Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Anderson/Stolt
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2016
Running time: 65:02
Rating: 4/5
It was only a matter of time before ex-Yes songbird Jon Anderson and The Flower Kings’ tireless chieftain Roine Stolt teamed up on a joint project, considering how much common ground the two have and how alike their outlook on the world is. Guitar maestro Stolt is a longtime fan of Jon’s creative path, after all, since Yes have always been one of The Flower Kings’ key sonic influences. The loudest cheerleader for the collaboration was Thomas Waber, head of the German label InsideOutMusic. The Flower Kings and Stolt’s other projects, and there’s no shortage of them, have long been among the main attractions of his decidedly prog-friendly label.
After Jon’s and Roine’s paths finally crossed on a prog rock concert cruise, where the legendary singer appeared as a special guest of Stolt’s supergroup Transatlantic, they decided to launch a joint project and record an album titled »Invention of Knowledge«. Helping them pull it off were former Yes touring keyboardist Tom Brislin and a handful of current and former The Flower Kings members, such as drummer Felix Lehrmann, bassists Jonas Reingold (Karmakanic) and Michael Stolt, and singer Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation). Since his not exactly friendly split from Yes, Jon has pulled quite a few dubious musical moves. His recent solo efforts, as well as his collaborations with fellow ex-Yes ‘sufferer’ Rick Wakeman and the legendary violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, weren’t exactly thrilling, so some fans’ skepticism toward his latest joint project was totally justified, even if this time he’s teamed up with a seasoned prog veteran like Roine.
The worry wasn’t unwarranted, although »Invention of Knowledge« turned out to be a better album than most would have expected. With a crew of musicians like this, that’s really no big surprise, especially considering that the former and current The Flower Kings members grew up on Yes music and could play any Yes song ‘at midnight’ if some crazed fan happened to wake them in the middle of the night. Anderson and Stolt split the songwriting duties on »Invention of Knowledge« in a pretty democratic way, so the result is a musically well-balanced record that’s not hard to fall in love with. That is, of course, as long as the lyrics don’t bother you. As expected, they’re sunny and full of typical new age mantras, since the two gents share an almost identical philosophy of spiritual ‘enlightenment’. Roine reached the ‘flowery’ level of his great ‘guru’ in this department ages ago, and anyone who doesn’t mind that will find plenty of fulfilling pleasures on the album this time around too.
With »Invention of Knwoledge«, Messrs. Anderson and Stolt have made an album that, as you’d expect, will go down best with fans of the two bands they’re most often linked to, namely Yes and The Flower Kings. As a whole, the album came out better than many would have guessed given Jon’s recent projects. Despite the complexity of most of the arrangements and plenty of dramatic soloing, »Invention of Knowledge« goes by ‘in a blink’, as all the pieces are built on melodic harmonies and beautiful, uplifting choruses, which makes it, in many respects, an easy-listening and almost meditative achievement. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all played at a superb level, and technical and production perfectionism is everywhere. Of course, you can’t talk about any great innovation, but the two masters still pull the best out of ‘both worlds’.
Chances are that everyone disappointed with what’s been going on with Yes since Jon’s departure will enjoy listening to »Invention of Knowledge« too, and there’s no way to call it a recycling of the famous legacy of prog legends, if only because Stolt’s guitar technique differs quite a bit from Steve Howe’s, while Brislin also has a completely different keyboard approach from Rick Wakeman or Geoff Downes. Mr. Anderson’s vocals haven’t sounded this inspired in a long time, and the positive feeling that he really enjoyed working with the guitar maestro runs through the entire album.
»Invention of Knowledge has the good quality of ‘sucking in’ the listener right from the opening track, »Invention«, where the vocal harmonies recall a perfectly tuned choir of ‘ children of light’. There’s no complicating things with drawn-out jazzy improvisations, as the individual solos are more or less melodically oriented. It would be hard to single out individual highlights on such a balanced album, which also has a few ambient influences from the ‘Far East’, since the shorter and longer pieces are about equal in quality. In a way, »Invention of Knowledge« is definitely a pleasant surprise, and it will almost certainly be well received by ‘prog lovers’, except for the unrealistic fanatics who happened to expect a new »Close to the Edge«.
Lineup
Jon Anderson – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer, percussion, co-producer
Roine Stolt – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, Portuguese guitar, dobro, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, co-producer
GUEST VOCALS:
Tom Brislin – keyboards
Lalle Larsson – keyboards
Jonas Reingold – bass guitar, backing vocals
Michael Stolt – bass guitar, Moog Taurus pedals
Felix Lehrmann – drums
Daniel Gildenlöw – backing vocals
Nad Sylvan – backing vocals
Anja Obermayer – backing vocals
Maria Rerych – backing vocals
Kristina Westas – backing vocals
Production
Jon Anderson and Roine Stolt
Track list
– I – Invention of Knowledge –
1. Invention (9:41)
2. We Are Truth (6:41)
3. Knowledge (6:30)
– II – Knowing –
4. Knowing (10:31)
5. Chase and Harmony (7:17)
– III – Everybody Heals –
6. Everybody Heals (7:36)
7. Better by Far (2:03)
8. Golden Light (3:30)
– IV – Know… –
9. Know… (11:13)
