RAJAZ

After two albums with soulless midi sounds, Camel returned to the sound of Mirage. In fact, this would be the first time ever that Camel returned to visited territories and tried to recapture some of the old magic and glory. While this usually sets of all my formulaic music alerts, this album has luckily turned out to be quite successful.

The opener Three Wishes isn't entirely convincing me yet. It start of really well but around minute 3, it changes key from minor to major, a formula that gives a 100% guarantee on cheesiness. Luckily, Latimer proves to have enough chops in the sack this time and steers the camel gracefully through the dangerous neo-prog pitfalls here.

From then on it's a smooth ride, Lost and Found is a beautiful song, again it's very close to what Camel did on Stationary Traveler, but the sound here is more acoustic and organic, the songs also leave a bit more room for instrumental sections and solos. Consequently it sits better with the prog fans.

The Final Encore is probably a tad too long but it's a captivating piece again. Camel is often criticized for the vocals but while I can agree to this to some extent for the 70's albums, I have always thought Latimer gradually found the subdued but emotive strength in his voice in the 80's. On this album it reaches its full potential as also the title track Rajaz gives evidence of.

I think it's needless to point out how great the guitars are throughout this album. After all this is a Camel album and Latimer's guitar has always been the focal point in their sound. Shout doesn't really work for me, but Straight to My Heart is entirely deserving of its title. Sahara is a sweeping instrumental piece and Lawrence ends in style with a moody song and a great long solo.

This album has plenty of material that would fit on a 5 star album but all tracks stay too much in the same mood really. Nevertheless, one of the best Camel albums and one that is sure to please you if you liked the first four.