I've reached something of an impasse when it comes to Roine Stolt-led albums. I've got the first Kingdom of Colours box, and very little I've read so far both here and in other places suggests anything other than Roine's best material (as far as TFK goes) is contained within said boxset, and that the albums from Adam and Eve onward will be disappointing in comparison. And having read mixed-to-negative reviews of Anderson/Stolt and The Sea Within. Nothing has yet convinced me that I need those albums in my collection.
Is there anything positive that might help me change my mind here?
While
Adam And Eve isn't as well-received as the band's previous albums, it does feature more Daniel Gildenlow, so if you want to hear more of his input in the TFK-world, this is where to hear it. Better-received are the two albums following A&E, and they're two of my favorites, especially
Paradox Hotel. After the heavily jazz-fusion-inspired and epic-heavy UTF and A&E, PH goes back to a double album formula full of great SONGS that don't rely on just long sprawling instrumental sections and improvisations - instead, the songs really breathe new life into the band and vice versa. It took me a long time to "get" the album, but once I did, it shot up to my personal number 3 TFK album and has sat there ever since (behind SWA and UTF). Almost every song is a joy, and in fact, the longest song is NOT my favorite (though good, it's one of their weaker epics).
For what followed PH, the reunion of Zoltan with TFK was celebrated with
The Sum Of No Evil did go back to the jazzy-styled sounds but this one was a bit more prog-infused and goes right back to the classic 70's prog. It's a bit of a catch-all for all eras of TFK, with some literal throwbacks to earlier TFK music and lyrics (though small ones), and some great performances by the whole band. For me, after the wildly different PH, TSONE was a bit of a return to form, but both albums were great in their own rights.
After those two, the next two albums that came were a bit middle-of-the-road for me. I don't go back to them very often, but they're pretty decent. They released two albums after a 5-year-break and they're both kind of same-y to me, and both feature the same line-ups as well.
I'd say, if you're interested in completing the discography, get it for PH and TSONE, and maybe you might like some of
Banks Of Eden and
Desolation Rose.
It's interesting that, now, after another 5-year-break since DR, Roine has returned to making TFK music, albeit under a different band and without Tomas Bodin. I guess we'll have to wait and see how this new album will turn out. I'll agree that The Sea Within wasn't very gripping at first listen, but it's slowly grown on me. As for Roine's input on it, as near as I can tell, he co-wrote only 6 of the album's 12 songs, and is credited solely for one tune (the instrumental "Sea Without"), so only about half of the album was his input. With Anderson/Stolt, most of the music was written by Anderson with Stolt (and like half a dozen other writers involved) providing other input, but from the sound of it, it just sounds like he wrote what he played for the most part, and not the bulk of the music composition.
I think basing an opinion on latter-day TFK on Roine's two more recent releases is a bit unfair, though it's reasonable to feel reluctant to order
Manifesto Of An Alchemist based on those two lukewarm releases.
-Marc.