A NOD AND A WINK

As with most latter-day Camel albums, I find A Nod and a Wink to be a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the title track is perhaps the best Camel track for decades, recalling their classic mid-1970s style - no doubt inspired by the death of Peter Bardens a few months before the recording of this album commenced. On the other hand, songs like Simple Pleasures are as unpleasant a slice of MOR pop nothingness as Camel have ever produced. On the whole, the nostalgia factor isn't quite enough to hold me on the more proggy songs, and the poppier songs make me remember all the worst aspects of The Single Factor. But anyone desperate for high-quality new Camel songs will probably want to at least listen to the first track on this one.