Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A different approach with great results, November 30, 2004
This was the first album I ever heard by Camel, when I found it at some mom-and-pop CD store that was closing out a bunch of One Way Records discs like this one and its followup, 'I Can See Your House From Here.' While it may seem very tempting to automatically brand this as a pop album, my first impression held it in very high regard. Sure, there's some dancefloor influence in here and a couple of Lite-FM friendly numbers, but overall the musicianship is sincere and inspired. Poppy as the songs may be, the musicians involved definitely used a craftsman's approach in arranging this music to sound exactly like they wanted it too. And they didn't leave many loose ends. Silly as it is, "Down on the Farm" even shows a considerable amount of production attention, with Latimer's skittish guitar riff in the verse and the playful vocal harmonies in the heavier part. "Wing and a Prayer" features a fabulous sounding 12-string guitar part and a really catchy electric piano part. The softer songs ("Starlight Ride", "Breathless") make very good use of the flute and saxes, which give the songs a tasteful orchestral feel (without sounding overblown or overproduced). Lastly, the album doesn't at all kiss the better parts of "progressive" music goodbye. "Echoes" and "The Sleeper" feature outstanding instrumental performances that are definitely worthy of attention. These songs definitely stand up to the instrumental performances on Camel's earlier albums. The album also features plenty of odd times (often not obviously stated, which in my opinion is the best way to incorporate them), some great soloing and instrumental leads (Latimer's solo on 'Summer Lightning' is really well-done), and great bass playing (Sinclair uses a fretless which works well with the jazzy approach of the album). When I first got this, not knowing about Camel's so-called "classics," I was every bit as impressed with the music as I was when I later acquired "Mirage" and "Moonmadness." Sure, the style is more commercial and poppy, then say, all of "Snow Goose," but the performance is sincere and well-done. None of this music sounded forced, and it sounded like they were truly inspired when they were working on it.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Camel meets Caravan, July 17, 2004
As a life long Camel fan, I am used to certain quarters criticising Camel's change of style for this album. Sinclair's exceptional Bass guitair adds a jazzier feel to the music while his vocals are more refined and are a vast imnprovement on Latimer's or Bardens. Admittedly there are one or two weaker tracks such as "Wing and a Prayer" and "You make me Smile" but the inclusion of "Summer Lightening" with its rippling keyboards that builds to a blistering guitar solo and Andy Ward's exceptional drumming, is enough to place this in my top 5 favourite Camel albums.
"Down on the Farm" is a whimsical Canterbury-esque piece, unsurprisingly penned by ex-Caravan member Richard Sinclair while "Echoes" and "The Sleeper" are strong tracks that you would expect from Camel, with the latter not sounding too disimilar from the classic "Lunar Sea".
Dont be put off by the change of style - this album is a must for all Camel fans and lover's of good music.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The last great Camel album, May 19, 2005
On Breathless, you can begin to sense that Bardens and Latimer are going in different directions in their musical vision. But much like the Beatles' "Abbey Road" the divergence expands the group. (In this analogy, Richard Sinclair's "Down on the Farm" is Ringo's "Octopuses Garden"). In particular, the songwriting seems to be stronger, albeit less collaborative. The instrumentation for the band was never tighter, and Mel Collins' studio contributions are tremendous.
There is less of a cohesive feel than on some previous Camel albums, and a greater concentration on individual songs, but it tends to make each of the songs stand out a little more because of it.
Highly recommended
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