MOONMADNESS

CAMEL is one of my favourite band, i own the whole discography, but this one is tne real number one just before SNOWGOOSE .I remember in the mid seventies,i was wondering about CAMEL what is this? real band or cigarettes advertising? One day a friend of mine put MIRAGE on the turntable and wao ! This is real band and real good music ! A few weeks later , i saw MOONMADNESS in a little record shop and bought it immediately, it's been the beginning of a lovestory with CAMEL. The beautifull cover is in perfect adequacy with music,soft pastels colours in a dreamy and misty mood,however with some fulguranf guitar parts LUNAR SEA and strange keyboards lanscapes . In the beginnings, i was only keen on the B side,i felt obsessive with those beautifull melodies and cloudy vocal parts,i specialy love the opening flute part for AIRBORN, it's a real succes.I only starded to explore the B side a few weeks later, SONG WITHIN A SONG, CHORD OF CHANGE, and the very poetic SPIRIT OF THE WATER, each time i listen to it ,i think of PETER BARDEN what a pity he left the band after BREATHLESS and what a sadness he died a few years ago. PETER did nice solo records but rarely great except a few tracks, he makes me think a little bit of TONY BANKS not by music but by the way he did his best inside the band.The funny thing with MOONMADNESS is that ANDY LATIMER was not keen on it , he thought he had not time enough for writting and recording because of many tours,but the fact is that this album is a real achievement, a pure jewel that makes me feel as the PAVLOV'S DOG each time i see this beautifull cover.Bass player DOUG FERGUSON will leave the band after this and RICHARD SINCLAIR ( from CARAVAN ) will replace, so that ANDY will think a while changing the band name into CARAMEL for the next album RAIN DANCES 5 STARS .