5)“Wheel of Life” (from the 2003 album ‘Wheel of Life’) – The title track shows that Karmakanic, for all their virtuosity, are not afraid of inserting a pure and simple (almost poppy) melody where required. The song is filled with flutes, fretless and fenders, but never fades from its fanciful fanfare. (Pardon the alliteration – we couldn’t resist it.) Enjoy this fruitful melody.
4) “Steer by the Stars” (from the 2016 album ‘Dot’) – As you will have gathered, three of the top four songs are from the band’s latest release. This is not manipulation, we assure you – the album just happens to be brilliant. “Steer by the Stars” has a surprisingly straight-ahead feel based on uplifting pop melodies with soaring harmonies and a strong hook. If there are those that believe Karmakanic are never simple or understated, this song will correct that misapprehension. It is melodic Prog-pop rich in harmonies and brilliant instrumentation, based on a deceptively simple premise, all in 4/4 timing. But it’s still Prog.
3) “Higher Ground” (from the album “Dot’) – is a brilliant piece of melodic Prog that is Reingold’s lyrical exploration of his childhood and his journey to a life of freedom. With a chorus so utterly gorgeous as to extract tears, the song builds to an understated but hugely emotional crescendo with a thunderous Reingold bass-line, a delicious melody and a lonely climax. If this song doesn’t move you, then Houston, we have a problem.
2) “God, the Universe and Everything No-one Cares About Part 1” (from the album ‘Dot’) – The latest album, led by this track, deals with Carl Sagan’s concept that the Earth, seen from space, is nothing more than a tiny fraction of cosmic space. A heady theme that is matched by the complexity and varied thematic content of the song. An epic indeed – listen to the end.
1)“Where The Earth Meets The Sky” (from ‘Wheel of Life’) – Back to the breakthrough album for for the no. 1 song, as complete and accomplished a mini-epic as you will ever hear. Beginning with a piano riff that could be a rapid-fire Bach Fugue, it then quickly develops into the most astonishing instrumental and vocal extravaganza that you are ever likely to encounter. Reingold’s speed and dexterity defy belief, and the band matches him every step of the way. Not content to rely solely on instrumental acrobatics, the song takes breath in one of the most joyous slow melodies in Prog, and then builds again to reconcile the two themes in a crescendo as sweet, powerful and majestic as any heard in the modern era of Prog. We urge you to listen to this masterpiece to the end – it is joyous indeed.
