Thinking back to the 1970s, Camel seemed to feature very much at the wimpy end of the prog spectrum, not really attracting much interest. That didn't stop me going to see them at Liverpool Empire in 1977 (yes, I know), interested more by ex-Hatfield bassist Richard Sinclair having joined their ranks, than their previous work.
I've no idea how, or why this came to be on my CD shelves, but I won't blame anyone else. Starting with Aristillus, a short synth march, sounding like a Snow Goose outtake, then it's into Song Within A Song, pleasant enough but let down by bassist Doug Ferguson's weak vocals and really only gets going with the synth break after the halfway mark. Chord Change is another instrumental which really has no hook - starting with unusual time signatures, going into a dreamy guitar solo in the middle and noodling its way through nearly seven minutes. Spirit Of The Water is a short, bland song, then Another Night follows, fairly dull. It's becoming apparent, on this album at least, that Camel's lack of a strong vocalist renders most songs lacking in impact, with only the instrumental parts to carry them, and that's the case with this song, ending strongly once the vocals are done. Air Born starts with a flute melody, which I never feel is a good thing in rock music, then Peter Bardens' weak vocals limp through the rest of the song. The original album ends with Lunar Sea, an instrumental which rolls along pleasantly, and even sets the toes tapping at one point (but that is nearly five and a half minutes in.)
This being the CD release, there are all sorts of 'bonus tracks', most demos / live versions of the songs on this album, not really adding much.
I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Much of Camel's output seemed to go nowhere, and I'm not sure this album is much different.
2* - Disappointing. The vocals are weak, and most of the instrumentals sound sub-Snow Goose
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