As we hit the 2000s we see the first major change to The Flower Kings, as Michael Stolt leaves, arriving in his place a bass phenomenon familiar to Roine: his partner from his days in The Tangent, Jonas Reingold. The sonic change is immediate on Space Revolver, as his acrobatic fretwork abounds over the entire record, one much more concise in the writing department, as after two double albums we return to a single (albeit still 76 minutes) album. There’s a lot of love for this record; multiple listens still has me trying to figure out where it sits in my ranking. In keeping with the theme of listening again as I write, let’s get into the weeds and see what we find.

You’re Roine Stolt, and you’ve just released your most ambitious project to date: a double album with a 25-minute closing title track. The album gets you more into the spotlight, with many considering it the pinnacle of the neo-prog movement that’s happening in the 90s. Where do you go from there? You double down on everything, including the epic, a sprawling prog odyssey an hour in length and broken into 18 sections. The Flower Kings have done a lot of things, but for my money nothing as epic – or accomplished – as Flower Power, the band’s fourth studio album and clocking in at over 140 minutes their second longest album (Unfold the Future beats it by a mere 18 seconds). There’s a lot to digest so let’s just get to it.

For a lot of fans, this is it. The album where The Flower Kings not only hit their stride, but their peak. Stardust We Are is the band’s first double (triple?) album, stretching over six sides and two hours. The group remains intact, but the process of being together and touring over the past few years has tightened everything up, allowing for broader experimentation in arrangements and orchestrations. It might not be the pinnacle for me – I have minor quibbles – but it’s certainly a highlight of the band’s discography. It’s also a bear in terms of length, so let’s cut the intro chatter and jump into the belly of the hippy, trippy beast.

In the new liner notes to Retropolis, Roine Stolt notes two things that at first glance may seem at odds with each other, but I think really encapsulates something that has always been a tenet of the music of The Flower Kings: with the enthusiasm for the first album the band was excited to dive back in and chase the structures and feelings of Stolt’s prog heroes (and peers at the time of his start) but he also actively tried to get the attention of the major record labels in Sweden. That dichotomy of blending the unique and niche progressive rock sound with more mainstream acceptance is something I hear a lot in the band’s music; and it’s interesting to hear how that does and does not come across on their sophomore release.

With the success of The Flower King, Roine Stolt heard the call: there was still an audience for the kind of lengthy, complex and twist-taking progressive rock many of his 70s heroes had left behind. And so The Flower King transformed, evolving into The Flower Kings. Gathering his like-minded friends, may of whom had contributed to the solo album he dipped in to a new adventure, the title of which clearly called to his new mission statement. Here he was, and here we are, Back in the World of Adventures first “proper” album from the band continues the trend of uplifting, fun extended opuses and shorter tracks to complete a thematic if not conceptual album taking as its inspiration the heydays of bands like Yes and Genesis. With InsideOut’s recent re-releases of the band’s catalog on vinyl with remastered and remixed tracks and – in this case – updated artwork, I started my slowly growing obsession with the band.