Camel - Rajaz (1999)

Dan:

According to the liner notes in the CD booklet, "rajaz" refers to the movement of a camel and describes a metre used in classical Arabic poetry. The rhythm of the camel is the inspiration for a new set of songs in the Camel discography. Rajaz, the band's 13th album since their self-titled debut in 1973, is their best since Breathless. 

As we mention in several other posts about Camel, the band's history was marked by frequent personnel changes and disputes over content. Following The Single Factor (1982), Andrew Latimer and Susan Hoover appeared to avoid past conflicts within the band by creating albums around specific stories.

Nude (1981) laid the groundwork for themed future works. Nude was about a soldier who disappeared before his war ended and was found years later ("Tell me no lies, has peace arrived, or is this some kind of joke?"). The Single Factor (1982) went back to the "let's write some clever singles" approach, but Stationary Traveller (1984) resumed the storytelling with a romantic saga set in post-war Germany. From there, Dust and Dreams (1991) followed Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath narrative charting the western migration in America during the dust bowl years, and Harbour of Tears (1996) chronicled Irish emigration to America. Hoover's skilled songwriting with its "heart-on-sleeve" lyrics turned each of these albums into fan favorites, and no one bothered trying to write hit singles anymore.

Rajaz is the first album by Camel to exploit the allegory of life in the desert. The title track refers specifically to the nomadic experience:

The souls of heaven

Are stars at night

They will guide us on our way

Until we meet again

Another day

When the dawn has come

Sing the song

All day long

But most songs are about everyday struggles analogous to nomadic life. "Lost and Found" is about finding one's way; "The Final Encore" could be about the end of a journey or the end of a concert performance by the band:

And now

The final encore

A last farewell

The fantasy is over

The spirit

 flies away

Camel concerts often ended with "Lady Fantasy" as a finale or encore, but more generally the song refers to the end of anybody's day. 

"Shout" is a powerfully expressive song about wanting to help a friend in despair. "Straight to My Heart" is a touching reminiscence about Latimer's early engagement with music and the sound of his favorite red guitar which still "takes my breath away." The two instrumentals - the opening "Three Wishes" and "Sahara" - make Rajaz a perfect album, in my opinion. They're strategically placed to keep the wistful songs from dominating the album.

The final cut, "Lawrence," is a specific tribute to the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, who was "swallowed by the sand" but who continues to haunt the desert. "Lawrence" is the pièce de résistance of the album, stretching out almost 11 minutes and featuring one of Latimer's most heartfelt guitar solos (among many others). 

Steve:

In the early 1990s, nearly 10 years after Camel released what I assumed was their final album, Stationary Traveler, I was surprised by a new Camel album whilst CD shopping. That CD was Dust and Dreams, released on Camel's newly incorporated Camel Productions label, which initiated a new phase in the band's career. Although I failed to follow this next phase as closely as Dan has, revisiting their third album after this rebirth, Rajaz, has been a welcome reminder as to how potent the band's creativity remained at this point.

Andy Latimer's guitar playing seems especially inspired on this album, with the two instrumentals ("Three Wishes" and "Sahara") taking their usual roles on a Camel album, showcasing Latimer's most fanciful musical ideas while the vocal pieces generally follow a more narrative focus. Even on the vocal pieces, however, such as "The Final Encore", there are surprising musical turns. The first 3 minutes of this 8-minute number uses guitar effects and an E-bow (a device held near the guitar strings to vibrate them without being struck, giving a sound like that of a bowed string instrument) to create a distinctly "desert" atmosphere. Immediately following this captivating track, the title track spends its first few minutes in a fully acoustic mode, augmented by the return of Latimer's flute playing, making for a lovely musical passage.

True to Dan's word, "Lawrence" puts Latimer's best foot forward in terms of the emotional guitar soloing that he has always been known for. Being the longest track on an album full of lengthy tracks, and being the closing track to boot, raises expectations pretty high, and it does not disappoint. Many fans rank Rajaz as the finest Camel album post-1990, and often quite high overall, and I feel it deserves this high regard.

