Mirage - Camel - 1974
Personell:
Andrew Latimer - Guitar, Flute, Lead vocals, Oboe.
Peter Bardens - Keyboards.
Doug Ferguson - Bass, Backing vocals.
Andy Ward - Drums.
I admit Camel weren't exactly the most original prog band, while a canterbury scene band that formed in 71, their most memorable work, starting with this album, came out at a time when prog was already on the way out in terms of mainstream acceptence, and this album sounds like it could have been made in 1969, and their influences were quite obvious. You can hear the Hendrix, The Doors, Santana, Floyd, Crimson and Deep Purple in here for sure.
They were one of the more "rock" sounding prog bands in their day and despite being a little late in the prog parade, Camel are still considered one of the finest bands in the genre that most people haven't heard, and rightfully so.
Like most prog bands they couldn't really keep a consistant lineup, the leader that has held the band together at all times was Andy Latimer, an extraordinary guitar wizard who is on par with Fripp, Howe and Hackett. A pretty bitchin flautist too.
Camel were one of the few successful prog bands in the late 70s who didn't conform to 70s arena rock, as Kansas and Styx did. They would become more ambitious with laters albums, specifically Snow Goose and Moonmadness, unlike those albums, Mirage is much more rooted in psychedelic rock, but this should be considered the first in their trilogy of excellent albums.
Freefall: Starts off with the sound of blowing wind and synths, which leads to a repetitive drum beat that is joined in by crashing guitars, I just can't get enough of that intro, proof that simplicity can work wonders for prog. It starts off sounding like a Deep Purplish acid rock song with some catchy vocals before kicking off into a big jam, Latimer and Bardens really duel if off on this one, greasy hammond organ combined with Latimer's guitar layers, which is very much all over the place, it sounds very Santana-esque at times but he also manages to pull some neat surprises and gorgeous flourishes.
Supertwister: A short little track but it's by no means filler, one of the big highlights of the album. It's a hypnotic instrumental with no guitar at all, instead it's dominated by some gorgeous flute work by Latimer. Not a note is wasted in this composition, it's melodic brilliance through and through and a great use of the loud/fast dynamic. One of my favorite pieces of prog, ever.
Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider: Yep, a prog epic made up of multiple parts, this is a really weird one. The intro with aquatic sounding guitar effects and synthesizer is very beautiful and haunting, but just when you think it's gonna build up into something, it fades out. The next segment begins to fade in with the sounds of a parade, followed by millitary drums, brass and flutes, this segues into a gorgeous guitar melody with mellotron and oboe, then the vocals and acoustic come in and this whole segment sounds a LOT like old school King Crimson, and in a good way, this is followed with.... Well sh*t, it's really tidious just to write down everything that happens isn't it? Well f*ck it, no point in walking you through the whole damn thing, just believe me when I tell you the climax is awesome. Fantastic stuff, amazing showcase for the whole ensemble.
This also hints at the more symphonic rock direction the band would follow with their later albums.
Earthwise: Another instrumental, yet another great melodic piece that makes a great showcase for the musicianship of every band member, mostly it's a big face off of guitar and synths, like the whole album there's a lot of mood change so describing it is pointless. Just because I'm being lazy with the description doesn't mean this is not on par with the rest of the album though.
Lady Fantasy: Ah yeah, this was the first track I heard from Camel. It's also my favorite song on the album and an excellent closer. It starts off with scrambled synths combined with crushing guitar riffs. Despite being the longest track it's also the most poppy sounding, the organ playing and Latimer's gloomy baritone gives this one a very Doors vibe. But just when you expect this song to head towards a certain direction, it doesn't, about a third way in it unexpectedly kicks off into a funky organ/bass ryhthm and IMO the most face meltingly awesome guitar solo you'll ever f*cking hear in your life. And then it leads to a very mellow Santana-ish guitar solo with acoustic guitar backing, then comes in another vocal section where Latimer sings about walking on moonclouds and sitting on sunbeams (hey, it's prog man). Then things get intense again, another kickass guitar solo, then an organ solo and the outro brings things back to right where it started, this is when you realise you've just heard the most awesome f*cking song ever.
Yeah sure, the lyrics are corny, but like most prog albums the vocals just function like another instrument, it's the overall music that does all the talking, and as you can tell with this clumsy review, I had a difficult time trying to describe the music, but that's true for most prog, it's not something you can describe very easly. And I just wanted to give you a general idea of what to expect, still, you have to hear this and judge for yourself.
The key to great prog is being able to surprise the listener, to build up suspense and to provide a lot of great hooks, and especially within the context of stellar musicianship. This album certainly applies. I love all 5 of the tracks on this album so I'd say it's very consistant. If you're a canterbury fan this is one you can't miss.