is a song about a father talking to his son about the wiles of the world, and how a person can change the world, no matter how small or insignificant they may feel, and how men of power come and go. I love how parts of this song contain the jazzy sections. One may also note that the FKs music has a rather fantasy feel to it like Yes or the Moody Blues at times. "Church Of Your Heart" is perhaps my favorite song on this first CD with its uplifting message of believing in oneself, and for the harmonies that it contains. "Circus Brimstone" has a slightly more darker edge to it, with the opening drums and mellotron beginning, and shifts midway thru into an almost Anglagard section. "Compassion" ends the first disc on a somewhat bluesy feel with its ideological ode to rising above evil. I might add here that the FKs lyrics tend to be open-ended or maybe even, applicable, allowing the listener to apply whatever references one wishes to glean from the songs.

The stellar second disc begins with an amazing Bach-like pipe organ fugue (which was pretty jaw dropping for me), you'll also note that Bodin introduces us to a melodic theme, "Stardust We Are," which is the last song on the disc. Actually this theme will crop up again throughout this disc, like on the song "If 28." "The End Of Innocence" reminds me of something pretty Crimsonesque, even the vocal reminds me a bit of John Wetton--a great song with its soulful touches on guitar by Roine and mellotron fills. "The Merrygoround" is more Yes-inspired with its chops on guitar that sound similar to what Steve Howe might have done with its odd time signature and ending with a nice guitar lead by Stolt. "Don Of The Universe" continues on in a nice mellow vibe beginning on acoustic guitar and makes use of a sitar/slide effect. Other highlights from the second disc are the reggae tinged "Ghost Of The Red Cloud," and of course, the twenty-five minute opus, "Stardust We Are," which really just has to be heard as words fall short. All in all a great album.

~Dave
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