As enticing a prospect for potential listeners as it is possible to get. The music is splendid, and if investing in the physical CD version, the packaging is beautifully purple-themed throughout in a very classy way, with an accompanying booklet sumptuously illustrated with some exemplary photography. And, if you want the full visual experience, it’s also available on DVD or Blu-ray.
It was earlier this year that this double live document of the current Karnataka incarnation was released, and while I must apologise for the somewhat overdue nature of this review of it, I can only emphasise that this is without doubt a case of being worth the wait. Requiem For A Night (the title of course being a play on the most recent album Requiem For A Dream) was recorded at a show in the Netherlands back in 2024 during the first major tour in support of that record, and it is a very fine performance indeed, captured with pristine sound quality in a very nicely put-together package. Having seen the band perform around this time (and reviewed the show), I suspected that this would be the case, but if anything this is even better. The band have settled into a well-drilled and supremely professional outfit, despite being a relatively new line-up at the time, which is testament not only to the quality of the five musicians involved, but also the overriding attention to detail and meticulous preparation. It’s clear from listening to this that the band are on a mission to stamp their authority on proceedings after a time away while regrouping, and it stands as a fine testimony.
The history of Karnataka is one which is labyrinthine to say the least – over the three decades or so since the band’s original inception, if the artist Pete Frame had elected to do one of his famous ‘Family Trees’ about them, he may well have been asking the invigilator for more paper! A quick search reveals that, in addition to the five current members, there have been no fewer than nineteen previous musicians to have come and gone from the band. If this sounds like a recipe for a confused and muddled identity, remarkably that is far from the case, as the single-minded determination and curatorship of ever-present band lynchpin Ian Jones has ensured that a strong seam of ‘Karnataka-ness’ has continued through each and every iteration of the band, and every recording. Whoever has been with him has continued to carry that ‘delicate flame of Karnataka’ (to paraphrase an album title) right through to the present. Indeed, despite the challenge of following up the superb line-up which recorded the brilliant Secrets Of Angels album, the care taken in assembling the best and most suitable musicians possible has resulted in a band which is the equal and more of any its previous versions. Simply put, the odds were defied and then some. Vocalist Sertari has stepped into the challenging shoes of predecessors such as Hayley Griffiths, Anne Marie Helder and others magnificently, while the recruitment of the much-lauded guitar talents of Luke Machin is an inspired move. The experience of Rob Wilsher provides a real anchor on the keyboards, while Jack Summerfield brings a palpable energy on the drums. So, what do they serve up on this recording?
After the rather fitting and effective introductory opening of the track Karnataka itself, the set proper bursts into life with a propulsive rendition of the Secrets Of Angels opener Roads To Cairo. The band are clearly firing on all cylinders, and this continues even more strongly with a definitive version of All Around The World from the Requiem For A Dream album. That is only the first of a number of selections from that album, as one would expect, as the set gives us Sacrifice, the emotional depth-charge Don’t Forget My Name, and superb performances of Forgiven and the epic title track. The latter has unsurprisingly taken the place of Secrets Of Angels as the show-stopping epic in the set – while it is a great shame to lose Secrets Of Angels, it would be a little top-heavy to feature both in the same show to be fair. There has to be room for something else after all! In addition to these, we get selections from every album back to 2000’s The Storm, with Heaven Can Wait representing that one as a very welcome ‘blast from the past’. There is room for Strange Behaviour from Delicate Flame Of Desire, Forsaken and the title track from The Gathering Light, and a final encore of Forbidden Dreams from Secrets Of Angels. It’s a very strong spine of material from those past albums, and while more recent shows have seen other vintage tracks added, this still adds up to what is a great ‘primer’ for the newcomer as much as it does to a strong live album for the converted.
I really can’t overstate how impressively this recording comes across. Obviously one can never talk of permanence with any degree of certainty in the rollercoaster world of Karnataka, but this really does give the impression of a group of musicians who are loving what they are doing, and have a real chemistry between them. One can only hope, anyway – as following up a superlative line-up and album with yet another equally strong one is a trick which is hard to pull off for any band, and we cannot rely on even the alchemical skills of Ian Jones to produce infinite rabbits from hats! It will be interesting to see whether this is followed up with another live recording from the most recent tour, as the swapping around of songs between the two sets would make an effective and fascinating comparison indeed – one bonus of the modern technology we have now is the relative ease of recording live shows, and also the space on CD, or of course digitally, to easily represent a whole show. Back in the 1970s, we had Yessongs, Made In Japan, Genesis Live, Seconds Out, Uriah Heep Live, The Song Remains The Same and Focus At The Rainbow to name a few – and that was pretty much your lot as far as the live representation of a band spanning a decade or so. Many things could be said to be worse today in terms of the music business, but that is certainly an exception. The live album as a regular document has truly come into its own, and examples like this one are reason to celebrate that fact.
Bottom line, if you are a Karnataka fan, this is right up your street, being a great collection of performances of a fine spread of material. If you are not yet acquainted with the band, then this is equally perfect for you, as there is no better way to be introduced to what the band has to offer. Now, I realise that I have just made the fallacious logical leap that the whole world – with the exception of those who actively dislike Karnataka – will therefore get this album. That would be nice, but the world, especially that of prog rock, does not turn that way! It is, however, as enticing a prospect for potential listeners as it is possible to get. The music is splendid, and if investing in the physical CD version, the packaging is beautifully purple-themed throughout in a very classy way, with an accompanying booklet sumptuously illustrated with some exemplary photography. And, if you want the full visual experience, it’s also available on DVD or Blu-ray. Get this with complete confidence, you won’t be sorry.
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