CAMEL

Camel's underrated self-titled debut album will for always stand in the shadow of Mirage and Moonmadness. Right from the start it was evident that the Camel was a very special animal.eh, band. Jazz and blues are the biggest influences here, but also some slight Folk influences can be found due to some acoustic guitars. No flutes here though (apart some flute like keyboards).

The keyboards and guitars get about equal space and there are a lot of instrumental workouts. Some parts are very similar to some parts on Mirage but compared to all other Camel albums this is a very jazz-rock/fusion affair. There are many interesting time changes throughout and some tracks contain many different riffs and melodies.

The keyboards are basically organ with some touches of piano and mellotron. It is true that Andy Latimer had not truly found his own distinctive guitar sound here yet. But this album shows so much potential. And it is clearly a Camel album in all what that involves.

Standout tracks are for me Slow Yourself Down which features a great riff that grips you from the start, Mystic Queen which is more mellow rock song with more than a hint of Lady Fantasy from the next album. Never Let Go is a classic and became a live favourite. I love the lyrics to this one. However, I think that there are better versions of this song from various live recordings.

An excellent addition to any prog collection.