MOONMADNESS

Ahh this is amoung my favourite Camel albums. It's moodier and a lot more gentle than albums like "Mirage" (which I also like a lot). "Moonmadness" really hits the spot for me. Some people have likened the album's sound to Pink Floyd. Some of it is spacey in the same way but I think there are still some elements of Camel's typical sound on here too.

"Chord Change" starts off in the typical jazzy Camel flavour but then the music changes and turns mellow and romantic in the middle of the song before returning to the jazziness again. Splendid stuff. "Lunar Sea" is also a classic Camel styled track. Many of the songs are nicely structured with lots of unexpected changes. The most attractive moments are on "Song Within A Song", the lulling "Spirit Of The Water" and "Air Born" but everything on this album is suberb.

Overall there's a dreamy, atmospheric feel and the songs are a lot softer than ever. This is a really cosmic album. Trust old Frankie with this one. Your progressive rock collection just somehow wouldn't be the same without it! 5 stars.