Sunday, November 30, 2008

Delicate Flame of Desire - Karnataka

2003. Genre : Prog Folk-Rock. Overall Rating : ***** **** (out of 10*).
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This Week I'm Listening To...
The third album from this talented Welsh prog-rock group, Delicate Flame of Desire was alas their last studio album. After releasing a live album in 2004, they splintered, and have not put out anything since.
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What's To Like...
Oh my. The lead vocals by Rachel Jones are as good as it gets. And each song comes with a guitar solo that's just as awesome. Think "Annie Haslam with Mostly Autumn", or if that's too esoteric, how about "Loreena McKennitt with Marillion". This is a pure delight to listen to. Good from the first to the last track.
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Other than being a bit formulaic (and in this case, that can be viewed as a good thing), my only complaint is that the band broke up soon after this. Rachel Jones did some gigs with Mostly Autumn, and later formed a group called The Reasoning. There was a rumor in 2007 that Karnataka had resurrected and was working on a new album - The Gathering Light. But 2008 is coming to a close, and it still hasn't surfaced at Amazon.
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So we'll continue to wait patiently. In the meantime, if you're missing the awesomeness that once was called Renaissance, give Delicate Flame Of Desire a spin.

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