RAJAZ

After the disappointingly bland offerings of "Dust and Dreams" and "Harbour of Tears", it really would have not been far fetched for one to assume that the glory days of Camel releasing truly engaging music was over, and that, like many other prog bands, they were destined to release nostalgia albums that were hopelessly mediocre. Of course, those in that school of thought would be partially right, as Camel's final two studio albums are by all means composed with nostalgia in mind. However, this era, as inconsequential as it is in the history of the genre, produced albums which indeed echo the band's glory days of 1974-1976.

"Rajaz" is often seen by Camel fans as the spiritual successor to the band's most critically acclaimed album, 1974's "Mirage". Perhaps the most obvious sign of this relationship is the return to the Arabesque and arid musical themes, but there is an added touch that in my mind differentiates the two. Where in 1974 we were given this artificially progressive touch on the sounds of the Sahara, Camel makes up for the absence of keyboardist Peter Bardens for whom the sound should be credited by injecting heavy traces of world music to create a very modern yet exotic sound. Of course, bassist and world music aficionado Colin Bass is back for yet another album alongside guitarist Andrew Latimer, and to make matters even better, ex-Kayak keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel returns to do the best at filling Bardens's shoes, while Dave Stewart comes in on drums in what is really a revolving door of drummers post-Andy Ward.

The last time Camel opened an album with an instrumental, it was 1977's "First Light", personally one of my favorite compositions off of the Rain Dances album. Twenty-one years later, the band begins "Rajaz" with the fast-paced and dynamic "Three Wishes", which sees to replicate the bond between Latimer and his keyboardist, with vicious dueling solos over a very broad canvas of sounds. Camel takes their time to open the album (the physical constraints of LP are now long a thing of the past), imposing a diverse array of sounds on the listener before signaling the breakout of the album, and ushering in a collection of noises many Camel fans had waited decades for; the upbeat soaring guitar, the blaring seventies-style synthesizer, and the flute. Modern production techniques and professional mixing allow for the listener to hear and feel everything down to the intricacies of the rhythm section, as "Rajaz" was one of the first albums to be released on the high-quality HDCD format, and the effects are just as great on Japanese SHM-CD. Either way this is an album that craves to be played on respectable hi-fi formats.

By the end of "Three Wishes", the listener pretty much has a broad template by which to assess the rest of the album. Camel has already made a statement that not only are they back, but they have made the subtle touches to modernize their sound to avoid sounding like a mere ripoff of the band's golden days. Scherpenzeel does his best to emulate Bardens while allowing his own talents to shine, and Latimer's solos are fresher than ever. "Lost and Found" signals the band's more symphonic and emotive 1980's compositions while retaining the 1970's instrumental quality. Latimer once again finds himself singing vocals, and with the help of good mixing, he has followed a John Wetton redemption arc in going from a mediocre vocalist to a competent one. Lyrics are still, to Camel's benefit, sparse, and for the first time in the band's history, Latimer is the ONLY vocalist, signifying confidence. After the vocals, its back to beautiful soloing, with Latimer starting off with a very emotional and uplifting guitar motif that is then transferred over to Scherpenzeel, and back to Latimer to conclude. So far, absolute ecstasy.

That brings us to "The Final Encore", which is heavily world-influenced and one of the longer compositions on the album. This is one of those songs that challenges the notion that "Rajaz" is a pure album designed to recreate "Mirage", as it really touches upon the Saharan themes of Camel's music in a way that the 1974 masterpiece could not. The lyrics, once again sparse, echo the titles of past Camel compositions from across their discography. The tempo slows down, and while the instrumentation is still flashy with strong drumming, it is obvious we are leaving the upbeat motifs that the album started out on. Latimer's voice isn't great here, but he gets the job done, and the listener's focus is largely placed on the tonal properties of the music anyway. It took me a little while to warm up to this song, but after a lot of listens I've come to respect the feelings this composition evokes in my mind; the feeling that Camel as a band, is coming to an end. Andrew Latimer would of course begin to experience health issues around the time of this album's recording, and especially its associated tour. Fortunately, as of today Andy is still with us but the turmoil of this period serves as a steady reminder of how we should cherish the musicians whose music we enjoy, especially as Camel still hasn't released any new studio material since 2002, almost twenty years ago.

