Camel

In the apocryphal gospels of Canterbury, one story undoubtedly stands out: that of Camel. Hailing from south London, Camel had no geographical ties whatsoever to the scene in question, yet they managed to play music that was surprisingly melodic and close to the fairy-tale, progressive atmospheres of Caravan.

Compared with the Canterbury story proper, their own tale begins a little later, in 1972, when Peter Bardens - a keyboardist and singer with a solid curriculum as a solo artist behind him - joined the core of the band backing Phillip Goodhand-Tait, made up of Andrew Latimer (guitar, flute), Doug Ferguson (bass) and Andy Ward (drums). With the new member still under contract to Transatlantic, the band struggled greatly to break through, and after the single "Never Let Go" and the release of their self-titled debut ("Camel", 1973), Mca reluctantly decided to drop Camel, who happily moved to a label with a reputation for being more open to experimentation: Deram.

Their elusive, imaginative music thus found its proper home on "Mirage", released in March 1974 and produced by David Hitchcock, packaged in a controversial sleeve that depicted the famous cigarette brand's logo fading into a mirage (as per the title) - a tongue-in-cheek image that would nonetheless run afoul of censorship over copyright issues. For the American market, the Usa Record Company replaced the artwork with a rather generic fantasy image that failed to do full justice to the band's rich, melodic atmospheres. Elsewhere in the world, however, "Mirage" was released as originally planned, backed by a deal between the band and the company's European branch that saw packs of five cigarettes bearing the album cover - complete with tracklist prominently displayed - sold in tobacco shops. The arrangement proved more lucrative than expected, and the American brand began making some absurd suggestions to the band: appearing in their adverts, covering their amplifiers with the camel logo, making cigarette announcements at all their concerts. However, the deal thrilled Deram far more than it did the band members, with Bardens even sarcastically declaring he wanted to change the title of one song from the suggested "Twenty To The Pack" to the far more provocative "Twenty Sticks Of Cancer". At that point, Camel refused to go any further, and relations with the tobacco multinational broke down abruptly.

Despite the legal controversies, this second record finally saw every piece of the Camel sound fall into place. First and foremost, there is the magic of the song's natural flow, something deeply emotional that resonates within every listener's inner chamber; this majestic, at times even soothing sound is shaped chiefly by the elegantAndrew Latimer, whose guitar often finds itself in dialogue with Peter Bardens's lush organ. Secondly, there is a genetic predisposition toward the "good side" of progressive rock: unlike many contemporary bands more inclined to play up the cynical, dark side of things (Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson), Camel focus on elusive, fairy-tale atmospheres, opting for a jazz-rock language that echoes the aforementioned Caravan, resulting in music of elegant melancholy. Hence the band's apocryphal affiliation with the Canterbury scene, which managed to render the progressive idiom in a lighter, more carefree way - though it should be noted that the Canterbury bands lack both the hard rock component found on Camel's "Mirage" and the distinctly symphonic quality of their later albums.

Amid lengthy solos, the occasional more aggressive moment and plenty of class, the album kicks off with the hard-prog bang of "Freefall" and Latimer's guitar flourishes, while over a solid rhythm section Bardens builds the perfect bridge for his organ. At first you can hear the desert wind blowing through the palm trees, then the explosion gives way to an alternation of choral passages and solo spots, with Peter Bardens sharing lead vocal duties throughout the record with Andrew Latimer (who may not be the finest singer on the prog scene, but whose vocal style suits this kind of music perfectly). 

Surprisingly, it's worth remembering that Latimer hadn't played flute on the debut album, and listening to the intoxicating "Supertwister" makes you wonder why; written by Bardens, the track is dedicated to Supersister, a Dutch band with whom Camel had shared the stage on several occasions, ending up becoming great friends. Between acrobatic flute lines and dominant keyboards, the end result is a smooth-jazz pastoral symphony, though bolder shades are added as the melody picks up pace. In particular, the layered use of flute gives the piece an unprecedented depth, though it must be said that there can be no progressive without a suite worthy of the name; hence the first sonic marathon, "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", inspired by Tolkien and the adventures of Gandalf, which takes us on a stunning journey through Middle-earth, where Andrew Latimer gets the chance to showcase his considerable skills as guitarist and flautist.

While the first two sections – "Nimrodel" and "The Procession" – serve as a preamble, the seven-minute main theme is dedicated to the "white rider", featuring some highly catchy vocal parts, interspersed with mystical passages and atmospheric sounds that push the suite towards distant worlds. There are remarkably more twists and turns and various key changes: from the keyboard-haunted intro that dissolves into a fanfare, to the Moog's flight of fancy, by way of the guitar's torpid psychedelia, the rumbling bass and percussion played on beer cans. Despite all these dissimilar segments, the song flows pleasantly without a hitch, and above all, without the post-listening indigestion that so often follows exposure to many a prog suite.

The following track, the instrumental "Earthrise" – opening the second side of the original vinyl – also begins with tempestuous winds followed by several passages that, paradoxically, recall the contemporary Deep Purple almost more than the great titans of English prog, thanks to a dazzling scuffle between guitar and synthesizer that ends up exploding like fireworks.

The album's second and final suite is "Lady Fantasy", split into three sections merged together ("Encounter", "Smiles For You" and "Lady Fantasy"), one of the most representative sonic monuments of English progressive rock ever made: from the synth arpeggios that embroider the introductory theme, to the appealing main guitar motif, reprised later for the closing section, to Bardens' hieratic vocals ("Listen very carefully/my words are going to be revealed"). Amid existential melancholy and platonic love, the listener ultimately feels as though they've witnessed a musical epiphany of divine proportions.

While the original LP runs under 40 minutes, as is often the case the remastered CD edition is expanded with four bonus tracks that stretch the running time to a full 67 minutes. In addition, we find three live recordings from 1974 – "Super Twister", "Mystic Queen" and "Arubaluba" – and an alternate version of "Lady Fantasy", slightly different from the one on the album, which delivers a rendition that's just 15 seconds slower; a small difference, yet one that manages to give the impression of a song played in a lower key. Whichever version you have in front of you, despite its poor commercial success at home upon release, "Mirage" remains one of the most emblematic albums to come out of the Camel workshop, able to soften the artificiality of the debut record into a more spontaneous, grandiloquent atmosphere, achieved above all through the introduction of flute into the band's arrangements. The whole album thus reveals a self-sufficient musical world, where fantasy becomes the only possible reality and human wickedness remains an invisible threat.

Dulcis in fundo, my personal advice: take your time, pour yourself a good glass of wine, and mentally climb aboard the camel for an adventurous journey. You won't regret it. Incidentally, the equally celebrated follow-up album "The Snow Goose" (1975) – a long instrumental opus inspired by Paul Gallico's book of the same name – is also absolutely worth listening to. Who knows, then, whether that humped quadruped might, like the loveliest of mirages, ultimately carry you off towards the enchanting territories of the snow goose.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

29/01/2017