Camel - The Single Factor/On the Road 1982 (1982)

Dan:

In May and June, 1982, our family lived in Copenhagen during my stay as a visiting faculty member. During that time, Camel was touring, so Steve and I made plans to attend the concert, held at the Odd Fellow Palæet. Unbeknownst to us, this was a special venue that used to be a small palace but was later converted into a concert hall with only 210 seats and perfect acoustics, according to their website. My Danish friends were surprised to hear that a rock concert would be held in a space normally reserved for wedding receptions and string quartet recitals. 

As we walked in, I could hear amazing sounds coming from the P/A system. I later discovered that it was an instrumental excerpt from a Rush album, Moving Pictures, basically the first two minutes of "The Camera Eye." As we settled in and the stage lit up, Camel launched into "Sasquatch," a great choice for an opening number. The rest of the concert was, in a word, euphoric.

When I got back to Miami, I made my way to Yesterday and Today records and found The Single Factor, which had just been released. It was then that I realized that the tour in Europe was connected to the new album. The concert included lots of the album's songs as well as the old standbys, although I don't have evidence or memory of the set list. It doesn't matter. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences of the whole trip and a special event in my prog journey. 

Years later, after Andrew Latimer had established Camel Productions in Mountain View, CA, he released an "On the Road" series of live concerts. On the Road 1982 was recorded at another concert on the tour, in Den Haag, NL. It was like being back in Copenhagen for me. I ordered all of the live recordings, which usually arrived with Andrew's signature on the CD cover. I appreciated this personal touch and was glad to be a recognized member of the Camel fan base. 

Returning to The Single Factor, the album itself was a product of some of the conflicts mentioned in our earlier review of Breathless. In Camel's futile attempt to create a hit single, The Single Factor was populated with shorter songs. Thankfully, all of the songs are good ones, but of course none became hits. I almost feel like the band was too good to write pop songs for the masses. In particular, the strong instrumental tracks - "Sasquatch" and "Selva" - don't appeal to wider audiences; and the softer tunes - "Lullabye," "A Heart's Desire," and "End Peace" - are too delicate to play on the air. But they make for a diverse album that shows off the musicianship common to all of Camel's oeuvre. 

According to online sources, the title of the fifth song from The Single Factor, "Camelogue," combined the words “Camel” and “Epilogue,” reflecting Latimer's thoughts of putting an end to the band. Thankfully, he did not but the lyrics betray his worries:

Fighting the lead

I was so confused

Feeling so accused

A solo rise

Have to keep going for the song and the road

Temptation sighs

Leave us a memory we've loved and known

What can I do?

Lastly, I am glad that I got The Single Factor on vinyl; the CD version is quite bad. Hopefully the remastered Esoteric version (2009) improves the digital sound. 

Steve:

My first concert! You can bet I remember most if not all of the show in Copenhagen during that fascinating long-term (6 weeks) trip there as I was just entering my teens. When my daughter was around the same age, my family took a trip to England and Scotland, and I knew from my own experience that the trip would have a huge effect on her life.  

The Single Factor, unfortunately, came at a time of uncertainty and instability for Camel. As a result, it is commonly considered a low point in the band's discography. I only hope that readers will listen to the album with open minds to hear that it still has much to recommend it - that is, unless readers still begrudge "pop" Camel as found on Breathless and I Can See Your House from Here (both reviewed elsewhere on this blog). 

And yes, the song-based, verse/chorus songs are dominant here, with guitarist Andrew Latimer clearly leading the way. In fact, as the album title implies, it feels like a solo album with help from outside musicians. Founding drummer Andy Ward had left the band due to an injury to his hand (as the lyric insert explains; Ward would later resurface as a member of The Bevis Frond, much to my delight!). David Paton and Chris Rainbow, both of whom had contributed to the Alan Parsons Project, provide additional lead vocals and instrumental help, with Anthony Phillips helping out on guitar and Fairport Conventioneer Dave Mattacks playing the drums. Latimer was the single original member left. 

