STRANGE BEHAVIOUR

After three studio albums, KARNATAKA must have thought that it was high time to make a live album, and rightly so. This CD, "Strange Behaviour", is the perfect anthology from the repertoire of this symphonic rock band. Actually, this is the album that everyone has been waiting for. Even though the music is still what you imagine it to be, the studio albums were always a bit too clean and polished and even too well produced. People who know and love the band will know what I'm talking about. Luckily, this 'defect' can be corrected. On this album, they should sound just like you hear them: deliciously symphonic, but with the necessary rough edges of the guitar. Because of this, the CD has become a real guitar album, but without the endless flim flam that some other guitar albums have fallen prey to. Every guitar lover will agree that the solos, riffs and loops are to die for. Paul Davies knows how to dish it out. This is the ideal mix for the symphonic rock lover: atmospheric and well thought out compositions with the right feel for melody, harmony and song structure and then sprinkled with divine guitar solos, all performed by talented musicians. From a vocal perspective, Rachel Jones, together with Anne-Marie Helder, carries the album to a high level, as well.

This album is therefore the ticket to the music of KARNATAKA for the rest of the world who is not yet familiar with them. There should be a sticker on the CD for those who want to try something new or have been putting off buying it. And that sticker would read: "Caution. The music on this CD could change your musical tastes for the rest of your life."

>>> Review by: Jany (9/10) Translated by Jennifer Summer<<<

KARNATAKA is a band full of accomplished musicians with the talent to make world-class music every time they record, which they do. I have yet experienced the pleasure of hearing them in the studio, but that time will happen soon enough. Previous to this 2 CD set; I heard another live performance on a DVD (In Concert) nearly two years ago, that introduced to this fine band. They certainly seem to be in their element performing live and this recording is more evidence of that.

"Strange Behaviour" is an awesome example of the hypnotic power that this band holds over their audiences throughout an entire performance of the various tracks from their catalog. This fantastic 2003 presentation certainly held me spellbound throughout. The combination of instruments and vocals are magical. Rachel Jones has an angelic voice that sucks you right and does not let go. When Jones' vocals call upon the guitar of Paul Davies he answers with subtle or powerful licks. The adept guitarist provides whatever is necessary to make everything work perfectly for her voice and the tempo of each composition. Jonathan Edwards is amazing on keyboards, what a talent; he also knows when to be strong or laid back. Their music works with the ebb and tide of emotion found in each song, in total synchronization with the lead singer. Everyone plays their parts beautifully, taking the cue from each other then stepping in to add their contributions, including Gavin John Griffiths (drums, percussion), Anne-Marie Helder (vocals, flutes, shawn & percussion) and Ian Jones (bass and acoustic guitars, bass pedals).

The eighth track on CD 2, "Out Of Reach," signals the end of the concert but it is not. There is a brief pause then more music comes your way, a few songs (I'm assuming they are the previously unreleased tracks) totaling more than 24 more minutes, which are as extraordinary as every other previous recording. I don't think I have ever heard a bad song by this band, it's amazing.

This production and recording is so good that it makes you feel as though you have a VIP seat right there while it's all happening, quite extraordinary if I do say so myself, and without any major label backing thank you very much. KARNATAKA is the best band you have never heard. I think its time all of that changed. In my humble opinion, they are one of the best bands in the world. This would be a wonderful introduction to their incredible music so make sure you get it. After a second dose of their live shows, I need to hear all of their studio albums now!

One of the most beautiful CDs I had the opportunity to hear in the last year or two. Absolutely stunning perfomrance by this very underrated band from the United Kingdom. Their studio albums may sound a little too polished, but Strange Behaviour shows how good they are in front of an audience! Their sound is a joy to hear from beginning to end, and we´re talking about a 2 hour+ album!

Karnakata music is quite unique but if you want some reference think about a more progressive version of Clannad, less folkish and more rockier. This impression may be given by the fact that Rachel Jones has a superb voice that is a bit similar to Clannad´s Maire Brennan. Add that to Anne Marie Helder fine harmonies and you have a perfect combination that makes you shiver everytimne of you hear them singing together. Helder also plays the flute on some songs to give an extra texture. Simply great.

But let´s not forget that the musicians are also superb and work as a tigh unit. Sometimes is hard to believe this is a live album. All them are great, but mention must be given to Jonathan Edwards beautiful keyboards textures and, specially, to guitarrist Paul Davies who shows his tasteful guitar breaks and solos everytime the song ask for it (and then giving it a little bit more!). Absolute perfect timing and talent.

Ok, they are a bit mellow sometimes, but never lame. In fact I can´t really find any fault in this album. If you like melodic prog rock with some incredible female vocals, this is a must have. Highly recommended!

This live album is a very pleasant one. But unfortunately the last one from "Karnataka". Their debut album showed a very solid band putting together a very good pop-prog-folk music almost carbon-copied from "Mostly Autumn". But since I find this band rather catchy, I could only be pleased with what I heard.

Both bands have a great duo vocals / guitar. Rachel Jones / Paul Davies for "Karnataka" and Bryan Josh / Heather Findlay for "Mostly Autumn". To make things more complicated, Anne-Marie Helder (vocals / flute) will participate in the work of both bands, while Rachel will be backing vocalist on "Storm Over London" a live album from ..."MA". Both bands appeared on the same bill as well (i.e. in Rotherham in 2001). Cross-history in a certain way.

