THE ART OF LEVITATION

I think that attempts to rate any solo album by Peter Bardens, based on how close to Camel it is, are unfounded. Yes Camel in 1973 and from 1976 to 1978 was mostly Latimer and Bardens, and yes Camel in 1974 to 1975 was mostly Bardens and Latimer (Bardens wrote Freefall and Supertwister, the two most powerful tracks on Mirage). But in toto, Peter Bardens was not a progster. He started in 1969 as a typical 'hippie musician' who did something between old US psych and old UK hard rock in the vein of early Led Zeppelin. And after his cooperation with Andrew Latimer, in other words, after his 7 years long 'sightseeing tour' in progressive rock, he continued as a very individual composer and player who had his own style, a strange integral sum of soft rock, synth pop, new age and electronic music. Its development ended up with The Art Of Levitation which happened to crown the creative and physical life of Peter Bardens. If we try to rate this album as a work done by a prog keyboardist (i.e. if we listen to Bardens but think Camel), we may suspect that this is either hackwork or just not our department. But if we forget about prog and find ourselves inside Bardens' personal coordinate system, then excusez-moi, I'd say we have to consider The Art Of Levitation a masterpiece. Indeed, the personal evolution of Peter Bardens as a musician reached its peak, and the album is a real acme for his own original musical style. The album is marked with impeccable taste and sense of proportion. Of course, re-working old songs may be considered an enticement to be avoided, but Spirit Of The Water (from the 1976 album Moonmadness by Camel) edited in Bardens' unique post-Camel manner and beautifully sung by his daughter, became a highlight. Another highlight is The Zone, an opening instrumental piece. Unfortunately, The Art Of Levitation was the last message from the artist to the world.