CAMEL

Having reviewed a few other Camel albums I have stated that their 2nd (Mirage), 3rd (Snow Goose) and 4th (Moonmadness) albums are the tri-pinnacle of Camel as they were the original incarnation of Latimer, Bardens, Ferguson & Ward. The tragedy of self-destructing the structure by dropping Ferguson and then Latimer and Bardens falling out after cutting Breathess was sad indeed. They lost their form and by this time only Latimer and Ward remained but Ward would attempt suicide and never play for Camel again or pretty much in any band. He was so gifted too!

When they came out with "I Can See Your House From Here", not only was the name too long the album was a big flop save a few tracks. Latimer decided to try and give Decca Records what they wanted: hit singles which he later admitted was not a good thing to try since they were obviously not a band that had a pop groove. It's a little like Mozart giving heavy metal a try; it aint gonna end well!

But Latimer did recover well and this album is very well done. It is the closest thing to the original Camel there is. The keyboards have a good solid presence here which is something that is not as evident in later albums. Bardens keyboards were very much a lead instrument and always there. Latimer actually plays some of the keys in here as well as Duncan Mackay and they are well done as well as Latimer's guitar work.

When this first came out I ignored it thinking it would be like the previous album. But the more I listen to it, the more I like it. I really believe this is the last of the good albums by Camel. While Dust & Dreams and the 2 that follow have some nice moments they are strained and work too hard at trying to sound like the old days but fall short. The next album Single Factor was a contract fulfillment album that was all over the place with a few songs that were fair. The work here is very original and there is hook after hook in most songs. I love their instrumental side especially when they are playing all out. 4 stars!

Tired?? It wants to try??. Effort without connection. I honestly may not be the best one to review this record. I am an old Camel fan of their works when they had the original lineup of Latimer, Bardens, Ward & Ferguson and that combination was simply amazing and magical. Their second album Mirage was my first venture in and that entry, Snow Goose & Moonmadness will always be the definitive 3 that marks who Camel is. The songwriting between Andy and Peter was tremendous during that period. They divided after Rain Dances but by that time they had fractured the band by tossing out Ferguson, a move they later admitted was the beginning of the end. Rain Dances had some good moments and Breathless had only one song that really was Camel, the rest was a lame attempt at pop music trying to appeal to a larger audience adn pleace Decca records. They had pressured Camel steadily for hit singles and that band was anything but a hit single band and that is what I loved about them. Andy Latimer has tried to fit into that arena a few times but it never worked. He admitted in an article that "You just have to go with who you are and not try and be something else; it never works." I own every album they have released but with each album I sense less of a spark.

So I have to accept that there will never be another entry that captures that old flavor. It is ridiculous to even expect that any album will have the aura that was part of that old band. Latimer alone writes some good work and his wife Susan Hoover adds a lot to it. I just sense music that tries to recapture that time but does not make it. His guitar work is an example.

This album has some good work on it but nothing on it hits me with an "Ah Ha!" moment. I do miss the layered keyboard work that Bardens contributed and I think that is one of the reasons I struggle with these later albums. Guy is a great player but Peter had a way of playing that was unique. Andy tries to do too much himself and it doesn't sound as much like a band's work as it does a solo effort. I do hear a few things that I like. That last few minutes of the title track had a good hook in it. The song Fox Hill is interesting but the guitar solo was tired. "Squigley Fair" was a pretty decent track with some good layered sound.

I agree with many of the reviewers that it has some boredom through it. The last song "For Today" is essentially the "Ice" song for the album. He is an emotional player for sure and I do not think he tries to copy David Gilmour. I think that style for him is who he is and any similarity is purely coincidental.

Andy is way up there in years and as of March 2023 I cannot imagine he will be putting out any more albums unless his health is good. Reading the reviews I respect the opinions of everyone knowing that each of us is affected by music differently. But I can only see this as one more attempt to try and recapture the days of past and it just does not reach anywhere close. A good work but just not the Camel I am so fond of. I cannot be since 3 out of 4 are gone. That is my fault! In all I can give it 3 stars but nothing more.