IMHHO, their best work was their debut album. So, I'm a bit disappointed with the tracklist of this double CD set since only three songs are featured. Nonetheless, this live set is damned good. To be honest, it is almost comparable with "The Story So Far" from "MA". Same bewitchment for Rachel's vocals for this one as for Heather on "The Story...".

Her tone of voice, so deep, so passionate, so skilled, so ... perfect is just an enchantment. What a pity that she will stop singing with "Karnataka". The future of the band is also very vague if you look at their web-site : still touring under this name but releasing a "debut album" under the name of "Chasing The Monsoon" with a new line-up. Strange and totally unclear.

Anyway, this set is full of nice melodies, very well performed. The whole is maybe a bit lenghty, mellow and too much of the same thing but it is really worth a listen. "After The Rain" is absolutely fantastic (both guitar & vocals) but it is hard to mention an average song because there are none. Another highlight is "The Right Time" and the closing "Out Of Reach".

Just like "MA", some average songs will be turned into good ones thanks to Paul Davies's guitar-work ("Delicate Flame Of Desire") for instance. Over two hours of excellent music. Not a masterpiece but a very much recommended live album. For those willing to enter their catalogue, it is a winner although as I have said in the preliminaries of this review, their best work is their debut album.

I will rate this album with four stars. I'm so in love with Rachel's voice (and look, because on top of being a great vocalist, she is a superb woman as well).

Review Nº 854

"Strange Behaviour" is the debut live album of Karnataka and was released in 2004. It was recorded in November 2003 and it has tracks from the first three studio albums of the band, "Karnataka" released in 1998, "The Storm" released in 2000 and "Delicate Flame Of Desire" released in 2003. So, this is an album that represents the band's first musical era.

"Strange Behaviour" is a double live album with nineteen tracks. The first track "Intro ? Karnataka (Excerpt)", as it name indicates, is an excerpt of the track "Karnataka" originally released on their third studio album "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The second track "Time Stands Still" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The third track "After The Rain" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The fourth track "Crazy" was originally released on their eponymous debut studio album "Karnataka". The fifth track "Dreamer" was originally released on their second studio album "The Storm". The sixth track "Heaven Can Wait" was also originally released on "The Storm". The seventh track "The Right Time" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The eighth track "I Should Have Known" was also originally released on "The Storm". The ninth track "Delicate Flame Of Desire" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The tenth track "These Dreams Are Over" was never released on any studio album of the band. The eleventh track "The Storm" was also originally released on "The Storm". The twelfth track "Must Be The Devil" was also originally released on "Karnataka". The thirteenth track "Strange Behaviour", which gave its name to "Strange Behaviour", was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The fourteenth track "Everything Must Change" was also originally released on "The Storm". The fifteenth track "Talk To Me", as happened with "The Dreams Are Over", was never released on any studio album of the band too. The sixteenth track "The Journey" was also originally released on "The Storm". The seventeenth track "Tell Me Why" was also originally released on "Karnataka". The eighteenth track "Heart Of Stone" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire". The nineteenth track "Out Of Reach" was also originally released on "Delicate Flame Of Desire".

The line up on "Strange Behaviour" is Rachel Jones (vocals and percussion), Anne-Marie Helder (harmony vocals, flutes and percussion), Paul Davies (lead guitar), Jonathan Edwards (keyboards), Ian Jones (bass and acoustic guitar) and Gavin John Griffiths (drums and percussion).

"Strange Behaviour" brilliantly presents the band's sound and where all the aspects of the band live performance are present here. So, we have the voice of Rachel. Her voice cuts through the mix like a knife coated with honey and she is in fine form throughout. Bringing freshness to the older material, Anne-Marie's counterpointed harmony vocals brings the material alive. In many cases it's akin to having two lead vocalists. The two singers combine together beautifully. Besides that, the flute work of Ann-Marie provides a new vital colour to many of the old material of the band, which is particularly evident on "Heaven Can Wait" and "The Storm". All this reveals the importance of her presence for the band shines through. Davies' guitar work here is magnificent. The live renditions of the material from "Karnataka" and "The Storm" is brightly changed, at times hard rocking, at times deeply melodic and other times revealing epic sweeps of sound. As we could expect of an album made during the tour to support the band's latest studio project, it presents all tracks of "Delicate Flame Of Desire", except one. They are faithful renditions in the main, but fans of the band will be pleased. Finally, the recording of the instruments is from first class and the band performances are also from top flight.

About the two new tracks, "The Dreams Are Over" is a delicate track with a rousing chorus that sure will to become a favourite song amongst their fans. "Talk To Me" is the first song credited to all six band's members and over the nine minutes of the song there are some excellent musical passages. It provides the inclusion of a shawn, a double reeded musical instrument supposedly developed in Baghdad during the middle ages and performed by Anne-Marie Helder.

Conclusion: If you are a fan of Karnataka you'll be delighted with "Strange Behaviour". It has almost everything that a live album should have. But, if you aren't yet a fan of the band then "Strange Behaviour" is an excellent place to start. It's worthy of the inclusion amongst some of the classic's live albums of the past thirty years. If it hadn't been for the annoying and totally unnecessary inclusion of two bonus tracks tagged onto to the end of the last track "Out Of Reach" (that I didn't realize at the first auditions and that they should have been individually sequenced and informed as part of the live album proper, the silence before these tracks is very enervating and unnecessary), it would have been near perfect. Thus, "Strange Behaviour" is a live album well representative of their entire career, at the time. It became the best and most representative album of their debut line up. So, it became the most representative testimony of that era.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)