MIRAGE

Camel's second album, Mirage, is apparently widely regarded as a masterpiece of progressive rock. Unfortunately, after multiple listens, I just can't find the magic that everyone talks about, and this is my relationship with Camel in general. There's like fifty prog albums that I would put over this.

This album's lows aren't very low, but at the same time its peaks aren't very high either. It's missing that spark of genius that makes you say 'Wow! That's outstanding!' and I highly attribute that to the fact that each musician isn't that virtuous. The album sounds very similar all the way through and doesn't have many surprises (which is worrying since, after all, we're talking about British 70s prog), because of that it ends up sounding pretty generic.

Freefall starts with a very energetic and rhythmic vibe that makes you wanna bop your head. It's a fun track, but it gets boring after a few listens. Supertwister is an instrumental heavily dominated by flute, and if it wasn't because of the flute it wouldn't be very memorable. After that, we get a three-step suite that features serious inspiration from Genesis, King Crimson, And early Van Der Graaf Generator, there's sections with vocals as the focus, others with keyboards. Because of that it's a little more dynamic than the rest of the album. Earthrise is yet another instrumental with a beginning that repeats itself a little too much, the guitar solo later on is fun and dynamic though. Finally, Lady Fantasy is yet another suite with a nice beginning verse. Unfortunately, the repetitions found later in the song really bring its momentum down and end up finishing the album in a relatively low note.

This is still an enjoyable progressive rock album, but I definitely think it's very far from being a masterpiece. You should still check it out, though. Three Stars.

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