I was a big Camel fan starting with Mirage. Their instrumentals were tight and creative and complex. Camel were an odd man out band and highly underrated in their prime. While Andy Latimer was not a super fast guitarist he had his own style and it worked well with this unit. Bardens was a delight on the keys and also underrated. Decca who was their international record company had their local companies market the albums and they did little advertising or none at all which hurt the band in exposure and popularity. I had a lot of prog friends in the 70's who had never even heard of the band.

They were a tight 4 piece with Latimer & Bardens writing songs and the ever strong and solid Doug Ferguson on bass and the wild wizard of drumming, Andy Ward. From Mirage (1974) to Snow Goose (1975) to Moonmadness (1976) was the group's best 3 entries and the latter I feel was my favorite though the Goose was such an incredible work and is in a class by itself. Unfortunately like so many bands, they had to go in and mess up the system just when it was great. They would later admit that things were the best in the band during the Moonmadness sessions. After that tour Ward wanted to shift more into jazz territory and Ferguson was content where he was in his solid playing.

Ward threatened to leave the band if they didn't boot Ferguson and since Ward was such a great drummer, they agreed and broke up a friendship as well. Latimer and Bardens later said this was a big mistake and spelled the beginning of the end and from that point the band chemistry was lost. Doug was their anchor and did so much including resolve arguments between the 2 song writers. Ironically it would only be one more album after this before Bardens would split due to Latimer wanting to take the band to commercial pop land and himself threatened to leave if Peter didn't. Big mistake number 2. Breathless which was the last decent entry.

I say all of this as it is important to understand the history to really explain this album. Sure it has more jazz influence but so what? Sinclair is a good bassist and definitely gave the album's rhythm section a new twist but was it really necessary? Not in my opinion. Mr Ward got what he wanted but Sinclair and he did not get on well. The change was tragic for more than one reason. Rain Dances has some good tracks on it but it leaves me wanting whereas Mirage through Moonmadness were full meals in themselves. This was a few courses shy of a full meal.

I am not a fan of adding horns to a prog band that never had them before. Mel Collins would become a full member for Breathless only.

Tracks loved: Metrognome, Unevensong, Skylines, Rain Dances. The rest of the tracks are lacking for me. Highways Of The Sun is their first venture into pop land. While Elke has a hypnotic trace to it, I see it as a wasted track and it could have been merged with another piece that had a faster tempo.

This album sounds in many ways like a band trying to reformat itself which in reality it did. The next album only has a few tracks on it that come close to resembling the prog chops of their earlier works. After that it became Latimer's baby and never again would it reach the greatness that Camel was. I look at this album as the one where the house of cards began coming down. A tragic album. They should have stuck with Doug..

WE WILL BE GEARED TO THE AVERAGE, RATHER THAN THE EXCEPTIONAL

With the rise of commercial pop c*** the qualitiy of music has started a downward spiral. Some bands of the 70s have maintained their standards, running the risk of becoming 'irrelevant'. Many of our favoured acts of the time have adapted to the ever changing moods of the broad mass, bringing us 'masterpieces' like Big Generator, Giant For A Day, Love Beach, ABACAB, etc., etc...

Like the examples mentioned above, Latimer fronted Camel was forced into this musical abyss as well. Pete Bardens left after the previously released 'Nude' (excellent album btw.). He propably knew what was about to happen. Ward also discontinued his collaborations with Camel after a tragic and (thankfully) unsuccessful attempt to take his own life. With only one original member left, Decca demanded hit singles.... Loads of them...

Recording started along with some high quality guests. Members of the Alan Parsons Band, Simon Phillips, Dave Mattaks (Fairport Convention) and others joined Latimer during the recording sessions. The songs recorded were shorter than usual. No Lady Fantasy Pt. 2 for you today, kids!

The music didn't nearly reach the quality of the song mentioned above. Most of them are dull, uninspiring and lack even the nesessary hooks to be a good pop song. 'No Easy Answer' for example is just annoying. But while some of the songs are dull, there are some true highlights to this album. 'You Are The One' is a fun and catchy little song, that'll play in your head over and over. 'Sasquatch' really is the best track on the album, being a nice instrumental with Pete Bardens on the keys. 'Manic' also is a good song with a catchy synth riff.

Aside these highlights the rest of the album feels a bit mediocre. Most tracks are not bad, but lack the strength to stand out. Overall the album is not bad in any way, but still it does not exceed the status of being 'good'. I think the reason why people hate this album is, because Camel has made so many great albums, that this album seems like a dud. But it isn't bad. Not at all. It's just a little too mediocre: Good, but not essential.

Well, I can to say that this disc surprised me negatively. I feel like there's no band identity on this record.

I didn't understand the proposal, there doesn't seem to be a concept which makes the album lose any magic.

Having chosen the idea of ​​several subjects mischaracterized what we knew as Camel. This made the album in my point of view become completely uninteresting.

The song "echoes" is the highlight of the album, "Down on the Farm" is danceable, but I don't think there's Camel's finger. another interesting song it's "the sleeper" that strangely reminds me of Lunar Sea.

In my view, in sum, the works of Latimer and Bardens are inexpressive, something strong in other albums.

I feel that by betting on a more pop sound I believe they erred a lot. I classify it as questionable and dispassionate.

It is even difficult to choose a criterion for the classification of this album, I would give only two stars.

Typical Camel fans may be almost shocked when hearing this emotional, lyrical and little progressive album. Actually, the fact that there is a concept is the most ambitious thing. It has quite many songs for a Camel album but don't forget that the last one is 23 minutes long. We have a very light album awakening and things start to happen when we're find ourselves in the fifth composition as we can hear drums, bass and finally a decent vocal. Orchestration is pleasant but arguably used too often in the beginning at the expense of true rock band.

Starting with the 7th composition, we can better identify that it is Camel behind the loudspeakers, applying proggier elements and less vocals. Pink Floyd (guitar) and Genesis (guitar, keyboards) influence is also recognizable. Latimer cuts some nice guitar solo. Things are soaring with the beautiful "Coming of age" with elegant drumming with keyboard and guitar taking leads.

The last "The hour candle" has a heart-broken poignant melody and is an excellent emotional climax on the album (too short) then followed by even more introspective 16 minutes of wave sound (you won't have a need to listen to it twice).

The most commercial album by Camel and rightly so quite a disappointment for traditional progressive rock Camel fans. Latimer opened up to contemporary pop and mixed some progressive elements in it. Call it radio-friendly but it's not a shameful sell-out. From a pop/rock perspective, there are great moments here, especially for more introspective-oriented listeners. Singing goes best when it's not Latimer but another guest vocalist. Keyboards on some tracks are surprisingly retro Hammond whereas we hear introspective synths a la Genesis, listen to "Heroes".

Apart from the instrumental tracks, the ballads are another standout, the poignant "Heroes" that reminds of Alan Parsons Project just with a more traditional instrumentation. Of the two normal instrumental tracks, "Sasquatch" is the closest to a previous era Camel led by decent guitar.

The second half of the album is less inspired but without a hook or two and the emotional end by "A heart's desire" and "End peace" are pleasing.

Overall, this album cannot be recommended as a standout to neither pop/rock nor prog fans.

The Snow Goose"

Music Inspired on the short story from Paul Gallico by the same name "The Snow Goose"

In spite of Camel being one of my favorite prog bands of all times, I completely missed this reissue/remastered in 2013 up until 2022. What a shame, but in my defense that proves that prog music is well and alive. There are so many good bands and albums around that it is very difficult if not impossible to keep track of all the releases.

