Camel

This is the first CAMEL album. Surprisingly progressive, a bit like early FOCUS, although maybe less hard rock (the electric guitar is slightly more shy). The keyboards are mostly floating and rythmic organ full of effects, and some mellotron, piano and VCS3 parts. The bass is quite present and rather complex. There are tons of sophisticated drums. The lead vocals are very good, as always. You listen the early CAMEL mainly because of the outstanding keyboards. ~ greenback

2 Concerts from 1976-77. Camel Live in Concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, April 14, 1976: The long-lost recording was finally recovered in 2006, and Camel are now able to bring this very rare and quite wonderful bit of footage to commercial release. With the original lineup of Andrew Latimer, Doug Ferguson, the late Peter Bardens and Andy Ward, this recording was made during the promotion of Camel's 1976 album 'Moonmadness'. Plus - Camel Live in Concert at the Hippodrome, September 22, 1977…

Camel's The Single Factor is my least favorite Camel album up to 1982 and many would argue that this is also their weakest. Fresh off their release of the concept album Nude, Camel delivers a pop rock smorgasbord. There really are some woeful tracks here, but on the flip side, some pretty good ones as well. Latimer writes or co-writes everything here (not all that surprising) and The Single Factor did achieve mild success at the time of its release in the UK. As always, there is a decent amount of guitar work spread throughout the album to keep Latimer fans happy…

Fantastic comeback by Latimer & Company, witnessing his splendid "Harbour of Tears Tour". The title track is unforgettable, as well as those ones from the concept album based upon the novel by J. Steimback'd "The Grapes of Wrath", that is "Dust and Dreams", the definitive imprinting of CAMEL in the early nineties…

Strap yourself in for another dire journey with Camel. This time it's the Irish immigration to America, a fitting travel companion for Dust and Dreams or Nude. The Celtic overtones are largely dispensed with by the second track, and what emerges is a finely conceived concept album filled with rich, saturated arrangements and guitar leads that cut through the surrounding music like a beacon. More so than Dust and Dreams, Harbour of Tears feels like it was intended for the stage…

Total Pressure is a re-release of a previously released live video (called Pressure Points) originally filmed and recorded on the tour in support of the Stationary Traveller album in the mid 80's…

Although Stationary Traveller is a concept album, it musically falls into line with its predecessor The Single Factor, which found Camel trying to refashion themselves as the Alan Parsons Project. Where The Single Factor suffered from Camel's attempts to write pop hooks, Stationary Traveller finds the band breaking down the barriers, opening up their relatively concise songs with long, atmospheric instrumental passages…

Camel was still finding its signature sound on its eponymous debut album. At this point, Peter Bardens and his grand, sweeping organ dominate the group's sound and Andrew Latimer sounds tentative on occasion…