Retropolis is the album that brought the Flower Kings from an interesting underground progressive rock band to an act that simply couldn't be ignored by anyone interested in the genre's 1990s revival.
Roine Stolt and consorts' aim for Retropolis was to dive a little more into vintage progressive forms (retro) and, indeed, this album is the most nostalgic and closer-to-the-roots-sounding of the band's catalog.
From the Pink Floyd-shaped "Rhythm of the Sea" to the poignant Yes-like hymn "There Is More to This World," the Flower Kings sound like they are paying tribute to the groups that brought them to do what they are doing, without ever falling into plagiarism or sacrificing the band's own identity.
"Melting Pot," "The Judas Kiss," and the powerful instrumental "Retropolis" are the album's other highlights.
Very strong composition-wise, Retropolis lacked some cohesion.
It is one of the band's most song-oriented albums (with The Flower King).
In comparison, the following effort Stardust We Are will have a stronger identity but at times weaker material.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhythm of LifeTomas Bodin | The Flower Kings | Play | 00:28 | 1 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | RetropolisRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 11:07 | 25 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Rhythm of the SeaRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 06:13 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | There Is More to This WorldRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 10:07 | 23 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Romancing the CityTomas Bodin | The Flower Kings | Play | 00:53 | 2 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | The Melting PotRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 05:48 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Silent SorrowRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 07:38 | 17 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | The Judas KissRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 07:39 | 17 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Flora MajoraRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 06:49 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | The Road Back HomeRoine Stolt | The Flower Kings | Play | 08:52 | 20 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Retropolis By Night | The Flower Kings | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 68 mins | 157 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Per Aleskog | Cover Art |
| 2 | Hippiefied Art | Sleeve Design Assistant |
| 3 | Don Azzaro | Producer |
| 4 | Tomas Bodin | Composer, Effects, Fx Vocals, Mellotron, Mixing, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Synthesizer |
| 5 | Hasse Bruniusson | Percussion |
| 6 | DCM | Sleeve Design Assistant |
| 7 | The Flower Kings | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Lilian Forsberg | Photography |
| 9 | Dexter Frank Jr. | Engineer, Mixing |
| 10 | Hans Froberg | Voices |
| 11 | Jaime Salazar | Drums, Percussion |
| 12 | Michael Stolt | Bass |
| 13 | Roine Stolt | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Voices |
| 14 | Tegelmann | Photography |
| 15 | Ulf Wallander | Sax (Soprano) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |