LONG GOODBYES

It was until ten years ago that I first listened to CAMEL`s "Stationary Traveller" album, and it also was ten years ago when I wrote a review about it . And by the way, it also was ten years ago when I started to write reviews in Prog Archives and also I was asked then to become a Prog Reviewer. Tonight I discovered that this single was without a review, so I am writing a review about it.

I first saw the "Stationary Traveller" album in some record shops in my city in 1984, and more because it was released by a record label in my country. At that time, I never have listened to CAMEL, and I really was not interested in this band. It was unitl 1993 that I first listened to this band.

Like other Prog Rock bands, CAMEL by 1984 became a more commercially oriented band, and "Stationary Traveller", despite having some very good Prog Rock arrangements, was not an exception. The conceptual theme of the album is now somewhat dated (Cold War) but by 1984 it still was a bit relevant for some people. It also had some typical things from the 80s, like the use of electronic drums, the use of some then new digital keyboards which sometimes sounded like being programmed, and a very "digital" sound. It is a good album, anyway.

Maybe "Long Goodbyes" is the best song from that album, but the live version which was included in the "Pressure Points - Camel Live in Concert" video was played better, with more energy, despite being somewhat marred (like other songs from that video) by a very "telenovela" style conceptual video which was showed along the images from the concert. Fortunately, the band decided to re-release the video of that concert titled as "Total Pressure" with more songs years later ...and fortunately without those "telenovela" style scenes. "Long Goodbyes" is really a ballad, a good ballad, with music from Andy Latimer and lyrics from Susan Hoover (Latimer`s wife, who also wrote the idea for the concept of the album...and maybe also the ideas for those scenes which I don`t like from the original "Pressure Points" video).

The song from the B-side, "Waltzing Frauleins", was not originally included in the "Stationary Traveller" album, but it was included at the start of the "Pressure Points" concert video. I don`t like this song, but it was finally included as a bonus track in the reissued version of the "Stationary Traveller" album some years ago.

Waltzing Frauleins

Taken from Stationary Traveller, Long Goodbyes was released as single in 1984 with a non-album b-side called Waltzing Frauleins (or sometimes "In the Arms of Waltzing Frauleins"). The latter is rather uncharacteristic for Camel and it is wholly understandable that it was not included on the album. It is best seen as a curiosity that is of interest only to fans and collectors. It has since been added as a bonus track on some CD re-issues of Stationary Traveller and also on the compilation Rainbow's End - A Camel Anthology 1973-1985.

Long Goodbyes itself is not one of my favourites from the Stationary Traveller album. While the intro and the verses are quite appealing, the overly sing-a-long-friendly chorus is much not to my liking. Though, I suppose that it was a natural choice for a single.