Reviews

Like the rest of his fellow bandmates, Hasse Fröberg has taken the occasion of a hiatus in the Flower Kings’ output to write and record his own music which has materialised on Reingold Records as FuturePast. There the links to TFK end as, unlike his bandmates’ solo projects, there is no collaboration with any of them on this album. This is a new band with Hasse at the helm handling the compositional duties, singing (of course), and playing guitar as well lending his formidable studio experience to produce and mix the material with Petrus Konigsson. He has surrounded himself with a talented bunch of players to form a five piece unit (and they are a unit) that features Thomsson on bass, Kjell Haraldsson on keys, Anton Lindsjo on lead guitar and Ola Strandberg on drums. Mercifully for us, they are vastly better musicians than they are models. The band photography that decorates the booklet is risible. I’m not sure what sort of image they wanted to present but it appears to be an attempt at ‘fun and sexy’ as they pose in one laughable picture after another, including Hasse holding what appears to be a jelly and a couple of Reubens-esque portraits of Thomsson and Anton in semi-recumbent positions. What were they thinking?! I mention this only in the hope that they never allow it to happen again for verily, it offendeth mine eye. However, this small sin has absolutely no bearing on the music. Hasse’s voice is unmistakeable. Consequently, and unavoidably, one immediately places his inimitable vocal style into the context of a Flower Kings’ song. The remarkable thing is that FuturePast is unlike a Flower Kings’ album and I passionately and enthusiastically applaud Hasse (and the band) for creating something new. Naturally, there’s the occasional nod in a Flower Kings direction, but these moments are subliminal. The overriding sensation is of a new band with a fresh but reassuringly familiar sound fronted by a familiar voice. And what a voice it is! Hasse’s work with TFK has always sent shivers of delight through me and he never fails to raise the hairs on my neck at least once on every TFK album. With his own project, he not only accomplishes this effect in spades, he also seizes the opportunity to swagger his way through a wide range of vocal idioms: from all-out, full-throated rock to sensitive soul; from operatic vocal callisthenics in the same vein as Freddie Mercury, to spitting fire and brimstone. Whichever way you spin it, Fröberg is a versatile, dynamic and massively gifted vocalist – we get to revel in his talents on FuturePast...
www.dprp.net/reviews/201054.php#froberg

Interview with Hasse
www.dprp.net/specials/2010_hasse

...I must admit that I had no high expectations of the first solo album by Hasse Fröberg, mainly due to the songs he wrote for The Flower Kings-albums. These songs didn't mean much to me, but this album again proved that you may not be prejudiced and keep an open mind to all new releases. So, sorry Hasse for having doubts about your first solo effort. I must give Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion a big compliment for what they delivered on Future Past, a n album with many musical highlights that never gets bored. Highly recommended to all prog heads in general, but especially to the many Flower Kings-fans out there!
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/FrobergFuture.html

Hasse Froberg is the voice of the Flower Kings. This is his debut solo album with a lineup of band members that includes Anton Lindsjo on lead guitar, Kjell Haraldsson on keyboards, Ola Strandberg on drums, and Thomsson on bass. At 72 minutes, it shows Hasse had a lot more to say beyond the Flower Kings. This is a good album full of musical treasures. A harder rock album than his work with the Flower Kings, but not too heavy that it would scare away any fans. The epics are full of great inspiration as are the lyrics. Days of Future Past it's not, but it's a good start for Hasse and his Musical Companion.
seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=10311

On his solo debut, the voice of Swedish prog-rock masters The Flower Kings echoes his band's progressive stylings but mixes in more mainstream melodic rock styles. Backed by a first-rate band spotlighting young guitarist Anton Lindsjo (who absolutely wails), Froberg shows he's a superb songwriter and band leader on his own and out of the shadow of Flower Kings leader Roine Stolt . There is plenty here to please progressive fans-check out the Yes-like 14-minute epic "Piece of the Sky", but tracks like the anthemic "Fallen Empire" will also appeal to fans of good guitar rock. No, it's not in Swedish-Froberg's English is excellent. Production emphasizes guitars and vocals but is solid throughout. This is one musical companion you'll want around for repeat company.
www.e-gear.com/article/hasse-froberg-musical-companion-flower-kings/1#utm_source=e-gear.com&utm_medium=search_results_page&utm_campaign=search_result

Interview with Hasse
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/QLinks/InterviewFroberg.html

After a short break Hasse Fröberg and Musical Companion entered the stage. From the first moment on you could feel the power, the tightness and the atmosphere in their music. Hasse Fröberg's voice was as great as ever while communicating with the audience all the time. Drummer Ola Strandberg played both powerful and subtle increasing the music's quality with all his delicate drum sounds. Thomas Thomsson played his bass guitar in a very melodic and steady way. Seeing keyboarder Kjell Haraldsson play is a feast for the eyes and ears: tasteful and magnificent solos filling all the gaps. On the left side of the stage we found the band's junior guitarist Anton Lindsjö, whose guitar technics are just fantastic and sounding superbly. The band played all the songs of their debut album Future Past and in addition we got a number of songs Fröberg wrote for The Flower Kings. Songs like Piece Of The Sky, Fallen Empire and Only My Blood are great songs and they work very well on stage, while Magic Pie indeed brought magic on stage. The twin solos that Fröberg and Lindsjö played together sounded very interesting and retro. Sometimes Thin Lizzy came to my mind. The atmosphere during the concert was rather intimate, the audience felt as if they became part of the family of the Musical Companion. Another nice fact was Patsy Delledone, a friend of the band from Canada. She was online via Skype to watch and listen to the show. With the laptop on stage she could hear the audience clapping and shouting for the encore, a wonderful version of Stardust We Are. Hasse Fröberg was accompanied by the keyboards and a few very enthusiastic people in the audience. This must have been a great sight, to see from the stage how people sing along. For me it was a musical highlight to become part of Hasse's followers.
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/QLinks/20110304FrobergPTF.html

Fans of progressive rock that emphasizes “rock” over “prog” will find plenty to enjoy on Future Past, the debut from Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion. Fröberg is the guitarist and sometimes-vocalist for the Swedish symphonic prog band The Flower Kings, and the similarities between his new outfit and his main band are obvious. But because he possesses more of a rock singer's voice than lead Flower King Roine Stolt, Future Past presents a heavier, more commercial side of Fröberg, resulting in an album that at times casually echoes Yes' 90125. Fröberg sings like a more-masculine version of Jon Anderson, and hotshot young guitarist Anton Lindsjö draws comparisons to Trevor Rabin, circa 1983—especially on the Pink Floyd-meets-Dio track “Above,” which sounds heavier than Yes or The Flower Kings would ever dare.
www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-15425-hasse-fr%C3%B6berg-musical-companion.html

...Conclusion? About a week ago i said that with the “Godsticks - Spiral Vendetta” album i had found a top then for the year 2010 album. “Future past” belongs in there too and i dare to say it’s even closer to the top 3 as the Godsticks album will be. Top quality album being played by top quality musicians. Progressive rock/metal with a little bit of jazz hidden away is what you will get. A must in everybody’s cd-wall at home which means a buy for me to since i work with a review copy.
www.harmoniclizard.com/?q=node/179