'09 Camel reissues

[3LB]

TWIMC: the entire Camel (well, almost) catalog up thru the '80s has been reissued and the results are stunning, that is, for the '70s albums that hadn't already been reissued in '02. In fact, I venture to guess that those '70s albums have merely been repackaged. A cursory listen to both versions of Moonmadness reveals little difference to these ears...the older reissue might even be louder.

I already own the first reissues of Moonmadness and Mirage, but that's where they stopped. I ordered Raindances and I just got in Nude, which sounds superb, plus it has a nice thick booklet with pics and bio inside.

After dabbling with attempts at pop music on Breathless and I Can See Your House From Here, Nude was a return to Camel's true form. This CD has some live album stuff as extra tracks (like that's just we needed, more live Camel).

Beyond the other titles I mentioned, this might be all the Camel I need. I have Rajaz (like it) and A Nod And A Wink (boring). I am familiar with some of their other songs through comps, but don't have plans to seek them out as yet. Camel's canon has gems scattered throughout, but it also has its share of duds.

All things considered though, they've had as long or longer a run as any of "the big five" or any other '70s prog act and IMO, a more furtive one. Their innitial run from their debut through Raindances is stellar - five great albums in a row. Camel may be considered second wave prog, but I reach for Camel way more often than early Genesis, ELP, Gentle Giant or early King Crimson.

[Finch Platte]

"All the Camel I need."

Word.

[Troy]

Moonmadness and Mirage are the gateway albums. They sum up everything that's appealing about the band for me. If you like those, move on to the other releases, but anything after 1980 is spotty.

I personally have a thing for I Can See Your House From Here too, but a lot of that probably has to do with the memories it triggers.

You may want to try Harbor of Tears and Dust and Dreams too. Both of those have some great sections worth ripping to the shuffle.

[BarryL]

I though their worst album was The Single Factor, but I recently went back and gave it a listen and there was lots to like.

I think Latimer was a bit lost on this album and Stationary Traveller, but began to gain solid footing again with Nude.

Like Troy, I loved I Can See Your House From Here. It was great pop prog.

Moonmadness is still probably my favorite, in part because this was my first Camel album, but I love the swirling spacey synthesizers from Bardens and the lovely flute and blistering guitar from Latimer. I had my piano teacher transcribe Spirit of the Water which I learned to play.

As for A Nod And A Wink, this needs a few more listens. I too didn't like it, but I've since changed my mind.

Latimer was very ill. Hopefully he's been composing through his recovery and there will be lots of new Camel in the future.