The songs (mostly co-written by Latimer and his wife Susan Hoover) are uniformly introspective searches for strength and inspiration. "You Are the One" sounds like a typical love song at first, but the lyrics strongly hint at a religious epiphany - a love letter to God. "Camelogue" (quoted by Dan above), my favorite vocal piece on the album, depicts a man cast adrift with an uncertain future but determined to somehow "keep going for the song and the road". The song preceding it, "Manic", is a frantic confession of extreme mood swings and loss of control, sung to a racing tempo with jagged synthesizer stabs and loud guitars. The song concludes in a dark cloud devoid of rhythm and full of dissonant chords as Latimer acknowledges "there is no way out". Heavy stuff.

On the instrumental front, The Single Factor extends at least one carrot to the devoted Camel fan, the majestic "Sasquatch", which opens side 2. This song opened the concert we attended, and I remember it as well as any concert in my life, 40+ years later. Anthony Phillips provides the defining riff, delivered in rolling waves of acoustic 12-string guitar, over which Latimer performs the lead guitar magic he's always done. Elsewhere, "Selva" is an atypical ambient instrumental similar to "Elke" from the Rain Dances album (which had featured Brian Eno). When followed by the short piano/vocal piece "Lullabye", side 1 ends on a calm yet somber note, setting the stage for "Sasquatch" to lift one's spirits again.

I would never claim that The Single Factor is one of Camel's best albums, but it did play a large part in my life, and it's a lot better than the dismissive reviews that dominate the critical landscape would have you believe.

Camel - I Can See Your House From Here (1979)

Steve:

Having entered a new phase of their history with 1978's Breathless album, but also facing ongoing transience and uncertainty, Camel made their 1979 album I Can See Your House From Here with a very different lineup. Founding keyboardist Peter Bardens (a key composer for the band along with guitarist Andy Latimer) left the fold, as did bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair. In their place, Camel added keyboardist Jan Schelhaas (recently of Caravan) and bassist Colin Bass (recently a member of Steve Hillage's touring band). Providing a new dimension to the band was the temporary addition of a second keyboardist - Kit Watkins, from Happy the Man. Woodwind maestro Mel Collins, drummer Andy Ward, and of course guitarist Andy Latimer (the only constant throughout the band's history) remained. 

Production duties were handled by Rupert Hine, who had already accumulated an impressive list of credits among both commercial and progressive artists, and who would continue at the helm of some very highly regarded albums in the 1980s. With that kind of support, Camel was in a good position to make a quality album with commercial potential. 

The commercial potential was only partially realized, but I Can See Your House From Here remains a superbly accomplished and enjoyable album, combining the best of Camel's instrumental and songwriting capabilities. The two-keyboard lineup immediately makes its presence felt in the electrifying opener "Wait", a fast rocker with frequent tempo shifts and a great keyboard duet where Schelhaas and Watkins trade off 8-bar phrases with their dazzling techniques. As with Breathless, I Can See Your House caught some fans off guard with the inclusion of a couple of mainstream pop songs. The second track "Your Love is Stranger Than Mine" (sung by Bass) is the most obvious example, following in the footsteps of the prior album's "You Make Me Smile".  "Neon Magic", another pop-friendly tune later in the album, was released as a single together with "Your Love is Stranger Than Mine", although it failed to chart.

Although I enjoy the pop tunes Camel offers on this platter, I'd rather write about the startling highlights. "Who We Are" and "Hymn to Her" are both vocal-based love songs with powerful pop hooks in their choruses, but both songs progress in unusual ways. "Who We Are" begins with a lengthy, brisk guitar-based theme before segueing into a completely different theme for the verses and chorus, only returning to the opening theme's melody for a slow and somber restatement prior to the final chorus. "Hymn to Her" also begins with a strong guitar-based instrumental that is reinforced with several repetitions of the verse, including a variation in a new key that's used as an unexpected bridge. The kicker is that the chorus doesn't come in until much later, at which point it repeats until the end of the song, making for a lovely conclusion that releases all of the emotion built up earlier in the song.

