Three CD box set featuring all the albums recorded by the unique Progressive Rock band Carmen between 1973 and 1975. CARMEN initially came together in Los Angeles as seven-piece band formed by guitarist DAVID CLARK ALLEN and his sister ANGELA ALLEN in 1970. The band's unique style blended both Progressive Rock and Flamenco styles, with Angela Allen also being an accomplished Flamenco dancer aside from being keyboard player. Despite interest from music mogul Clive Davis, the band failed to make any headway in getting a record contract they relocated to London in 1973. The Allens soon assembled a new line-up of the band with Flamenco dancer and vocalist ROBERTO AMARAL and British musicians JOHN GLASCOCK (bass) and PAUL FENTON (drums). Their unique live performances soon came to attention of DAVID BOWIE who became a friend of the band. Famed producer TONY VISCONTI produced the band's debut album 'Fandangos in Space' in 1973. This was followed in 1974 by the album 'Dancing on a Cold Wind'. Carmen undertook extensive touring and appeared on the Midnight Special US TV show with Bowie before parting company with Tony Visconti. The band's last album, 'The Gypsies' appeared on the Mercury label in 1975 in the USA and Japan, following it's release Carmen disbanded with John Glascock joining JETHRO TULL. 'The Albums 1973-1975' gathers together all of these albums, serving as a fine introduction to the music of a unique Progressive Rock band.

In the early seventies, the British-American group Carmen broke new ground in rock music, combining the British flair for progressive rock with traditional Spanish folk themes into a very fresh, energetic and powerful new mix. The sound is centered around guitar, keyboards are used subtly but to good effect. On the whole, they are a rather hard band to describe… Some vague comparisons could be made to Jethro Tull, Mezquita (some of the Spanish themes), and Triana (the flamenco/prog combination).

After three decades of Carmen in opéra comique-style, each one offering its own brand of authenticity, here we are back in the 19th century with the old grand opera version, with the Guiraud recitatives, tacked on after Bizet’s death. This was the way Carmen was usually performed until the 1950s, when producers and scholars started to reconsider the original.

A unique band, Carmen combined flamenco music with progressive rock. Adding to their distinctiveness was the fact that during long instrumental passages, members of the band would dance on-stage, adding those sounds to the instrumental mix. Composed of Roberto Amaral (vocals, castanets), David Allen (guitar), his sister Angela Allen (keyboards), John Glascock (bass) – who later worked with Jethro Tull – and Paul Fenton (drums), Carmen's sound was focused on up-beat flamenco guitar with a strong rhythm section and subtle keyboards. Their first album, Dancing on a Cold Wind, was released in 1973 and featured the 23-minute epic "Remembrances (Recuerdos de Espana)." It was followed by Fandangos in Space in 1974. The quintet's final album was The Gypsies, released in 1975, a more restrained effort than previous releases.

Carmen was a British-American band active from 1970-75. Their style was a fusion of rock, progressive, and flamenco music and dance. Carmen's first album, Fandangos in Space, is ranked number 46 in the Rolling Stone list of 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time.