THE SNOW GOOSE

After the splendorous "Mirage", Camel delivered their second masterpiece in a row - the concept album "The Snow Goose". For this one, Latimer & Bardens wrote material that had the band explore further into the depths of their symphonic trend, creating a sequence of themes according to the story of Paul Gallico's novella and including the use of orchestral input. One of the basic factors that make this album so special is that it has a certain eeriness to it: the sound production gives the instrumentation (for both the band and the orchestra) a distant, at times dreamy feel, which actually helps it to relate to the fictional essence of the main concept. The whole repertoire comprised in "The Snow Goose" sounds like a fantasy itself, a beautiful fantasy that translates this moving tale of friendship, love, war and separation into a well structured sonic continuum. The fact is that all the individual pieces were actually rehearsed and recorded separately, and only when the production phase was over could the four musicians and two writers be aware of what the final result turned out to be; this anecdote can only speak very well about Latimer and Bardens' intelligence as composers and the foursome as an integrated ensemble. As I'm writing this review, I find that intelligence and integration are two words that can accurately designate the major assets of this album, all the way through, from the first smooth sounds of flowing water and electric piano at the beginning of 'The Great Marsh' until the final same sounds at the end of the reprised 'The Great Marsh'. The display of melancholy and introspectiveness is more abundant here than in other classic Camel albums, and that might lead some listeners to some sort of boredom; it is true that even in the epic climaxes or rockier passages there is not a real display of fiery energy. But in my book, I find each and every individual piece as a vignette or sketch of a person or situation in the story (and I'm not the first one to say this), so, as I stated before, this album is basically a tale "literally" translated into the language of music. The lyrical 'Rhayader' and the expressionist 'Rhayader Goes to Town' are timeless Camel classics. Other highlights are: the majestic title track and its augmented variation 'La Princesse Perdue', the dramatic 'Dunkirk' and the piano solo number 'Fritha Alone', whose sadness is almost palpable. Well, every "Snow Goose" can gave their favourite(s), but mainly, this album is just it, an album, a musical work to be enjoyed as a harmonized unit. Overall rating: 5 stars.