I CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE FROM HERE

After the pop-leaning and completely unforgettable "Breathless", it comes as no surprise that Peter Bardens and Richard Sinclair have left the band. Here, bardens is replaced by two keyboardists, Jan Schelhaas and and unusually understated Kit Watkins. Some guy named Phil Collins also makes an appearance on percussion, but you would never know it.

In general, this album is similar to "Breathless", but with a few more nods to the fans of Camel's earlier prog albums. It makes me wonder just who they were aiming at with the pop tracks, which are not clever or memorable enough to gain a substantial fanbase.

The album begins with a slightly proggy opo tune, Wait. The vocals have an ELO resemblance, and the shifting time signature gives the record a promising start. Unfortunately, It is followed by Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine which, despite a clever title, is just too cute and poppy.

Pastoral is a light symph track. Along with the very short Survival and Hymn To Her these are the throwbacks to Camels golden years. The closing track, Ice comes close as well, and contains some of Andrew Latimer's finest guitar work, but the song's structure is just too simple to rank it up there with the better pieces.

The rest of the album can be discarded, with various styles of pop, the worst being the synth-pop disater, Remote Romance, with insipid lyrics, and a sound like someone trying out a bunck of new electronic toys.

I'd give this two and a half stars, but I must round it down.

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