If there’s ever going to be a movie biopic of 70s Anglo-American outfit Carmen, the pitch would be: ‘flamenco music and dancing meets progressive rock.’ Although viewed as a musical oddity, they were befriended by David Bowie; and their first two albums, Fandangos In Space (1973) and Dancing On A Cold Wind (1974) were created with the services of producer Tony Visconti.
While mixing different styles and genres was key to achieving their sound, Carmen don’t just rely on founder David Clark Allen’s fearsomely precise guitar to do the job, but also import flamenco’s signature hand-clapping, the percussive foot-stomping and numerous rousing cries of ‘Olé!’ into the mix.
Allen’s admiration for prog contemporaries including Yes and Genesis is detectable in the writing as Mellotrons, Moogs and a penchant for dramatic contrasts make their presence felt. While this gives his band many opportunities to showcase their obvious instrumental prowess, the vocals often come with an over-the-top macho swagger that feels somewhat anachronistic today.
With the chorus ‘She’s a shady lady and she make you cry... she’ll tell you lies,’ it’s as lame as it sounds
Having parted company with Visconti, their third album from 1975, The Gypsies, continues in much the same vein; though there are some shifts toward a more commercial mainstream direction. Come Back wilts under the weight of cheesy hooks while Shady Lady – with the chorus ‘She’s a shady lady and she make you cry... she’ll tell you lies’ – is as lame as it sounds.
Despite high-profile support slots with the likes of Jethro Tull (whom Carmen bassist John Glasscock would go on to join), the band hung up their castanets due to dodgy management and public indifference.
While there’s some decent material on those three albums – all contained within Esoteric’s traditional clamshell packaging – it’s often trampled by their insistence on shoehorning various flamenco motifs and thunderously fancy footwork into the songs whether they need it or not, making such inclusions overbearing, gratuitous and, ultimately, too much of a gimmick.
The Albums 1973-1975 is on sale now vie Esoteric.
