MIRAGE

Despite the meagre commercial results of their eponymous debut album, Camel's proposal already showed more than interesting musical structures and an enormous potential to be exploited. "Mirage", their second album, is the reflection of a consolidated band that is much more focused on the construction of instrumental atmospheres in which the music transmits sensations by itself, without the need to verbalise too much and relying on the rock/jazz fusion as a fundamental pillar.

It is in this context where elements are incorporated that envelop and nourish the pieces, such as the spatial beginning of "Freefall", the delicate flutes of Andy Latimer in the restful "Supertwister", or the tireless drums of Andy Ward in the jazzy and agitated "Earthrise". But above all, in the two pieces that stand out clearly, the Tolkenian suite "Nimrodel / The Procession / The White Rider" and its psychedelic textures and medieval rolls, and the extensive "Lady Fantasy", full of contrasting moods, between reflective and euphoric, where Latimer's guitars unfold without complexes and with enviable ease, in symbiosis with Peter Bardens' arsenal of keyboards, and which, after the first half of the song, leads to one of the memorable moments of the album and surely one of the most outstanding in the discography of the British band. A gem.

The live pieces from the concert at the Marquee Club in London in 1974 added to the 2002 remastered edition of the album are not very different from the originals, except for a small extension in "Arubaluba", so their contribution in general is marginal.

Beyond the curious and anecdotal skirmishes over the use of the slightly retouched logo of the famous cigarette brand on its cover, which forced the band to change it for the North American market, "Mirage" is a serious album that exudes maturity and flashes of brilliance, and by which Camel climbed several rungs on the ladder to the top of progressive rock in its most symphonic vein.

Excellent

4/4.5 stars