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Camel - Rain Dances CD (album) cover

RAIN DANCES

Camel

 

Symphonic Prog

3.65 | 1146 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

sptrousdale
5 stars Being honest, I truly adore this record, though I fully understand why fans of the traditional "Camel" sound (Snow Goose, Mirage etc) find this one too bigger jump away from pure Prog. For me though, I love the AOR and Jazz leanings AND the fact the band were prepared to experiment in style and vision to progress their sound. Not all the experiments are perfect but I find the album very listenable throughout and even the most criticised song, Highways of the Sun, sounds fab to me.

First Light is pure Camel genius - if it was on any of the first four albums, we would be calling the definitive Camel track - symphonic as they ever were thoughout the different incarnations as is the final (title) track. Metrognome is a great stab at Prog circa 1977, just like Genesis with "And then there were three"; the lines defining Prog were blurring and this track sums up that wilderness feeling as good as any other that ELP or Yes were providing. True, there may have been more questions than answers as to which way to go, but I still feel Camel's sound was groundbreaking and unique at this point.

Also not to be missed is the gentle Tell Me (more like 10CC, I agree) and the powerful Unevensong, (possibly the best synth solo ever?).

All in all, this is a band in transition and unlucky enough to isolate many fans by changing direction too quickly but still sounding credible and innovative. Whatever others believe, this is a terrific record and one I will always treasure.

| 5/5 |

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