01	Lifetime of a Journey						08:14
	02	A Complex Work of Art						11:57
	03	The Weed of All Mankind						09:29
	04	Sonic Pearls						06:06
	05	End of the Rope						13:59
	06	Across the Big Uncertain						08:31
	07	Distant Voices						13:00
	08	Otherworldly Brights						07:09

Kaipa - Keyholder

Tracklist
1. Lifetime of a journey
2. A complex work of art
3. The weed of all mankind
4. Sonic Pearls
5. The end of the rope
6. Across the big uncertain
7. Distant voices
8. Otherwordly brights


Musicians
Hans Lundin - Hammond organ, synthesizers, mellotron, pianos & vocals

Roine Stolt - Electric & acoustic guitars, percussion & vocals

Patrik Lundstrom - Lead Vocals

Aleena - Lead and backing vocals

Morgan Agren - Drums

Jonas Reingold - Bass



General Information
All music by Hans Lundin except 5, 6 & 7 music by Lundin & Stolt
All words by Stolt & Lundin except track 5: words by Stolt and track 4: words by Kevin Fickling & Hans Lundin
Produced by Lundin & Stolt
Recorded by Lundin at HGL Studio, Uppsala, Sweden
Guitars recorded by Stolt at Cosmic Lodge, Uppsala, Sweden
Drums recorded by Lundin & Agren at The UAE Magnetofon, Stockholm, Sweden
Basses recorded by Reingold at Reingold Studio, Malmo, Sweden
Mixed at Cosmic Lodge by Lundin & Stolt May 2003
Mastered at Cosmic Lodge by Stolt June 2003
Original artwork by Jan Ternald (www.flepotron.has.it) Booklet design and photos by Per Nordin (www.lonelyarts.com)







Kaipa - Keyholder
Country of Origin: Sweden
Format: CD
Record Label: InsideOut
Catalogue #: IOMCD 132
SPV 085-65982
Year of Release: 2003
Time: 78:51

Tracklist: Lifetime Of A Journey (8:14), A Complex Work Of Art (11:57), The Weed Of All Mankind (9:29), Sonic Pearls (6:06), End Of The Rope (13:59), Across The Big Uncertain (8:30), Distant Voices (13:00), Otherworldly Brights (7:08)

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Winston's Review
Roine Stolt is a workaholic. A well-known fact, right? The Flower Kings, Transatlantic and last year Kaipa were the bands he is, or was, heavily involved with. He was in Kaipa with Hans Lundin (keyboards) from 1975 and made five albums with that band until they fell apart. It was in 2002 that Notes From The Past was recorded and released and was a so called reunion album. I listened to it but thought the songs were too different in styles to come across as coming from one band alone. I expected more from it.

2003 already brings us a follow up and how! From the very first second my attention was caught. This is what I had expected last year; fresh, fierce and melodic progrock! Lifetime Of A Journey is the perfect album opener. Multi-layered Roine Stolt guitars ala Brian May, bass carpets in true Chris Squire style performed by Scandinavia's best bassplayer Jonas Reingold and up tempo rhythms. It is only 'till the second song A Complex Work of Art where some relaxing moment are entwined. Aleena, sounding like an angel amongst all these music virtuosi, brings some breathing time moments.

All the songs have great tension building pieces and most of all a heavy dose of power. I am more than once reminded of Transatlantic. Listen to The Weed Of All Mankind for instance ... I guess Stolt's role in that project was bigger than I thought it was? Sonic Pearls is an amazing Stolt guitar piece, wonderful guitarwork, it's unbelievable what a talent this man is. No wonder that the second Kaipa album came this early, the chemistry is omnipresent between these guys and girl, only now I think they found the right musical direction, where they were searching a bit on the previous album. This is right on the money, the hammer on the nail, excellent album!

