THE GYPSIES

Two years following their incredible debut Fandangos in Space, Flamenco-Prog band Carmen released The Gypsies, their third. In my experience, it's a bit confusing just calling them a 'Prog Folk' band. They have so much to offer and so much of that is heavy as hell!

"Daybreak" opens the album with melody and beauty, then with infectious, beefy awesome. Being from LA, I figure they must have been partially influenced by Sparks/Halfnelson. There's an artsy, almost glammy thing going on in this. Also, great solo. Coolest thing I've heard today so far.

"Shady Lady" will sound exactly how you'd expect haha. Honestly, though, the main melody in the chorus is awesome. And the mix is jam-packed. Bright acoustic guitars and soft, crystalline keys ride beside a rockin' beat. It's much better than I first thought (or let on). This song is thick.

"High Time" feels like a Heavy Metal intro, really. Another song driven by the rhythm section. Nice harmonizing guitars. I feel much of this music will appeal to fans of other potential-of-Prog-Lite American bands, like Styx or Kansas. And now that I've written that, maybe Roxy Music fans will appreciate some of what's going on here as well: there's a Pop element that is undeniable. But it's all performed very well. "Dedicated to Lydia" is to follow, a quieted folksy number. I really liked the ending; a little jaunt.

"Joy" has an optimistic, but interesting, eerie feeling. Fitting title. Wordy track, to say the least. Vocally reminiscent of Tommy Shaw or Steve Walsh... Or Dan Fogelberg?! Musically pretty cool. A unique sound. And it continues in this eerie fashion. Another one with a very cool ending.

Another track of interesting feeling is "The Gypsies", our title track; here, Carmen is a sort of Latin-inflected Jethro Tull. Beefy and daring, but really the vocals genuinely straight up sound like a successful mimicry of Ian Anderson. Very cool song. It rages on. "Siren of the Sea" is of a comparable heaviness. Pretty good song. One of the weaker vocal performances? "Come Back" follows and does so pretty naturally, as I feel the melody at the intro was similar to "Siren". This song has a very familiar beat. Not a favorite.

"Maragrita" starts off slow and feeling with piano and chimes. It was pretty. Classical sort of guitar soloed atop. It is juxtaposed by "Flamenco Fever", another heavier Anderson-mimic?! All of the vocals working together really is great, and this is rhythmically very cool and the synth and... the song itself(?) is pretty damn awesome. In the least, a slightly maximalist field day.

And finally, "Only Talking to Myself", starting off with a pretty wild flamenco riff, but then?... This is like a barely-Prog Pop bonus track, not originally appearing on the album. This features female lead vocals, the feeling of which reminds me of Happy Rhodes pretty immediately. Apparently the song was devoted to bassist John Glascock. I had honestly forgotten that he was even in Carmen (as he went on to join Tull in '76); sadly, he passed away in 1979. Lovely track, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Not considering that final track, True Rate of 3.5/5.0.