MIRAGE

The sophomore effort from Camel works off the sound established in their debut album, but this time the songs are much more focused and compositionally superior, and consequently more recognizable. There is a constant change of tempo, time signatures, and mood changes throughout, making this a constantly developing album, though the musicianship and fantastic melodies always remains strong.

The album starts off with the classic 'Freefall' which has a fast tempo, and is filled with pleasant melodies and dynamic drumming throughout.

'Supertwister' marks the first use of the flute, for which they will use with great success in plenty of successive songs. I like the tempo changes between the softer flute parts which dominate most of the song and the short faster parts.

'Nimrodel/Procession/The White Rider' is a multi-parted song with three distinctive sections that fit perfectly into a whole. There's a ton of mood, tempo, and time signature changes in this one, from the beginning marching section, the gentle flute and oboe section, the rapid, aggressive middle, and the ominously heavy ending.

'Earthrise' is a fun song that is mostly dominated by keyboards. Again, they are flawless when changing from a more moderate opening speed to the blazing speed which lasts until the end.

The second of the two multi-parters and the final song is 'Lady Fantasy.' Again, this consists of a few different sections marked by intense tempo changes. But the guitar and Hammond playing is statically great throughout.

You could take or leave the debut album from this band, but I believe Mirage is a perfect starting point to get into Camel, and is one of the essential albums of the progressive rock canon.

9/10