THE COLLECTION

Since Camel had lots of legal problems, Latimer divided his time between lawyer's offices and record companies as he sought an outlet for Camel's new material titled ''Dust And Dreams''. As Latimer scrutinized old contracts it came to light that Camel were owed royalties that had never been paid by Camel's management/production company, Gama Records.

Highly charged by this discovery, Latimer gathered support from Bardens, Ward and Ferguson to file a suit against Gama. This lawsuit, by comparison, would be brief and glorious. On 25th March 1985, they finally reaped the benefits of their past work together. Reunited in the same attorney's office that had accepted Ward's resignation from Camel just two years earlier, happier times now prevailed.

The former bandmates settled their lawsuit with Gama and received their first of many royalty payment to come. Formalities completed, they celebrated at a local pub until closing time. Though they no longer had interest in playing together, all parted as friends (info available on Camel's official website).

With all these legal problems, Camel had little time to release new material, so it was appropriate to produce a compilation effort (Money, it's a hit ...).

In terms of music, the track selection is quite appealing. It gives a pretty good overview of their earliest work : three tracks out of "Moonmadness", two from "Mirage", and six from their "Snow Goose" here represented by the live version available in the meantime on the remastered live album "A Live Record". Then bits and bites from their later work. At the time of release, it was meant to satisfy the new fans of the band and probably introduce them to Camel's older repertoire (more interesting IMO).

The original release was a double album. The CD version skipped some tracks although there is still some space available...

Three stars for this good compilation album.

Review Nº 427

"The Collection" is a compilation album of Camel and was released in 1985. It was released in LP and CD formats with different versions. The LP version was released with twenty tracks and the CD version was released with less four tracks. The four tracks are "Nimrodel/The Procession/White Rider", "Earthrise", "Song Within A Song" and "First Light". In this case, the version that I'm going to review here on Progarchives is the LP version with the twenty tracks.

"Freefall", "Supertwister", "Nimrodel/The Procession/White Rider" and "Earthrise" are all tracks from "Mirage" of 1974. "Freefall" is almost an instrumental track with an excellent melodic line. It's influenced by diverse styles of music. "Supertwister" is a nice and peaceful track. It's a great instrumental track, partially dominated by a great flute work, proving that Latimer is a great flute player too. "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider" is one of the two multi-part epic tracks on that album. It's one of the best tracks on that album with its time changes and soundscapes that carries the theme to a great symphonic climax. "Earthrise" is a nice instrumental track with a frenetic middle section with Latimer's guitar and Bardens' keyboards. It's probably one of the best and finest instrumentals by them. "Rhayader", "Rhayader Goes To Town", "Migration", "Rhayader Alone", "La Princesse Perdue" and "The Great March" are all tracks from "The Snow Goose" of 1975. "Rhayader" is a track with a powerful melody combining flute, guitar and organ. It has a memorable flute melody supported by an organ solo. "Rhayader Goes To Town" brings the music into a faster tempo, with great combination of guitar and organ with energetic beats. It has an extended guitar solo too. "Migration" brings the music into an upbeat style. It's an uplifting track full of spirit, and the scatting melodies are very nice and catchy, really. "Rhayader Alone" is a quite and mellow track where the guitar plays gently. It's a dark and magical track that can tell us that someone is really alone. "La Princesse Perdue" is one of the highlights on that album and makes a beautiful ending with "The Great Marsh" reprise. It practically sums the amazing music all over that album. "The Great March" is a punchy and nice tune played with the flute. It opens and concludes the album with an exploration of nature sounds. "Aristillus", "Spirit Of The Water", "Lunar Sea" and "Song Within A Song" are all tracks from "Moonmadness" of 1976. "Aristillus" is an instrumental atmospheric track, very melodic, which is dominated by the keyboards. It's an excellent showcase for that entire album. "Spirit Of The Water" has a beautiful piano work complemented by a distant vocal singing. It's an atmospheric ballad, very pretty, and built around piano and synthesizer with Bardens' distant voice adding a special feel to it. "Lunar Sea" is another instrumental, and is one of the best tracks on that album. It's a song with great individual and collective performances. "Song Within A Song" is a calm, beautiful, and melancholic track that contrasts with the deepest voice of Ferguson. It's an excellent track with nice and relaxing guitar and flute works. "Rain Dances", "Highways Of The Sun" and "First Light" are three tracks from "Rain Dances" of 1977. "Rain Dances" is a reprise of "First Light". It's an excellent instrumental track, very classic. It represents a natural and a great ending to that excellent album. "Highways Of The Sun" is a track with some commercial mood and with some pop characteristics, but with a final touch of Camel's sound. It's an example how to make a good pop song by a prog band. "First Light" is an inspired instrumental piece that represents a great opening to that album. It was the first time we could listen a sax on a Camel's album. "Drafted" and "Captured" are both tracks from "Nude" of 1981. "Drafted" is a track with great melodies and guitar themes in the classic Camel's style. It proved, beyond any doubt, the band was back at their best and pure roots on that album. "Captured" is a powerful, rhythmical and very captivating instrumental track that perfectly reflects the most mundane tastes so fashionable in the 80's. "Sasquatch" is a track from "The Single Factor" of 1982. This is perhaps the brightest track on that album. It's an interesting instrumental track. The main characteristic of it is that this is the only track on that album that features the presence of their former keyboardist, Peter Bardens.

Conclusion: "The Collection" is, in my humble opinion, a good compilation of Camel. Almost all of its tracks belong to some of their best studio albums. It has four tracks from "Mirage" which is considered as one of their best studio albums from the 70's. It has six tracks from "The Snow Goose" which is also considered another of their best studio albums from the 70's. And it has four tracks from "Moonmadness" which is an album considered as one of their three best studio albums from the 70's, with "Mirage" and "The Snow Goose". But, unfortunately, it has no tracks from their eponymous debut studio album "Camel". It has three tracks from "Rain Dances", which is an excellent album and the last great studio album released by them in the 70's. It has two tracks from "Nude". "Nude" is surely their best studio album released in the 80's. It has one track from "The single Factor". Despite "The Single Factor" be probably Camel's weakest studio album, "Sasquatch" is a very good track and doesn't spoil the overall good quality of "The Collection".

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)