But Camel isn't done pulling at our heartstrings just yet. The memorable title track then emerges to give off incredibly emotive and introspective vibes. Do not expect any flashy guitar solos at this point on the album, as this is a rare acoustic Camel tune, which does eventually emerge into a more jazzy and soulful track, but the vocal parts strike as poetry in a way much of Camel's discography really cannot do. That brings me to a beautiful quirk of "Rajaz", which does lie in its title. In Arabic literature, "Rajaz" is a prosody, a form of poetry that is read to the beat of the camel's walking beat. Of course, in a streak of progressive beauty, the music on this album, and this one in particular, does indeed follow the beat of the animal by which the band bears its name. While the title track is a bit long, and it may seem prodding, I feel the pay-off, and subsequent transition to electric to convey a more positive ending to what starts off as a very melancholic piece, results in yet another strong song.

"Shout" is considered to be the relative low-point of the album, and it is largely because it is not as remarkable as the rest of the excellent material on the album. It's a more simplistic, refined, and emotional song about friendship. I find it to be yet another introspective piece of music, and thematically it fits within the context of "Rajaz", perhaps to its detriment as it is lost in the mix. Fortunately, "Straight to My Heart" gets us back to the incredible content I've pretty much come to expect from the album. This is considered to be the song which is Andrew Latimer's autobiography of sorts, and the lyrics make that very clear. Similar to the title track, it starts off soft and acoustic, and gradually builds up to a crescendo following the echo of the title, with one of Latimer's finest and most beautiful guitar solos, and finally bookending back to acoustic in a similar way to "Lady Fantasy" or "The Snow Goose" album in general.

Camel delivers its final instrumental track of the album in "Sahara", which by all means is a highlight of the album, and an elucidation of the unholy combination of jazzy guitar and Arabesque influences to create an absolutely lush piece of progressive music. This is a favorite of Camel fans and for good reason, as it is one of those special songs that can easily place the listener in a world of their own. An excellent tune that pairs perfectly with a hot summer with the myriad of technicality at the fingers of Latimer, at this point there is really nothing stopping Camel from closing this album on an impeccable note, and of course the band decides to save the semi-epic "Lawrence" for last. Based on the British officer T.E. Lawrence whose advisor role to the Arab armies of Emir Faisal in their struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War was immortalized in the 1962 epic film "Lawrence of Arabia", the reference lies more in the title than the lyrics. This is a very slow and atmospheric song that once again evokes strong imagery of the desert, even calling upon the album by which "Rajaz" was inspired. The closing lyrics of the album are discreet, and give way to two monumental Latimer solos, ending with a hypnotic drum roll in tandem with a fading electric guitar, finally returning to sleep.

I absolutely adore this album. It takes the motifs and atmosphere that I originally envisioned when listening to "Mirage" and expanded it in an entirely refreshing way. In retrospect, I cannot think of any better 1990's prog album than this, and although this was probably the worst decade for progressive rock just in general, this hidden gem is in my opinion, albeit controversially, Camel's best work. Yes, I am willing to place "Rajaz" higher than "Mirage" on my list of favorite albums mainly because the entire album is far better flushed out than "Mirage". Where "Mirage" had "Freefall" and "Earthrise", two more mediocre compositions, the overall quality of "Rajaz"'s music is just better. "Sahara" is a superior instrumental to "Supertwister". For those who are new to Camel and perhaps have only listened to "Mirage" or "Moonmadness", I highly recommend listening to "Rajaz" after it, as it deserves to be put in the same league as those two albums. The only thing that keeps "Rajaz" from receiving a perfect score is the somewhat-mediocre "Shout". Despite being one of Camel's longest albums in terms of run time, it does not feel that way to the listener due to the amount of engaging music.

An absolutely essential album to listen to just to see how talented and skilled Western musicians are able to create exotic and atmospheric musical passages while retaining their own unique identities. Best listened to in summer on a particularly hot day. Perhaps my favorite prog album of all time.

OVERALL RATING: 4.8/5

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