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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mott Dances, October 10, 2005
Camel over the course of their history came to define progressive melodic rock . Starting out of a band called 'The Brew' who were more of a straight forward rock trio, upon the addition of Peter Bardens on Keyboards the trio from 'Brew' Andy Latimer, guitars ,and flute, Doug Ferguson, bass and vocals, and Andy Ward ,drums ,became the mighty beast that is 'Camel' with their first gig as support to 'Wishbone Ash' in 1971.
But it was not until 1973 that there first self titled album was released , and although attracting a little critical attention ,did little else , listening to it now it is hardly surprising as it is a little twee. The second album got them all the publicity they wanted, but mostly not for musical reasons. Mirage ( 1974) came in an album cover replicating a packet of Camel cigarettes, which got them sued by Camel cigarettes in America , and their then turned the tables and got an endorsement from Camel cigarettes Europe , giving away free packets of five Camels to all the audience members at all their European gigs of that tour , so they ended up with enormous hassles in the States and had to change their album covers, and in Europe were hated by the Anti-smoking league for ever. Because of this their next album the all instrumental album based on Paul Gallico's Snow Goose, had to be called 'Music inspired by the Snow Goose' due to the authors abhorrence to all things nicotine. Never the less Snow Goose was Camel's breakthrough album opening up the world market to the band . Due to the record companies ( Decca) horror at having put out an all instrumental album last time the bands next effort was a bit of a compromise between band and record executives with all the songs having actual words, chorus's and verses ' Moonmadness'(1975).
By now the sound of the Camel had moved far away from the rock'n'roll roots of 'The Brew', and after the tour too promote ' Moonmadness' Doug Ferguson decided to hang up his camel saddle and move on. Famed session saxophonist Mel Collins had toured with the band on the last tour , and was now keen to carry on his association with the band and was to be an unofficial member of the band for all further albums and tours for the next decade. But a new bass player and vocalist had to be found. Top of the list was original founding member of both ' Caravan ' and 'Hatfield and The North' Richard Sinclair,who just happened to be arriving back from his holidays that had helped him recuperate after the termination of his last band ' Hatfield and The North' . One telephone call was all it took and Richard Sinclair packed up his bags in Canterbury and joined the dromedary cause.This gave Camel so much more artillery under it's hump. Richard Sinclair was blessed with very distinctive vocal chords , far superior to anything the band had in their armoury before , Mel Collins being full time available to the band meant much more space to stretch out in the long instrumental sections of the Camel material ( Does that make Camelhair?) . Whilst Andy Ward on the drums was much more comfortable with Richard Sinclair's more jazzy bass style than the straight ahead rock style of the previous incumbent .
The new album ' Raindances ' ( 1977) was waited for with great anticipation by the massed ranks of Camel fans. They were not disappointed ,the album opens up with a bright instrumental titled 'First Light' which would of been far more aptly titled ' Introducing Mel and Richard' the first three minutes of the song are taken up by some pretty impressive musical jousting between, the keyboard work of Peter Bardens , and Andy Latimer's guitar, as they quieten down it is left to the nifty bass work of Richard Sinclair to take the next section of the song onwards before handing over to Mel Collins who brings this musical section to a rousing conclusion with a rasping saxophone solo . A very satisfying beginning.
After this the album is split into two halves the next four songs having vocals , whilst the remaining four are instrumentals . ( This copy has got the single version of 'Highways of the Sun ' tagged onto the end , completely unnecessary as it is only the original version with a thirty second section chopped out of the middle.) ' Metrgnome' is a good Camel song where you feel that the new band are getting acquainted ,'Tell Me ' is an emotional ballad written by Latimer and Bardens ,but giving full reign to the voice and bass work of Richard Sinclair.On ' Highway Of The Sun' Camel almost get carried away with themselves , with its driving marching keyboard driven beat , and chirpy vocals , why this was not a hit single at the time is beyond me . "Unevensong' follows in equally upbeat mood, showing why Camel were such a class act crammed into its five minutes thirty three seconds are well sung verses, crystal clear solo's from each member of the band , giving you a complete saga in its allotted time .
