THE GYPSIES

The final Carmen album loses a little something in the production - Tony Visconti was out of the producer's chair (a side- effect of the decision to record in the US), Steve Elson was in, and the production approach is a bit more generically hard rock and less delicate than perhaps the flamenco side of their flamenco-prog rock mix merits. In addition, there's a certain melancholy mood that settles in here; whether or not the band consciously realised that they were approaching the end of the road, perhaps there was some sense in the air that the good times were over. Band members have certainly said in retrospect that things were not well behind the scenes when they came to record this, with the loss of Visconti compounded by the departure of their former manager, which resulted them being paired with a label-imposed manager who didn't really gel with them.

However, in terms of the musical execution they seem to have risen above these circumstances, producing an album which, though it veers a touch more towards anthemic rock than previously, still keeps their "flamenco prog" approach going. The title track might have some of their most prog rock-inclined playing in its long outro, the heartfelt Come Back comes across as a purposefully composed farewell, and the closing instrumental Margarita has something of the sunset about it - almost like a flamenco funeral march.

Yes, the more I listen to this, more more I think that the band decided that the jig was up in the process - and made the commitment to each other and their listeners to go out on a high. Their sound might have sidestepped in a slightly more mainstream direction here, but that just means that each Carmen album offers a slightly different take on their core sound, which remains intact. Go for the preceding two albums first to get yourself an ear for their more offbeat flourishes, otherwise you might overlook them here, but if you like those two releases, give this one a go.