MIRAGE

Camel

Symphonic Prog

4.41 | 3065 ratings

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Uruk_hai

Review #126

"Mirage" is one of those records that I don't listen to very often but when I do I got amazed once as if it was the very first time. After the experimental debut album, the second LP showed a huge improvement: the compositions are longer and with much more rehearsed instrumental sections and that gave this album a higher level of quality for Progressive Rock standards.

"Freefall" is a great opening and it has become one of the most popular songs in Camel's catalog: a very powerful piece with amazing instrumentation, being one of the shorter songs on the album it contains some of the most concise moments of the record. "Supertwister" is the song that I like the less, also the shortest and the most forgettable; not a bad song but probably it would have fit better in the first record. The three movements' piece "Nimrodel/The procession/The white rider" is one of the most epic suits of Progressive Rock and it lasts no longer than 10 minutes.

"Earthrise" is instrumental, it reminds me a lot of Focus but with a very British essence. The album ends with the magnificent "Lady fantasy" which is probably the greatest song they ever made: divided into three pieces, this suite starts with a very sensual and hypnotic entrance: "Encounter" followed by the frenetic instrumental part "Smiles for you" contains a very recognizable guitar solo and it changes to a more relaxed section with slower drums and a great acoustic guitar arrangement in the background, the third and last part is the homonymous "Lady fantasy" which is the perfect way of closing the song: the most aggressive and powerful rock section they ever played in all of their records.

Absolutely indispensable, "Mirage" is one of those "I must have" records.

SONG RATING: Freefall, 5 Supertwister, 4 Nimrodel/The procession/The white rider, 5 Earthrise, 5 Lady fantasy, 5

AVERAGE: 4.8

PERCENTAGE: 96

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

I ranked this album #48 on my top 100 favorite Progressive Rock albums of all time.

Uruk_hai | 5/5 | 2021-11-5

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