RAIN DANCES

Departure of Doug Fergusson caused the first serious change of style in CAMEL's career. His replacement R. Sinclair of CARAVAN fame brought a funkier and jazzier bass lines while Collins' saxophones were a nice addition too. Although CAMEL was always on the edge of fusion/Canterbury style of prog, the jazzy elements are now more evident on "Rain Dances". Paradoxically, this was the most accessible album to date and "Highways of the Sun" was even as close to being a pop hit as CAMEL could do. "Rain Dances" is a nice, laid- back album that is pleasant to listen to, with several effective and very good Latimer's guitar solos, but it lacks the energy, imagination and composition of earlier records.