“First rate materials, typically trampled by shoehorning in flamenco motifs, fancy footwork and an over-the-top macho swagger”: Carmen’s The Albums assortment

If there’s ever going to be a film biopic of 70s Anglo-American outfit Carmen, the pitch could be: ‘flamenco music and dancing meets progressive rock.’ Though seen as a musical oddity, they have been befriended by David Bowie; and their first two albums, Fandangos In House (1973) and Dancing On A Chilly Wind (1974) have been created with the providers of producer Tony Visconti.

Whereas mixing totally different kinds and genres was key to reaching their sound, Carmen don’t simply depend on founder David Clark Allen’s fearsomely exact guitar to do the job, but in addition import flamenco’s signature hand-clapping, the percussive foot-stomping and quite a few rousing cries of ‘Olé!’ into the combination.