MIRAGE

In 2014, Prog magazine rated Camel's second album, "Mirage", as the 51st greatest progressive rock album of all time. Considered to be the Guildford-based quartet's first truly progressive album, it was a strong comeback effort after the poor commercial reaction of their debut, which resulted in them losing their contract with MCA. Fortunately, the band was picked up by Decca, and placed on its progressive subsidiary Deram.

In a less creatively hostile environment, Camel was allowed to shine, and this album is the product of the band's true talent, which we caught a glimpse of on their first album. Generally "Mirage" is considered to be the band's best album by critics, and has been met with critical acclaim. While the album takes a little while to pick up, beginning with the fast-paced rocker "Freefall" which evokes memories of the band's original sound, it does not take too long for the band to showcase a new third dimension to their musical style which in my opinion, shows no question that this is a truly seminal album.

Similar to the first album, there are two instrumental tracks, the first being "Supertwister", which sees Camel evoke imagery of the Arabesque in a very European way. Guitarist Andrew Latimer proves himself to be just as accomplished of a flautist as he is a guitarist. The chemistry between Latimer and keyboardist Peter Bardens proves to be the defining factor of this album; while there were cases of their dynamic on the previous album, it is on "Mirage" that the two musicians truly create the Camel sound, with dueling solos present over the course of much of the album. The last instrumental, "Earthrise", is definitely more fodder for this kind of sound, but it gets buried deep by the more illuminating tracks on the album.

That brings me to the two titans of "Mirage", and the reason why this album is so critically acclaimed. On each side of the LP there exists a semi-epic track at roughly ten minutes in length. The first of these is "Nimrodel" aka "The White Rider", which is an excellent progressive track with a concept based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Perhaps the best thing about this track is that it shows the adjustments Camel was willing to make to take the next step in their musical careers. On the first album one of the greatest criticisms was that the band relied too heavily on mediocre vocals; while Latimer and Bardens still contribute vocals to this album, the band obviously puts a much greater emphasis on the instrumentation, and vocals are used sparingly and at better moments.

The second song of note is the album closer, "Lady Fantasy". This is personally one of, if not my favorite Camel compositions. Where "the White Rider" saw Latimer take center stage, Bardens' keyboards really makes an impression to the listener. Meandering between slow and sensual passages and blaringly fast solos, this track really encapsulates and defines this band as a prog stalwart. Between this song and "The White Rider", the essential status of this album is secured.

"Mirage" really does not need much of a conclusion other than it is one of the best albums to come out of the progressive rock movement. While I personally don't consider it to be my favorite Camel album, I cannot deny that this is an album that I've listened to several times in its entirety and have never felt disappointed. Camel saw unprecedented commercial success upon releasing this album, and even was able to pull of an American tour of the Pacific Coast, where "Mirage" sold well. You can still find used copies of this album in garage sales across the more musically enlightened parts of California, an obscure testament to the success that the band had in what was an environment hostile to progressive rock as a whole. However, Camel's commercial success did not end here, as their crescendo of appeal would come that next year with "The Snow Goose".

FINAL RATING: 4.7/5

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