Prog4you.com - Progressive Rock Review

: : REVIEW : :

“Sonic Boulevard” is Tomas Bodin’s third solo album. It is also his best solo album. That, of course, begs the question of whether it really is a solo album in the first place.

Better known as the keyboard player for, The Flower Kings. Bodin’s coloristic, flexible style has significantly shaped the sound of prog’s Third Wave. Bodin’s brilliance lies more in his ability to play exactly that which is necessary to establish the mood of a piece – perhaps a result of his work as a composer for the Swedish National Theater – than for Emersonesque keyboard pyrotechnics. Bodin always seems to know exactly what a piece needs and to play that rather than the flashy solo that will garner all the attention. And it is just that ability that is so evident on “Sonic Boulevard” and makes it such a success.

Indeed, his prior solo efforts – “An Ordinary Day in My Ordinary Life” and (to a lesser extent) “Pinup Guru” – were something of a departure from that style. They were both, in the end, keyboard players’ albums featuring a whole lot of…well, keyboards. This took Bodin somewhat outside of his zone; it was a departure from what he does best. With “Sonic Boulevard” Bodin has returned to the zone. And that is, perhaps, why the album succeeds as thoroughly as it does.

Ultimately, “Sonic Boulevard” is far less of a keyboard player’s solo album than it is Bodin taking a turn as bandleader. For “Sonic Boulevard” Bodin assembled a talented group built around The Flower Kings’ rhythm section of Jonas Reingold on bass and Zoltan Csörsz on drums. Roine Stolt – who, of course, has a Flower Kings credit or two to his name – also sits in (as do sometime Flower Kings Hasse Bruniusson and Ulf Wallander). But it is not Stolt’s guitar that defines this album. Indeed Stolt’s playing does not even define the guitar sounds on the album – it is that of Jocke JJ Marsh.(best known for his work with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath singer and bass player Glenn Hughes). At times Marsh’s guitar cooks with gas…but at times it gently braises; sometimes Marsh provides the pyrotechnics, sometimes the texture. And all the while it is Bodin holding it all together.

An excellent snapshot of Bodin’s approach to the album is the song “Back to the African Garden,” a set of relatively ambient variations on the signature melodic material from The Flower Kings’ hour long epic, “Garden of Dreams” (it is not the only song with references to the parent band’s oeuvre). It is very much its own musical creature but only a small part of its interest stems from its shared origin with “Garden of Dreams.” The pieces on “Sonic Bouldevard” tend to be far looser, far more improvisationally-based than The Flower Kings’ studio output. The float, they soar, they get down-to-earth and they do so with an omnivorous approach to musical genres. At times the references are third world, at times jazz, new age, jam-band and even – shudder the thought – prog.

All of which is not to say that the album does not contain some marvelous Flower Kings moments. Perhaps the best song on the album is “The Hero From Cloud City.” The song explodes into existence with a burst of trademark Stolt guitar sound before settling into the relaxed floating feel that characterizes the sound of this album. But free-floating as Stolt’s extended opening lead may be, the song is far more focused than it seems at first, building and tension in a very Enid-like fashion.

But, for all of the different musical reference points, for all of the improvisation, what emerges is a strong, coherent sense of musical identity. Certainly all of the playing is not Tomas Bodin’s. Marsh’s guitar and Reingold’s bass are clearly every bit as evident as Bodin’s keyboards. But it is Tomas Bodin’s musical identity that is the focus of this album. It is he that holds it all together. It is he that makes it work. And if that isn’t a solo album than what is?

8.5 out of 10.
Reviewed by: Michael A. Gardiner

: : Visit the artist website : :
tomasbodin.com

: : Credits : :
All songs composed , arranged and produced by: Tomas Bodin
Choir arrangements on song # 10 by: Anders Jansson
Drums recorded and mixed by: Jonas Reingold
Engineering: Tomas Bodin
Mixed at Big Turtle by: Allan Hope
Mastered at Cosmic Lodge by: Don Azzaro
Artwork by: Thomas Ewerhard

: : Discography : :
An Ordinary Night In My Ordinary Life (1996)
Pinup Guru (2002)
Sonic Boulevard (2003)