In any event, this year I finally found out about the existence of this album in the strangest way. While surfing the net for the short story from Mr. Gallico, I came across a different cover album for Snow Goose. Honestly, Snow Goose was not my favorite album from Camel [I will explain later] and I was never a fan of that cover. So when I saw there was a new cover, I was blown away by it and did my research in finding this release.

I have never been a fan of reissues from the 70's, but there are some exceptions like the reissues/re-mixes by Steven Wilson, the new 2021 reissue/re-mixes of VDGG, and a few others. But in general I really try to avoid reissues of albums, because in my humble opinion the music loses the flavor from that era.

Anyway, after this clarification let's go over the album itself. I am not going to describe every song, since many of my fellow reviewers have done this already and also in the past with the original version. Instead, I would try to give the novice explorer of prog music and of Camel, and maybe some of the old dudes like myself, a guide on how to enjoy this album to the maximum.

Camel throughout the year has been very prolific in good releases. In my opinion, they have several excellent albums and while some are not as good as others, they do not have any stinkers. I know some prog heads will disagree, but that is a discussion for another time.

Many people would consider "The Snow Goose" as the pinnacle of Camel as a band, and rightfully so. But in spite of this, it was never my favorite album. For a good period of years, I would say Mirage was, but over the past decade I have grown more fond of "Moonmadness" from their old stuff and "Harbor of Tears" from their latest years.

This epic and conceptual album was outstanding in 1975 and the same applies to 2013, as CAMEL and Mr. Latimer were able to keep the flavor of the original album and reshape in the process some passages and tracks, without being "pretentious or pompous."

In my opinion, this release should stand alone since it is not just a reissue. There have been some changes that make this album unique. First, starting with the cover and then going through the band members [Guy LeBlanc (R.I.P) all keyboards, Colin Bass Bass guitar, Denis Clement on Percussion and more, and of course Andy) into the music itself [with many polish arrangement and passages] which keep you pretty engaged in the music.

Also, I do believe that Mr. Latimer and Co. have kept the concept and the inspiration for the music faithful to the original album. I know some people will disagree, but hear me out, I strongly feel this way since if you place the original album against this one, the 1975 album does not lose any of its magic. And for me that is one, if not the most important aspect. Yes, of course production and maybe sound is better, but then again it has been more than 40 years! It's a real recognition for his old pals and band members [Peter, Andy and Doug].

I do not have a favorite track, or at least cannot pick one in particular, as I always try to enjoy it as a whole. But certainly, if you burn the CD you must try to join tracks [1-3, 4-9, 10-12 and 13-16) and see how that sits in your mind.

I was lucky enough to still be able to obtain a Mini-Japanese copy [as well as having a second CD with the live version). If you can afford and find a copy, I would suggest getting that version.

My advice is for you to listen to the whole album entirely while you read the short story. You will find out that you should be able to read the entire story in about the same time you finish listening to the album.

This is probably in my opinion the best way to really enjoy the album, as it will show you the connection with the book and the story line, and the inspiration they had at the time.

A tale of a human and society rebuff, two people and their bond with not only the "Snow Goose" but with each other in spite of their differences. It is a simple and short story of war, courage, human spirit and a marvelous ending that is unforgettable!!. I am not going to ruin the end for you if you are planning to check it out.

It is a multi-sensory experience of vision, imagination, and listening. What better way to spend 50 minutes of your day, for a life-time lesson of hope and strength, while enjoying good music on top of that?

I did promise myself to start using less than 5 stars on my critiques, but if I do this with this album, it would be a real tragedy. So 5 stars Andy Latimer, keep on going please?

Definitely, Camel's first four albums form a saga that is a fundamental pillar in the history of symphonic rock. "Moonmadness" it's the last album of this era.

Camel's sound had already been consolidated with "Mirage" (1974) and "Snow Goose" (1975): the perfectionist preciousness in the arrangements, the prevalence of the sound of guitars and keyboards, complex instrumental sequences and great epic moments without neglecting the notorious influences of jazz, madrigal atmospheres and structures that allowed the brilliance of each of its musicians.

There is something of the classic Canterbury sound on "Moonmadness", but on this album the band perfects even more their own stamp already quite accentuated on "The Snow Goose", this time moving away from the composition of a conceptual album. This is how we find the subtle introduction with some medieval touches marked by "Aristillus" and then one of Camel's classics; "Song Within a Song", a superlative progressive piece, which takes us by the hand through a gently rhythmic first section sung by Latimer that leads to an instrumental sequence that allows the sober display of its musicians, something very typical in Camel, achieving the virtuosity of each one of them along with the complexity of the arrangements and harmonies full of exquisite passages that seems extremely simple at first glance,. Really, a song within a song.

"Chord Change" is one of those pieces that I reallyenjoy. Delicate prog sound but with the same intricate melodies that they have cultivated over time, an instrumental theme that strolls with ductility through different sections that accumulate a particular energy, mixing guitar, keyboards and choir accompaniment with the superb drum work of Andy Ward, to which is added a floating solo by Latimer.

Then "Spirit of the Water" appears in all its splendor, a beautiful, sweet and inspired ballad led by Bardens on piano and Latimer on flute, with dreamy poetic lyrics, a perfect pause before the kick of "Another Night" which has a powerful entrance that lands on Latimer's voice amid constant syncopations and constant rhythm changes, generating sound layers that are interspersed and repeated in seven minutes, although playing with the leading role of the different instruments.

A delicate flute intro tells us that "Air Born" has begun, a much more relaxed and rhythmic song than the previous ones, but no less valuable. Camel shows us that facet in which with much simpler elements and structures (at least in the first minutes) is capable of generating deep atmospheres and emotions.

The instrumental "Lunar Sea" closes the original version of the album, almost ten minutes of changing rhythmic sections that border on jazz, with superb performance moments on guitar and keyboards, one of those songs that despite its length, does not decline in any time and keeps you attentive and surprised at each detail that is happening.

Decca reissue includes the single version of "Another Night" and three live songs, including "Preparation / Dunkirk" from "The Snow Goose". However, what this version is worth having for, is the demo of "Spirit of the Water" on piano, as if Bardens were playing alone in his living room. Really moving.

If you like perfectionist progressive and symphonic rock, that gives you high levels of emotion and clean and inspiral sound, maybe this is the ideal album to start enkoying Camel.

Oh Camel, where do i start? These guys are great, and they definitely prove it with their second album Mirage. Now in my personal opinion, i don't think this is the best album Camel has made. But i still consider it a Prog Rock Classic.

Freefall is a simple but catchy song to kickstart Mirage, and it does show. I do like how Bardens sings in here, it matches pretty well with the instrumental. 3.5/5

Then we get to Supertwister, an interlude song of types. It's another simple song that flows well, and its also pretty relaxing. Of course, don't forget about the coffee sound at the end. Another 3.5/5

And we go now to The White Rider medley. Oh man, where do i start? This is an amazing medley, and it foreshadows the style that Camel was gonna incorporate in their other albums. And for gods sake, the song is a tribute to Lord Of The Rings. That's it, i'm giving it a 4.5/5

Starting off side 2 and we get Earthrise, another really relaxed song, almost sounds like Yes here and there with the synths. So yeah, it's an 4/5

Lady Fantasy starts and you get this incredible high-pitch synth, and this song let's you know "this is gonna get real". And this is not gonna be a surprise to anyone, but this song is a prog rock classic. It's a beautiful song about the titular Lady Fantasy and how the narrator tries to get her, and do i really need to explain anymore? I mean, this song is just incredible. 5/5

I reccomend anyone into listening to this record. If you haven't, go for it! You're gonna like it. I can safely say, it's a 4/5.