*. Kaipa .* (Request)

Album:  Notes From The Past (2002)
Genre: Prog Rock (Symphonic Prog)  /  Sweden

This was the first album Kaipa released after Hans Lundin and Roine Stolt reformed the band. And it's a superb effort! The musicians assembled here are of the highest calibre. Jonas Reingold on bass needs no introduction, and Morgan Ahgren on drums has also worked with many of the best. Patrick Lundstrom has a very distinctive voice, very theatrical, and can put you in mind of Freddie Mercury, not so much in sounding like him, but in the way he phrases the words and notes. Aleena only sings lead on one song here, but she does a good job, though she surpasses herself on the following album, Keyholder. The song vary here, from superb, powerful instrumentals like 'Night Bike Ride (On Lilac Street) and 'Folke's Final Decision', to the more experimental instrumental 'Morganism' with its almost jazzy, uptempo feel, through two very melodic epics, 'Leaving The Horizon' and 'The Name Belongs To You', both of which are packed with wonderful keyboard and guitar work. The more straightforward 'Mirrors Of Yesterday' balances out Aleena's spot on the ballad 'A Road In My Mind'. There is another instrumental, the keyboard heavy 'Second Journey Inside The Green Glass', which is wonderful, whilst one of the most atmospheric tracks here is the shorter but haunting 'In The Space Of A Twinkle' with lyrics spoken by Hans's daughter, Tove. Her clear, strong voice, speaking in English with a slight Swedish accent, only adds to the other wordliness of the song. Also, Roine's guitar is impressive here. And bookending these songs are the first and last tracks, 'Notes From The Past' parts 1 & 2. Both are lovely, slower pieces, with great guitar from Roine, and restrained but effective keyboard work from Hans. Lundstrom sounds particularly close to Freddie Mercury on these two. This is a great album, almost as good as the next one, the brilliant 'Keyholder'. The artwork too is superb, and the whole package is delightful. There are echoes of TFK here, of course, as might be expected with both Roine and Jonas present. Ironically, there isn't much resembling the old Kaipa from the seventies. But the material here is strong, fresh, melodic, and well worth adding to your collection. The Swedes are giving us Brits a good run for our money in the 'prog Kings' stakes. And I, for one, welcome the competition! Review by "chessman" (Prog Archives).

RATING:  8.5 / 10

.