RAIN DANCES

Camel is a progressive rock band that was formed in the UK in 1971, and belong to a rather large group of cult bands in the prog circle. Although commercially successful, at least in the start of their career, they remain a band mostly known for people interested in prog, and are for the most part unknown to others. Rain Dances is their fifth release, and was released in 1977.

Musically this release is an odd one. Keyboards, or synths as I personally often call them, are used extensively throughout the album. On some tracks the synths underscore the melody as such, and are used sparingly. On other tracks there's layers of synths creating a distinct symphonic backdrop for the songs as such; and on a couple of tracks the synths dominate totally in creating ambient or new age inspired soundscapes; especially notable in the track "Elke", but also noticeable in the title track Rain Dances to a certain extent.

Many of the tracks here have a jazzy feel to them as well. The drumming in particular comes across as jazz-inspired, at times heavily so. But the bass lines are jazzed up quite a bit on a few songs too, and you'll also find leanings towards jazz in the song structures here if you listen closely.

Quite a few songs here have other qualities to them as well though. Many of the songs are relatively simple in structure; and the classic verse and chorus structure combined with hummable melodies gives this release some pop flavouring. Single release "Highways of the Sun" is a really good example of that, in addition to being one of the best tracks of the album.

And the songs are variable in quality here as well as in style. A few songs obviously will sound a bit dated 30 years after; but I suspect others were average outings even at the time of the albums release. Still, there are enough enjoyable songs here to make this album worth purchasing.