BREATHLESS

While Rain Dances was the first step into the jazz territory and a very succesful one, Breathless is a step forward with more wider orientations, incorporating some funk and pop elements into the palette. While not better, in any way, from the previous album Breathless still has very good moments and in my opinion it is a love or hate album. Frankly i am on the side who like this album. I will pick out Echoes as one of the best progressive rock efforts Camel ever made and one has to agree with that. From the opening theme and throughout the whole progress Echoes grabs you until its end. The Sleeper is another winner from the jazz territory, continuing what has started at Rain Dances. I really like the brass section played by Mel Collins and of course the Latimer's excellent guitar solo. Summer Lightning is on the pop side of things and for me Andrew Latimer here, provides one of his most expressive guitar solos(along with so many other of course)-Above average... Wing And A Prayer is what i call decent pop-i like this kind of pop music of those years-nice theme, catchy rhythm section by Ward and Sinclair and nice clarinet solo by Mel Collins. In the same exactly category is the entitled song of this album. Ending, i will pick out Rainbow's End which is a kind of Latimer's farewell to Peter Bardens and its a decent song too. All in all Breathless is like a spectrum of musical ideas and whether you like it or you dislike it. Camel were already quite pushed from their record label and that is reflected on all these pop side efforts of this album-effort for a hit single. If you are a prog orthodox this is not an album for you-if you are a prog fan accepting various musical orientations this one will please you a lot. 3.5 stars really...