The closing 10-minute instrumental "Ice" deserves its own paragraph, as one of the best examples in the Camel discography of Latimer's expressive lead guitar style.  It's a slow song with a minor but majestic chord progression, over which a simple melody is established and developed on acoustic guitar, piano, Moog synthesizer, and finally electric guitar. Latimer wisely takes his time to build the emotion in the various solos, so that the track holds the listener's attention the whole way through. "Ice" is a cathartic musical experience. Whether you feel like you're floating through the sky or feel like crying your eyes out, you will probably not escape this track unaffected.

I Can See Your House From Here appeared in our home soon after the discovery of Breathless, and those two albums remain two of my favorite Camel albums, possibly because of their entry into my life as a pre-teen. Following prog's initial heyday, Camel survived by adopting the song-based style of bands such as the Alan Parsons Project and Supertramp. Although they didn't enjoy as much success as those bands, Camel's albums are as good as either of them.

Dan:

I couldn't write a better entry than Steve's, which captures my own thoughts about I Can See Your House From Here. I listen to "Ice" often and always find it exhilarating. It's the best evidence to support my claim that Andy Latimer is a top-5 rock guitarist, sadly underappreciated by most so-called rock experts. The inclusion of a mostly instrumental track featuring a long, soaring solo from Latimer was to become a staple of live shows and later albums. "The Hour Candle" from Harbor of Tears (1996), "Lawrence" from Rajaz (1999), and "For Today" from Nod and a Wink (2002) are all in the same vein as "Ice."

My copy of the album is a British vinyl pressing that sounds much better than the CD, although there have been more recent digital remasters by Esoteric that I haven't heard. The vinyl beautifully captures all the nuances of Latimer's signature tone. If you're curious enough to stream or download the album, Spotify and Amazon Music have compressed lossy versions available. Qobuz has a 2011 lossless CD-quality download of the album for $7.19. Alternatively, you can download the single track "Ice" from Qobuz for $0.89. Not a bad price to pay for one of the most sublime guitar tracks in prog history.

Camel - Breathless (1978)

Dan:

It's hard to overstate the importance of Camel to our joint discovery of prog in 1978, despite the band's relatively obscure place in rock history. Camel is considered one of those "cult" bands, revered by a core group of dedicated fans but seemingly destined not to receive wider acclaim. But unlike other cult bands (like Love), Camel released about 30 albums in its 30 years of activity (1973-2002) many on major labels (MCA, Decca/Gama) as well as their own label (Camel Productions).

Many cult bands deserve their obscurity, and their fan base probably delights in being on the fringe. But in Camel's case, the music industry, and in turn the listening public, can be blamed for ignoring Camel's music. That's sad because there is so much wonderful music in their studio albums and live recordings. 

As I wrote in my "Father's Story" post, Camel's Breathless was a noontime album played in its entirety by a deejay in Miami. We had moved there the year before and I had acquired a cassette recorder that hooked up to my FM receiver. I taped the noontime albums on days that I worked from home. I remember the deejay scrambling to talk about Camel, a band that she had never heard of before. Her only insight was that Breathless was not Camel's first recording. Yes, those were the good old days when airplay was not always ruled by monetary criteria, allowing deejays to play music they might never have heard themselves. 

As I listened to my tape over the next few days, everything about Breathless sounded fresh and different, especially the distinctive guitar playing. But I had no idea who I was listening to. Nobody I knew had ever heard of the band. When I mentioned Camel, people figured it was Peter Frampton's band. I felt alone with secret knowledge about a great band that nobody knew existed. 

I soon found a vinyl cutout of Breathless, and it contained an inner sleeve with basic information on it. The band looked like a rather odd cast of characters. Andrew Latimer appeared to be the leader and he made the biggest impact as the only guitarist while sharing vocal duties with bassist Richard Sinclair. Peter Bardens (keyboards), Mel Collins (sax) and Andy Ward (drums) were the remaining band members. Acquiring Breathless was just the beginning of a wholly satisfying adventure into one of the world's great neglected prog bands.