Keyholder is that kind of an album where you can't get it that almost 80 minutes have past while listening to it. You keep focused and paying attention to the wonderful music and that of course is a big compliment to the whole band. The jazzy interlude in End Of The Rope (early Yes), the beautiful duo ballad Across The Big Uncertain, fantastic with great melodies and rhythms. It is in the latter when I keep thinking "where the hell does Stolt get these songs?" A Prog delicatessenstore/supermarket with only a few exclusive clients with the likes of Morse, Anderson, Howe, Gabriel and Gilmour?


Dries' Review
Last year Kaipa released Notes From The Past which someone kindly gave it to me as a birthday present. It was a nice gift and one that ended up in my top ten of 2002. Not knowing any other of Kaipa albums, I was very interested in doing this Round Table Review (RTR). Unfortunately it is the second time this year that I have had high expectations, based on previously released work and again after a first couple of spins it is a bit disappointing. On this occasion the album did not really grow on me.

Lifetime Of A Journey starts very abruptly, no smooth intro here. It is a somewhat cheesy start to this song - but I like it. The song has a nice build up, at 2:30 the keyboards and guitars take turn to solo and up to 4:30 I think they keep it interesting enough, but after that some parts are nice and melodic but in other parts the solos wander off much too far. For me they almost cross the line after which I would have lost interest in the track.

A Complex Work Of Art has a very strong, guitar and keyboard introduction, before Aleena's somewhat melancholic voice joins in, a transition that is a bit too drastic for me. In the middle of this long song it is as if they are already closing the composition. After this there is a long series (6 minutes) of solos followed by the same all-of-a-sudden manner and Aleena starts singing. This is not my favourite track of the album, as you might have guessed, mainly because of the elongated solos but also because the vocals (which are good by the way), just don't seem to fit in.

The Weed Of All Mankind has a much better build up, with the music working towards a climax accompanied by Roine Stolt's (?) raw voice that ebbs away suddenly. However the instrumental parts that follow are a good example of what I dislike in this kind of music. The keyboard is playing nice melodies, while the guitar shoots off random sounds (or the other way around). I can find enjoyment in large parts of this track, but sometimes they just overdo it.

Sonic Pearls is a calm long stretched song that changes very little throughout (apart from the vocal sections), but despite this it is not a boring song. It is as the title states: "a string of sonic pearls kept together by a soothing bass sound", and it is one of my favourite tracks from Keyholder. As we continue the intro to The End Of The Rope has almost the same bass piece as Sonic Pearls, but this song has a quite different composition that is much more eventful and which is of course necessary for a song of almost fourteen minutes. Somehow during the eight minutes of solos they are able to restrain themselves to play only melodic solos.

Across The Big Uncertain is my absolute favourite track of this album with the vocal parts of this song giving it a solid structure. Some nice guitar solos of long stretched "yelling" notes also are part of this song and the bass part also stands out. As I said this song has it all.

Distant Voices is most close to a Yes song and even the vocals lean towards Anderson. I am not a big Yes fan, but I like some of their work and I also do like this Yes-like Kaipa track. In this song a reference is made to a Transatlantic song (for people owning this record and that know Transatlantic: listen at 5:33).

Otherworldly Brights has a very interesting (old Genesis-like) start, strong vocal melodies and again long and enjoyable instrumental solos. The end again seems to reference to Transatlanic. To me the second part of the album is the better part and this song is not the least of them.

I don't think Keyholder is a bad album but compared to Notes From The Past, it is all too complex, with adlib-like music, guitars and keyboards wandering off. I do not know any of the other Kaipa albums but the music on Notes From The Past was more coherent and that's why I liked that album more. I do not know what this album is missing exactly. I do like it, can enjoy listening (especially the second part of the album) and some parts even are brilliant but it does not seem to light the spark that Notes did. I think this album will end up in the poll of 2003, but I can't imagine it will end up as high as Kaipa's previous album.


