Roine
Stolt is perhaps best known for his participation on the TransAtlantic
albums and for his work with The Flower Kings, but his musical
background goes way further back, and it all began back in the 70's
with Kaipa. Kaipa was his first band and they released 5 albums
between 1975 and 1982, before taking a 20 years break. They returned
in 2002 with "Notes From The Past", followed by "Keyholder"
(2003). And now they have a new album called "Mindrevolutions"
ready to please the progressive rock fans of the World. Joining
Roine is his partner in crime from the 70's: Hans Lundin on keyboards
and vocals - Hans has written all of the music on this album, and he
shares the lyrical side with Roine. Jonas Reingold handles the bass (he's
also a part of Roine's The Flower Kings), Morgan Ågren is taking care
of the drums, and the vocals are shared between Patrick Lundstöm
(Ritual) and Aleena. "Mindrevolutions"
is an 80 minutes musical journey split into 10 songs, with the title
track clicking in at just less than 26 minutes, and I promise you,
that this album is not easy to digest! After the first few listenings,
my thoughts floated back to why I got tired of The Flower Kings albums,
but I gave it a chance and slowly it began to open up, and even though
Kaipa is drifting off into Flower Kings territory at times, I do like
most of the album a lot more than any of the last albums from The
Flower Kings. The
album has a wonderful analogue sound, and if you take the time to
digest the album, then I am sure you'll discover quite a few great
moments - like the excellent "Last Free Indian" or the great
vocal performance from Aleena on "Our Deepest Inner Shore",
a song where she really sings with a lot of heart. But
unless you are a huge fan of The Flower Kings, Kaipa or of Swedish
progressive rock, then this album might not be something for you,
because it's really, really hard to get used to and will take many
spins in your CD-player to sink in ... and if you don't like huge
analogue sounds, then I suggest you leave this one on the shelve at
your local CD shop. Simply put - this is for a very small audience,
but if you love this special kind of rock, then I am sure you will
find much pleasure with this album! Recommended
track: "The Dodger", "Last Free Indian", "Our
Deepest Inner Shore" & "Remains Of The Day" |
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| Link: www.kaipa.info | ||||||
