AFTER QUINTESSENCE - THE COMPLETE KALA RECORDINGS 1973

After the 2010 release of the absolute masterpiece ' Quintessence Live Queen Elizabeth Hall 1971 ', HUX Records released ' Kala ' unique eponym album of the band funded in 1973 by vocalist Phil 'Shiva' Jones and guitarist Dave 'Maha Dev' Codling, after the dissolution of the legendary indian-infused psychedelic jazzy outfit Quintessence.

The highlight of the Kala album is "Meditations" which already appears for the first time in the ' Live Elizabeth Hall 1971 '. This piece features great arrangments (female vocals and violin) and almost makes the album worth.

Some other pieces are in the Quintessence mood such as "Honey of love" but the vocal parts are not that good and the whole lack the intensity and mysticism of the original Quintessence.

' Going Down Slow ' is in a very different mood: a tough heavy blues-rock which is very far from Quintessence's delicate indian jazz psychedelic rock.

Overall, the whole album is a litlle disapointing and sounds like second-rate Quintessence. The priority is to get the masterpiece ' Quintessence Live Queen Elizabeth Hall 1971 ' and all the others Quintessence studio albums.