Tom's Review
I must admit that this is the first Kaipa album I've heard; however, I was fairly sure what to expect given the presence of Flower King's mainman Roine Stolt on guitar - and I've got to say that Keyholder, whilst holding a few pleasant surprises, does not differ greatly from the sort of material that the Kings put out. This is perhaps a little surprising when you consider the fact that keyboardist (and fellow Kaipa founder) Hans Lundin writes the majority of the songs here (Stolt gets three co-writes). However, when you take into account the fact that Stolt learnt his trade in (the original) Kaipa, who must undoubtedly have influenced his latter sound, and also the fact that he has such a recognisable playing style, then the similarity between the two outfits becomes easier to understand (the presence of the excellent Jonas Reingold on bass obviously also adds to the comparisons). Lundin, Stolt and Reingold are joined, as they were on Notes From The Past, by vocalists Patrick Lundstrom (from Ritual) and Aleena, and drummer Morgan Agren (Zappa).

You could call opener Lifetime Of A Journey an almost quintessential prog rock track, especially in structure - short pacy instrumental opening; pull back a bit for the vocal section before embarking on a lengthy instrumental section; follow this with a closing vocal section and end with a grandiose finale including a big guitar solo, and bob's your uncle - an instant prog epic! This is a good opening track; it's nothing earth-shattering, but there's some good melodies and nice interplay between guitar and keys, whilst Patrick Lundstrom makes a very positive first impression, his excellent voice having both a good range and a welcome harder edge to it than many singers in the genre.

A Complex Work Of Art starts promisingly with some lively bass and keyboard work but as soon as female vocalist Aleena joins in things go downhill. She doesn't have a particularly bad voice per se, just not one that I personally find appealing - far too close to Celine Dion for my liking! Coupled with a bland AOR backing, this track sounds like it's going to be a long haul before it is saved by a sublime instrumental section which sees the band trying their hands (very successfully) at a bit of seventies-style jazz-rock fusion. The combination of the two styles may be a bit awkward but this well-worked piece of superior sonic noodling saves this track.

The Weed Of All Mankind is a harder edged affair, with both the lyrical theme and the musical style bringing to mind at times Genesis' Return Of Giant Hogweed. Sonic Pearls meanwhile is more sedate, starting with a graceful, symphonic opening section before taking on a slight eastern feel, helped by the use of tablas which drive the song on.

End Of The Rope, the first of the three tracks which Roine Stolt co-writes here, is the album's tour-de-force. The Flower Kings influence is undoubtedly at its strongest here, no doubt thanks in no small part to a trademark FK guitar riff which crops up throughout the song. The vocal section is the strongest on the album, actually sounding like it fits in with the song as a whole rather than simply acting as a precursor to the instrumental work-out which follows it, which I feel is sometimes the case elsewhere. That being said, the lengthy instrumental section here is a joy; in particular there's a great tradeoff between Stolt, riffing away in hard rocking style, and Lundin, playing some superb jazz-inflected keyboards. There's also a later section where you can see where Stolt's been influenced by his time in Transatlantic. The melodies here are as strong as any on the album, and the song's 14 minutes simply soar by.

Across The Big Uncertain can't really follow this; it's a pleasant enough if somewhat twee ballad, which is (musically at least) somewhat in the style of late seventies era Genesis. With stronger melodies, lyrics like "Feel the rhythm of the wind / Feel the heartbeat of a passing stranger" would pass unnoticed, but here stand out as rather weak. There is some decent guitar work by Stolt later on in the track however, a little reminiscent of the playing style of Jadis' Gary Chandler.

The intro to Distant Voices reminded me again of Genesis, this time Turn It On Again. The punchy section that follows features more excellent vocal work from Lundstrom, really stretching his voice to the limit. This is another lengthy epic, featuring a myriad of time changes and different musical styles, and whilst these don't always gel together that well this is an enjoyable track - although I did feel it outstayed its welcome towards the end.

Closing track Otherworldly Brights sees Lundin indulging his classical side; indeed I felt this track was crying out for the use of a real string section. This atmospheric track clearly goes for 'epic' territory, and pretty much manages it - due in no small part once again to a fantastic, commanding display by Patrick Lundstrom - this guy really can sing, and I'll certainly be checking out his work with Ritual as soon as possible.

