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Camel - The Snow Goose CD (album) cover

THE SNOW GOOSE

Camel

 

Symphonic Prog

4.30 | 2605 ratings

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Bonnek
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars The Snow Goose was the first Camel album to find its way in my collection. Some oohs and aahs not withstanding it is an entirely instrumental album that yields a lot of classical music elements and where Camel's rocking edge is completely mellowed out.

Similar to Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, the album was supposed to have a narrative thread in between the songs based on a book by Paul Gallico. But the author, being greatly opposed to smoking, didn't want to grant his permission to a band that was obviously a walking advertisement for cigarettes. I think the end result works quite well without the narration. It would probably have slowed down the pace too much.

It is hard to single out individual tracks. This is an album you need to listen to in one sitting and that deserves your focussed attention. Without the proper focus you will not do it justice and the album will fade away in the background. No, this is not the kind of music to wash dishes to. The Preperation - Dunkirk - Epitaph section is probably the best but really, there are no weak parts.

The album goes through a whole range of styles and concentrates on delivering strong melodies. It's a great symphonic album but my advice is to approach it with fitting expectations. It can not be compared to Mirage or Moonmadness and by consequence it's an album that tends to result in mixed reactions. I'd say it's quite essential progressive rock. 4.5 stars.

Bonnek | 4/5 |

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