5 Symphonic Bands - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Focus

just beats out

Triumvirat

followed by

Camel

for me

Prog On!

In this group? Camel!

"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno

Normally, I would vote for either Camel or Renaissance, but I am currently listening to Best of Focus: Hocus Pocus and am totally digging it, so why not? You got to live in the moment sometimes. The only one here I don't get much into is Greenslade.

The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"

BaldFriede wrote:

Any other band than Camel is a waste of listening time.

I heartily agree. I'm sure that's what you really meant.

Edited by Hercules - November 10 2015 at 15:59

A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.

Hercules wrote:

BaldFriede wrote:

Any other band than Camel is a waste of listening time.

I heartily agree. I'm sure that's what you really meant.

Nice way of altering Baldfried's comment!

Oh, and complete and utter effing nonsense!

Three other superb symphonic groups each with plenty of amazing albums in their collection....and one (Greenslade) with some cool moments here and there, and one or two decent albums.

My vote would probably go to Renaissance here, as they have the most consistent run of very strong albums - seven studio and one live. The poorest stuff off `Azure D'Or' is still far superior to garbage like `Neon Magic' and `Remote Romance' from Camel's `I Can See Your House...'

(mind you, those first five Camel albums are pretty much unbeatable).

Camel

Hercules wrote:

Please don't remind me of those abominations. Or The Single Factor.

I've actually found `The Single Factor' has kind of improved over the years, have you not? I know you're a massive Camel obsessive, so I wondered if you especially might have been a bit more forgiving of it! Tracks like `Sasquatch', `Selva' are rather decent to my ears!

Make no mistake, it's still far and away their weakest album, but I don't find it completely without merit!

Actually, I'll be honest, I have NEVER heard `Dust and Dreams'. It's the only Camel album in all my years of collecting, of attending record fairs, etc, that I have simply never come across on either LP or CD, never even heard it at all. I really should just get it from an online vendor and have it shipped over.

The single factor is poor and I think that also Pressure Point (the live) is quite bad. Anyway Every band had poor outputs in the 80s. Magma have Merci, Renaissance have Camera Camera, ELP have Love Beach...but Camel resurrected quickly with Stationary Traveller that even if dated in terms of sound, is a great album. The others took more and some didn't resurrect at all.

Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com

octopus-4 wrote:

The single factor is poor and I think that also Pressure Point (the live) is quite bad. Anyway Every band had poor outputs in the 80s. Magma have Merci, Renaissance have Camera Camera, ELP have Love Beach...but Camel resurrected quickly with Stationary Traveller that even if dated in terms of sound, is a great album. The others took more and some didn't resurrect at all.

I actually love Pressure Points. For years it was the only way to hear the title cut the way it was meant to be heard. It also covers a lot of career highpoints, with great versions of "Wait", "Sasquatch", "Rhayader", etc, not to mention "West Berlin" and "Fingertips". Stationary Traveller is an awesome album with not a bum note

kenethlevine wrote:

octopus-4 wrote:

The single factor is poor and I think that also Pressure Point (the live) is quite bad. Anyway Every band had poor outputs in the 80s. Magma have Merci, Renaissance have Camera Camera, ELP have Love Beach...but Camel resurrected quickly with Stationary Traveller that even if dated in terms of sound, is a great album. The others took more and some didn't resurrect at all.

I actually love Pressure Points. For years it was the only way to hear the title cut the way it was meant to be heard. It also covers a lot of career highpoints, with great versions of "Wait", "Sasquatch", "Rhayader", etc, not to mention "West Berlin" and "Fingertips". Stationary Traveller is an awesome album with not a bum note

What I don't like on Pressure point is first of all the fretless bass solo on the title track. It was probably, as you say, how it was originally intended but to me it sounds "forced". Fretless bass was fashionable in the 80s. I don't like the vocals on fingertips. The studio version is really better. Of course the excerpt from Snow Goose is great, also because is the last appearance of Peter Bardens with Camel, but it doesn't add anything to the studio version or even to A Live Record. I should have written in my review years ago, that this is absolutely not the right album to approach Camel for the first time. Even if it contains some of their highpoints, imagine the impression that it could give to somebody who has never listened to Camel before.

The best track on it is for me "Drafted" with Latimer playing the part reserved to Mel Collins' sax on the studio version on his guitar.

Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com

Poll Question: Take Your Pick
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Greenslade	5	[5.68%]
Camel	42	[47.73%]
Triumvirat	9	[10.23%]
Focus	14	[15.91%]
Renaissance	18	[20.45%]
You can not vote in this poll