Overall, then, this is a very enjoyable listen. OK, it could be argued that there's not that much to separate this from the Flower Kings, and given that the Kings are extremely prolific there's no real need for this. That would be unfair however; and in many ways this is a more satisfying release than the Kings have managed for a while - it may not hit the same highs, but overall it's a more consistent set. The highly effective mix of prog and fusion here also separates it from a lot of other retro-prog releases, and it almost goes without saying that the playing is of the highest calibre.

This CD can be recommended without hesitation to Flower Kings fans, and indeed most prog fans will find a lot to enjoy here.


Conclusions:

Winston Arntz - 9 out of 10
Dries Dokter - 7.5 out of 10
Tom de Val - 8 out of 10





Keyholder
Date of Release Sep 2, 2003

Give Kaipa credit for righting the wrongs of its comeback album Notes From the Past. Keyholder is a far superior offering in every aspect. First of all, instead of sounding like former bandmates Hans Lundin (keys) and Roine Stolt (guitars) getting together with some friends, you get the feeling of a real band working out - the lineup remains the same but Morgan Еgren (drums), Jonas Reingold (bass), and singer Patrik Lundstrцm all seem to had a bigger saying in how the songs turned out. The music is livelier and less turned toward the past. It remains "classic" symphonic progressive rock but has that modern (or should it be "timeless") element that gives the Flower Kings' music its spark. In fact, with Stolt taking care of most of the lyrics and putting his highly recognizable guitar touch to every twist and turn of the music, one could be mistaken for believing that Keyholder is another Flower Kings album with Lundstrцm as guest vocalist. Highlights include the opening "Lifetime of a Journey," "The Weed of All Mankind," and "Otherworldly Brights," all finely crafted songs where Lundstrцm shows how warm his voice can be when he leaves prog metal clichйs behind (he did the same on his regular group Ritual's Think Like a Mountain, released simultaneously). In "Distant Voices," Lundin rolls out a quasi-jazz (yet not really fusion) thread across the 13 minutes of the tune. Something still doesn't fit when Aleena sings lead (in "A Complex Work of Art," in particular), but the two singers do an excellent job trading lines in "Distant Voices." There is not a single weak song on this generous CD (over 78 minutes long). Fans of the Flower Kings will love it. And those annoyed by the excesses of Stolt's group will find slightly different kinds of excesses in Kaipa. - Franзois Couture

1. Lifetime of a Journey (Lundin/Stolt) - 8:14
2. A Complex Work of Art (Ludin/Stolt) - 11:57
3. The Weed of All Mankind (Ludin/Stolt) - 9:29
4. Sonic Pearls (Lundin) - 6:06
5. End of the Rope (Lundin/Stolt) - 13:59
6. Across the Big Uncertain (Lundin/Stolt) - 8:31
7. Distant Voices (Ludin/Stolt) - 13:00
8. Otherworldly Brights (Lundin/Stolt) - 7:09

Morgan Еgren - Drums
Hans Bruniusson - Percussion
Roine Stolt - Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Mastering, Mixing
Jonas Reingold - Engineer, Fretless Bass, Bass Arrangement
Per Nordin - Photography, Booklet Design
Patrik Lundstrцm - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Hans Lundin - Synthesizer, Piano, Organ (Hammond), Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Mellotron, Mixing
Kevin Fickling - Interpretation
Jan Ternald - Cover Art

2003 CD InsideOut Music America IOMACD 2064
2003 CD Import 36598
2003 CD Inside Out Music 65982




Kaipa - Keyholder

Released: 2003
Label: InsideOut / Inside Out Music America
Cat. No.: SPV 085-65982 / IOMCD 132 / IOMACD 2064
Total Time: 77:03


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, December 2003
Keyholder is the second release by the re-formed Kaipa - Roine Stolt (guitars) and Hans Lundin (keyboards) - and again features Ritual's Patrick Lundstrom on vocals, Morgen Argen on drums, and Jonas Reingold on bass with Aleena also on vocals. It's hard not to hear the Flower Kings in Kaipa, something I opined on last time, not sure whether Stolt had brought the TFK sound to Kaipa, or the other way around. Most of the music, however, was composed by Lundin; only three tracks were composed by both Lundin and Stolt. The lyrics on the other hand are mainly the work of both.

Instrumentally, Keyholder is a rich tapestry of sounds, there being a great deal going on in each track. Because each piece here is quite lengthy, each becomes a mini (or not so mini) epic, all painted mainly in broad strokes with bold colors (not quite as bold as TFK, mind you, but certainly enough to light a room... so to speak). And as such, there is no succinct means of "describing" the music without, essentially, providing a play by play. And anyway, Bobo has ably given you a sense of what to expect in his own review - a fact that may well have you wondering why I've given this album a go. Well, since my cohorts and I do differ in opinion on a couple of things, I thought at least I'd share them along with some of my general observations. Stolt solos beautifully throughout, almost breezily during "End Of The Rope." Aside from the expected symphonics that would engender such a comparison, there are times when the music recalls Yes, as during the pastoral section of "Across The Big Uncertain." Or in "Distant Voices." Although Lundstrom's voice has a darker edge that Jon Anderson's doesn't, one can almost imagine either of these pieces on a latter-day Yes album. The arrangements to be found on Keyholder also include some subtle country and western elements (slide guitar, or so it sounds, to begin "End Of The Rope"), vague middle-eastern motifs (the subdued "Sonic Pearls"), and a certain rock toughness ("The Weed Of All Mankind"). It is the lushly arranged pieces and musical interplay that are the highlights... the only minus here for me, and this was true on Notes From The Past, were the lead vocals of Aleena. While her tone is often okay, for me, the execution is not pleasing to my ear. Here is where the others and I have a differing opinion.

For all these lengthy excursions, the album seems tighter than Notes..., and with more direction. Though some tracks to have the feeling of being two separate pieces bonded together, each of those parts work well, and somehow manage each time to get back to the initial point. And because it is so lush, it is an album that takes time to absorb - a good thing. Of course, one should listen to an album more than once to gauge its true measure, but this is one of those that it may taken dozens and dozens of listens before every nuance is sussed out.

Rating: 4.5/5


Kaipa - Keyholder

Released: 2003
Label: InsideOut / Inside Out Music America
Cat. No.: SPV 085-65982 / IOMCD 132 / IOMACD 2064
Total Time: 77:03


Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, September 2003
When Hans Lundin teamed up with his good friend Roine Stolt again in order to record the album Notes From The Past virtually everyone thought it concerned a pure one-off. The number of positive reviews got Lundin thinking. Meanwhile the contract with Musea would soon expire and Inside Out had shown an interest in re-releasing Kaipa's first three albums in remastered form and including bonus tracks. These bonus tracks might be pulled from the three singles the band released or include tracks from the band's forth and fifth albums Hander and Nattdjurstid which were never released on CD in their own right. The sudden interest in Kaipa, plus the fact that Lundin could enlist some great musicians, gave him extra energy to continue delivering outstanding music under the moniker of Kaipa.

As on Notes From The Past Ritual singer Patrik Lundstrom steps forward as being the band's lead singer, although we should also mention Aleena whose rather naive sounding voice blends ever so well with the Mellotron during "A Complex Work Of Art." By adding drummer Morgan Agren, who used to play with Zappa, and bass player Jonas Reingold, the band fuses some jazz references into their original music. The music of the current Kaipa still is based around the same parameters as in their early days, so do expect a fair amount of pure seventies sounds and tons of analogue keys. Next to the elaborate arrangements you can also expect a lot of rhythm changes and breaks. The latter often offer synchronised bass and drums which delivers a very powerful drive. In fact, Kaipa in this new century has no problem at all to even include eastern influences as during "Sonic Pearls." Or to hit those chords a little harder as during "End Of The Rope," where we also witness some Canterbury moments. The nice thing with Kaipa is that although they have two outstanding singers in the band, they still deliver lengthy instrumental passages. The passage where Roine's high pitched guitar blends with Lundin's Hammond organ simply is wonderful whilst the craftmanship of Morgan Agren becomes very clear here. Also Stolt's slide guitar rules as well as his subtle fragile solos.