The instrumentals are all extremely well executed each with it's own distinctive flavour .The wonderfully titled ' One Of These Days I'll Get An Early Night' the only title credited to every member of the band is a vicious slab of fusion jazz/rock , with each soloist elbowing his way to the front of the instrumental stage to have his share of the limelight , grabbing on literally with two hands , and giving their instruments a real shake .
'Elke' is a slowly burning piece written by Andy Latimer reminding you of his Scottish heritage , and featuring Andy's haunting flute work, underpinned by some sympathetic keyboards from Peter Bardens . ' Skylines shakes you out of your reverie with it's funky beat,and jaunty attitude , Richard Sinclair's bass work again excels. The album closes with the title track which lulls you along to its conclusion on a very comfortable cushion of sound.
Camel found themselves with another huge hit on their hands and soon set out on another world tour to promote the album , recording a lot of the concerts along the way for their next album a double live vinyl affair , wittily titled 'A Live Record'. Which has recently been re-released with lots of bonus material on it bringing the total playing time up to over two and a half hours.
The success of these albums by Camel is all the more remarkable by the fact that these songs of grace and dignity were released whilst punk rock was sweeping all before them . Most bands of Camel's ilk were never stood a chance and were blown away, but the Camel is a sturdy animal, and made great commercial progress , filling concert halls and selling albums wherever it went.
Unfortunately 1976, 1977, and 1978, were to be the Camels finest years , disaster was only just around the corner, but for now sit back and enjoy the beast at it's best.
Mott The Dog.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Camels last progressive work., March 17, 2003
This is another fantastic album from Camel for many of the same reasons that made "The Snow Goose" great. Longer pieces are de-emphasized, song structures are reasonably complex, and melodic counterpoint remains the focus. Moreover, extended guitar and keyboard soloing over a bass ostinato is set aside to make room for integrated ensemble work. Pete Bardens contributes some very nice synthesizer work (Elke, Rain Dances), and the quality of both the vocals and bass playing increase dramatically with the addition of Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield and the North etc.). This is a moody and atmospheric album created in the Camel tradition of classically influenced jazz-rock and is the last of Camel's "progressive" recordings. Highly recommended along with the debut (1973) and The Snow Goose (1975).
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ghosts that swirl, November 12, 2000
With Doug Ferguson being replaced by Richard Sinclair and saxophone player Mel Collins joining the band, the line-up on "Rain dances" was the most virtuous one in Camel's history. Contrary to popular belief, Camel has never been underappreciated; many of their '70s albums made the top-30 album charts in the UK and other European countries and also charted stateside, albeit lower. Similar to other prog-rock bands in the late-'70s, Camel were experimenting with a new general accessibility, deciding to abandon the sometimes over-pretty soundscapes of previous albums like "Moonmadness" in favor of shorter but equally adventurous songs. "Rain dances" also shows a jazzy flavor, with arpeggiated bass notes and complex song construction, which fits in perfectly. All the musicians are right-on-target with "First light" and the aptly titled "Unevensong", two tracks which shift a number of times during their length, sometimes playing around with straightforward rhythms and at other points serving dream-like soundscapes with muffled vocals and rather low-key arrangements. However, the album struggles to maintain this level - there are a few lightweight pop tracks waiting to be discovered, namely "Tell me" and two nearly identical versions of "Highways of the sun". Perhaps Camel should have listened to their own words on "Highways.." and avoided their destiny of "sailing in a ship that's got no sails" in favor of a more experimental path. "One of.." sounds a bit like "new age disco", a relaxing piece with several interesting keyboard textures, and "Skylines" is a very jazzy but also slightly unfocused number. Honorable mentions also go to the ambient instrumental "Elke" (featuring Brian Eno) and to the title track, the latter being an almost operatic piece with lush synthesizer/string arrangements. With this great variety of melodies and approaches, "Rain dances" is one of Camel's most rewarding albums, offering a strong sense of playfulness and obscurity which is largely absent from other late-'70s prog-rock records. In my opinion, this is Camel's last great release before they went down into a somewhat obvious space-pop sound.
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