A COMPACT COMPILATION

Camel released their eponymous debut studio album "Camel" in 1973. In the following year the band released their second studio album "Mirage". In 1975, the band decided to record a concept album based on a book's story. Doug Ferguson suggested Paul Gallico's "The Snow Goose". So, the group released their third studio album with the same name, which has become a very successful release. In 1976, the band released "Moonmadness" their fourth studio album with better commercial success in America than in England. In 1977, Doug Ferguson quit the band being replaced by Richard Sinclair an ex-member of Caravan. Saxophonist Mel Collins, who was spending most of his time in the studio and touring with the band, became an official band's member. In the same year Camel released their fifth studio album "Rain Dances". These are the albums of which some of these tracks belong on this compilation album.

"A Compact Compilation" is a compilation of Camel and was released in 1985. This is a compilation album that only features songs from 1974 to 1977. Unfortunately, it hasn't any song from their eponymous debut studio album "Camel".

"A Compact Compilation" has thirteen tracks. The first and second tracks "Freefall" and "Lady Fantasy: Encounters/Smiles For You/Lady Fantasy" were originally released on their second studio album "Mirage" in 1974. "Freefall" is almost an instrumental largely dominated by Latimer's guitar. It has nice moments performed by Bardens' keyboards, well supported by an inventive bass and a dynamic drumming work. It's influenced by diverse styles of music and the melody is excellent. "Lady Fantasy: Encounters/Smiles For You/Lady Fantasy" is the most celebrated track on that album and is one of the most famous Camel's tracks. It's one of their most progressive tracks and shows why Camel is one of the most respected bands in the progressive rock. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth tracks, "The Great March", "Rhayader", "Rhayader Goes To Town", "The Snow Goose", "Flight Of The Snow Goose" and "Dunkirk", were originally released on their third studio album "The Snow Goose" in 1975. "The Great March" is a punchy and nice tune played with a flute. It opens and concludes the album with an exploration of nature sounds. "Rhayader" is a track with a powerful melody combining flute, guitar and organ. It has a memorable flute melody supported by an organ's solo. "Rhayader Goes To Town" brings the music into a faster tempo, with great combination of guitar and organ with energetic beats. It has an extended guitar solo too. "The Snow Goose" is a mellow track with a slow guitar solo with snippets of synthesizer and bass here and there as well as a steady drum beat. It has a powerful melody that is repeated in the end of that album. "Flight Of The Snow Goose" is a typical progressive track with plenty of moog synthesizers. It begins with a synthesizer and guitar part gradually increasing in volume until a new theme comes in. There's a nice synthesizer solo that is followed by a repeat of the main melody. "Dunkirk" is dominated by the keyboards. Yet, guitar fills some parts and serves as a melody in others. It uses Hammond organ as basic rhythm section plus some howling guitar work followed with a nice guitar solo. The ninth and tenth tracks "Song Within A Song" and "Lunar Sea" were originally released on their fourth studio album "Moonmadness" in 1976. "Song Within A Song" is a calm, beautiful, and melancholic track that contrasts with the deep voice of Ferguson. It's a great track with a nice and relaxing guitar and flute works. "Lunar Sea" is an instrumental track. It's one of the best tracks on that album. It's a track with great individual and collective performances. The melody changes and evolves all over the theme. It reminds me something spatial, as its name suggests. The eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth tracks "First Light", "Metrognome" and "Rain Dances" were originally released on their fifth studio album "Rain Dances" in 1977. "First Light" is an inspired and a fantastic instrumental piece. It's the first time that we can listen to a sax on a Camel's album. Collins did a great job on that album. "Metrognome" is a great track with a calm and beautiful start. It becomes progressively more complex and experimental, with some jazz influences. "Rain Dances" is a reprise of the opener. It's the smallest but a great instrumental track, almost classic. It's a natural great ending to this excellent musical working.

Conclusion: "A Compact Compilation" is a good compilation album of Camel. It has some of their best tracks that belong to some of their best studio albums ever. All those albums belong of what we can call the golden era of Camel. However and unfortunately, none of the tracks that belong to the eponymous debut studio album of Camel were included here. And it was a pity. That album also belongs to their golden era and can be considered one of their best, indeed. Anyway, there are plenty of great tracks on this compilation, really. We can say that all tracks are excellent, in their own way. But, if the band had chosen some others, instead of these, it would be also great because the quality of those five albums is immaculate. So, we can say this is a very good introduction to the world of Camel. And this is also a nice introduction for those who aren't familiar, yet, with the world of prog rock music. So, 3 stars is a right rating to it.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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