Originally launched in the glorious seventies no doubt the mighty Mellotron gets a special place in the history of Kaipa. On this new album it gets a prominent place in the intro for "Across The Big Uncertain" which also sports some superb fretless bass from Jonas Reingold next to the wonderful melodies. "Distant Voices" changes from Yes-like structures to pure improvisation where Reingold's bass sounds almost like authentic Squire! The album closes with one of the most powerful guitar solos on the album, backed with tons of Mellotron -- a proof of Kaipa's status as one of the purest symphonic outfits. The nice thing about this album is the fact that it's rather different than Notes From The Past yet it sounds like authentic Kaipa throughout. This kind of means that the band has once again put its recognizable stamp onto the music, yet has broken new ground as well. Especially in the rhythm section the band now tends to rub shoulders with jazz and fusion without making it too obvious. It's that constant weaving of different styles that finally creates the Keyholder.


Kaipa - Keyholder

Released: 2003
Label: InsideOut / Inside Out Music America
Cat. No.: SPV 085-65982 / IOMCD 132 / IOMACD 2064
Total Time: 77:03


Reviewed by: Davide Guidone, October 2003
After almost two years since Notes From The Past Kaipa are back with Keyholder, introducing us to the same lineup as the previous disc. I have to admit that I didn' t like Notes From The Past a lot because I considered it too similar in structure from track to track, and without any idea from the point of view of the songwriting.

On Keyholder, the presence of Roine Stolt in the writing of the tracks - the guitarist from The Flower Kings writes 90 percent of the lyrics and a portion of music for TFK - carries new life to the sound of Kaipa, who with this new work go on their musical journey in an interesting way, adding some fusion to the classic prog rock of the Seventies, and giving more importance to the melodies. All these things, mixed with the usual and very long instrumental jam sections, give Keyholder a quality that the previous release did have.

As on NFTP Patrik Lundstrom alternates on the vocal performances, sharing the microphone with the angelic Aleena. Incidentally, I prefer Lundstrom's performance with Kaipa over that with his band Ritual.

I have to mention also that there aren't any Camel-like or Yes-like sounds on it; and you can find it out by listening to the style of Stolt, which more oriented to a personal taste than to the period when he was labeled as a new Steve Howe.

The only weak point on this album is its length, almost 80 minutes; that doesn't make happy the hypothetical new fans. As for the rest of the album, I didn't find anything to criticize:

Rating: 3.5/5

[See also Keith's and Bobo's reviews - ed.]

More about Keyholder:

Track Listing: Lifetime Of A Journey (8:14) / A Complex Work Of Art (11:57) / The Weed Of All Mankind (9:29) / Sonic Pearls (6:06) / End Of The Rope (13:59) / Across The Big Uncertain (8:30) / Distant Voices (13:00) / Otherwordly Brights (7:08)

Musicians:
Hans Lundin - Hammond organ, synthesizers, mellotron, pianos & vocals
Roine Stolt - Electric & acoustic guitars, percussion & vocals
Morgan Agren - Drums
Jonas Reingold - Fretless & Yamaha custom basses
Patrik Lundstr?m - Lead and backing vocals
Aleena - Lead and backing vocals

Contact:


Website: www.kaipa.info
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Discography

Kaipa (1975)
Inget Nytt Under Solen (1978)
Solo (1978)
Hander (1980)
Nattdjustid (1982)
Notes From The Past (2002)
Keyholder (2003)