CAMEL

I've recently bought the first six Camel albums on CD, having previously owned most of them on vinyl or cassette. The first album was the one that I'd never owned before, and I was only familiar with one song (Never Let Go, which is featured on the live album). It's an impressive debut, though I prefer later albums. The two things that let it down are first, the vocals, which are even weaker here than any other Camel album, and two tracks that I would describe as filler, Separation and Curiosity. The rest of the tracks are very good, though. Never Let Go is the standout song, but I also particularly like Mystic Queen and the closing rocker Arubaluba. The opener Slow Yourself Down is a nice song too, although the loud guitar chord that introduces the start of the faster section sounds wrong to me. There seems to be a lot more jazz influence on this album than on any other Camel album until Rain Dances, this is particularly apparent in the instrumental Six Ate. I'm not a musician but I presume the track is so named because it's in 6/8 time signature?

Two bonus tracks are added to the main album, a single version of Never Let Go which is just a shortened version of the album track, and a nineteen minute live jam which started out as a Peter Bardens solo piece. Homage To The God Of Light is worth having as a record of early Camel gigs, but I wouldn't say it's a great track.

MCA dropped the band after this album which I think was a little unfair, and subsequent releases on Decca showed what a poor decision that was.

I've given this album 3 stars but I'd say it's nearer 3.5. I might have said 4 stars if it wasn't for the weak vocals and the two filler tracks. Worth having if you're a fan of Camel.