My affection for Camel is directly tied to my admiration for Andrew Latimer's guitar playing. He was full of great ideas and could play with such emotion. I'd place him in the same elite company with Carlos Santana, David Gilmour, Robin Trower, and Roy Buchanan - all guitarists with the ability to speak directly to the soul of listeners - especially me. 

I didn't know at the time that Camel was in a state of constant turmoil, with band members arguing about artistic direction - some wanted to record pop singles while others wanted more extended instrumental pieces. Players left and new players came with almost every album. Camel fought with their manager and record execs about money. At one point Latimer moved to California where he started his own label. One of the albums from that time, Dust and Dreams, was allegorically based on John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Latimer's song "Go West" from Dust and Dreams expresses his desperation and hope for prosperity in the American west.

As a result of such conflicts, albums like Breathless are somewhat schizoid, containing different musical styles. I prefer the tunes with fewer vocals and longer instrumental sections featuring guitar. The novelty songs like "Down on the Farm" and "Wing and a Prayer" are charming enough not to spoil the album, but they certainly were never hit singles. My favorites are "Breathless," "Echoes," "Summer Lightning," and "Sleeper."

Steve:

As Dan points out, Breathless was a pivotal album in both of our musical lives. Their music was simultaneously daring/exciting and melodious/memorable, and the pop songs and moody instrumentals in their impressive catalog have an uncanny way of getting in your head and staying there. Andrew Latimer's gift is finding an emotionally resonant guitar melody and playing it with one of the finest guitar tones and techniques you'll ever hear. I count him among my "big three" favorite guitar players, along with David Gilmour and Alex Lifeson (I should probably also include Frank Zappa, but I'll keep him in a class by himself, where he'd likely prefer to reside anyway).  

Perhaps the most astonishing achievement on Breathless is its leadoff title track. I have not heard another track like it in the Camel discography, or anywhere else in music for that matter. It's a vocal-based pop song with an odd structure, sung in an impossibly pretty manner by Richard Sinclair - the giant intervals between the notes he has to hit makes it extremely difficult to sing, but he nails it. Underneath, several layered guitars sparkle like a star-filled sky for the main instrumental theme (there might even be a mandolin in there) and guide the vocal through a complex chord sequence for verses that resolve beautifully and never feel labored or awkward. The song has a dramatic pause in the middle, with Sinclair singing the last few lines of the lyric in a new melody, before a restatement of the original theme in a different key. The instrumental coda of the piece features Mel Collins' overlapping woodwinds creating billowing clouds of peaceful sound as the repeating theme fades out. Total time: four minutes of near perfection.

Although some lesser tracks fill the album (nothing rotten, though), other tracks dazzle. "Echoes" sounds at first like one of the most exciting prog instrumentals ever, until about 5 minutes in when it suddenly turns into a vocal piece. "Summer Lightning" makes tasteful use of a disco beat and grants the final three minutes to Latimer to play one of his finest guitar solos. "The Sleeper" is Breathless' closest analog to the earlier classic Camel instrumentals such as "Lunar Sea."

Speaking of classic Camel, many fans consider Breathless as a lesser album than its first few. On ProgArchives, the highest rated albums by far are three 1974-76 albums (Mirage, The Snow Goose, and Moonmadness), with Breathless and I Can See Your House from Here (1979) earning significantly lower ratings. My best explanation for this relative lack of regard is the latter two albums' inclusion of pop-like vocals, thereby distancing the band from its earlier instrumental focus, especially the all-instrumental Snow Goose.

The move towards more vocal material reflects the identity struggle within the band as personnel changed and pressure mounted to remain viable commercially. Breathless was the first and only Camel album to be released on Arista Records in the US, and the absence of a second album on that label indicates that the union did not go well. However, contrary to prevailing opinions, I believe that this period of Camel produced some of its finest music.