In 2013 – marking the return of Camel when many followers believed they’d heard the final of them – Prog requested 5 musicians of the second to decide on their favorite album by Andy Latimer’s band.
Mirage (1974) – John Mitchell, Lonely Robotic, Frost*, Asia
“Once I was however a snip of a lad there have been only some musicians that impressed me to select up a guitar and have a go myself. Andy Latimer was one such particular person and Mirage was the album accountable.
I used to be closely drawn to the singy entrance pickup sound that each Dave Gilmour and Latimer embraced, the primary distinction being that Latimer opted for a Gibson guitar, and Gilmour a Fender Strat.
Mirage was solely the band’s second album however was technically an unlimited step ahead from their debut, contemplating their age and ambition. I adore it – notably songs akin to Freefall and The White Rider, to not point out the closing 12-minute opus Woman Fantasy, which exhibits the band at their most proggy and decided finest.
From right here I drew a line to Floyd and painted my room black! Who is aware of the place I might be now if I’d by no means heard Mirage?”
The Snow Goose (1975) – Matt Stevens, The Fierce And The Lifeless
“Pastoral… that’s what folks say about The Snow Goose. One man reviewed my Ghost album and stated he hated it as a result of it was pastoral. Properly, The Snow Goose is pastoral squared! None extra pastoral!
It’s like early Crimson meets some bizarre 70s library music. It’s beautiful and quintessentially English. The story it’s primarily based on is heartbreaking and it actually comes throughout within the music. I understand how laborious it’s to make an fascinating instrumental prog file, and The Snow Goose actually works.
It actually does really feel like an imaginary soundtrack, with some beautiful guitar from Andy Latimer – the factor that made Camel so distinctive. It makes you consider youngsters’ TV from the 70s for some cause. It’s stuffed with autumnal melancholy and really odd. And La Princesse Perdue is a beautiful ending.”
Moonmadness (1976) – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth
“This, girls and gents, is without doubt one of the finest information ever launched. 1976 was, in my guide, a relatively weak 12 months for prog; not a lot right here, after all.
Andy Latimer – who’s like royalty to me – has been mysteriously ignored all through the years. As I see it, he’s proper up there with absolutely the cream of rock guitar gamers. Folks conversant in Camel’s catalogue would solely tip their hats in settlement.
Camel’s artillery of unbelievable tracks in 1976 speaks for itself: Music Inside A Music, Air Born, Lunar Sea (dat guitar solo!), Peter Bardens’ ethereal and exquisite Spirit Of The Water and Chord Change are all past prime notch.
Even the weakest monitor, One other Night time, is excellent. In reality, that’s a great way to finish this overview: even the weakest tune is a bloody masterpiece!”
Breathless (1978) – Eivind Johansen, Kosmoratic
“This album all the time brings me again to a time when my girlfriend and me relatively unofficially spent every week collectively in my mom’s house in a stoned and blissful way of thinking.
Listening to it now, I nonetheless sense the uplifting and joyous feeling, the joie de vivre that Camel’s music may deliver. The breezy title monitor is progressive rock with a pop sensibility that’s heat and with loads of hooks – I assume that’s what they have been aiming for.
Echoes has some nice interaction between Peter Bardens’ synthesizers and Latimer’s guitars; it’s Camel at their free-flowing finest. The Sleeper is one other robust monitor with a superb keyboard intro; and I just like the ballad Starlight Experience, with its classical touches within the instrumental sections.
Breathless shouldn’t be all the time profitable; generally it’s jazz-funk, or light-weight. However it’s from a time when the whole lot was nonetheless doable.”
Stationary Traveller (1984) – Bruce Soord, The Pineapple Thief
“As a child struggling to become familiar with the guitar, I had two heroes: Ian Bairnson and Andy Latimer. Andy is a splendidly melodic participant who can actually make his guitar weep. And, after all, he’s additionally a fantastic songwriter.
Stationary Traveller is a bizarre one, as a result of it performs extra like a Latimer solo album versus the ‘traditional’ line-up of the 70s. However as quickly as you hear Andy’s guitar, you’ve received your Camel.
The album additionally options musicians from the session world who performed in The Alan Parsons Challenge – David Paton, Mel Collins, Chris Rainbow and Haydn Bendall – and I feel that each one comes throughout sonically on this file. The manufacturing is admittedly tight.
The opening monitor, Stress Factors, has a guitar lick that I blatantly stole for a solo on The Pineapple Thief’s album Variations On A Dream. There – I’ve stated it!”
