LIVE AT POLSKIE RADIO 3

Colin bass,former bass player with Camel,made all these wonderful cd´s....and this is one one of those.....recorded in polish radio (3) it seems.with a live audience. The first tracks are camel tracks and Colin´s vocal bares uncanny resemblance to that of Andy latimer... (Camel ..leadguitarist/vocalist and mastercomposer)but....only slight...as Andy´s vocal are stronger ..more assure..if you will!! But these Camel tracks are wonderfully interpretet ...well one can say that its about time..that those tracks were aired again!! One might argue, that it indeed, it should be Camel that revived those tracks!!?? On the other hand who remembers Camel (i for one do..allways!!) and i have allways thought that Camel´s music are world wide and still around in prog circuits. Now back to Colin Bass´s live in the studio, its a nice recording and he has every right to play the tracks of his former band...and he does it well!! Mind you there are some (extremely fabulous)tracks which he wrote himself. This being a double cd...has plenty of material (both Camel stuff and his own) to keep any proghead interested!! What can i say...i love this recording as i did his last studio effort!! Colin Bass is a brilliant musician and one to notice in the years to come!!! 4 stars....yes...he´s worth every glimpse..every shine...on the progheaven!!!

Avoid the pie!

Colin Bass is best known around these parts for being a member of Camel from the late 70's to the present day (with only a short break between 1981 and 1984 when they did The Single Factor which was effectively an Andy Latimer solo album in all but name). In 1999 Bass released an album under his own name entitled An Outcast Of The Islands (on which Latimer guested on guitar). The present double-disc set features a live recording done for Polish radio (Polskie Radio 3) in 2000. But don't be misled into thinking that this is one of those live-in-the-studio affairs; no, this is a real live band performance with an audience and all. And the audience is very appreciative, and the band--which features Dave Stewart (drummer for Camel in the late 90's) and many Polish musicians--seems to enjoy themselves on stage. Bass plays the bass (obviously!), some acoustic guitar, as well as sings lead vocals--all of which he does very well.

Naturally the set list features many of the songs from the An Outcast Of The Islands album, but also no less than six Camel numbers; two each from the albums I Can See Your House From Here (1979), Nude (1981), and Stationary Traveller (1984). From the first of these albums come Hymn To Her and Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine. The latter was co-written by Bass, and is here performed in a version that I like better than the original, featuring a great addition of flute. From Nude comes City Life and Drafted, both of which were sung by Bass on the original album. Finally, from Stationary Traveller come Refugee and Cloak & Dagger Man; tracks that Bass has performed live with Camel since the tour in support of that album in 1984 (as can be heard and seen on the Pressure Points live album and videos). Apparently, the song Denpasar Moon was first written and recorded by Bass under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha and became a very big hit in Indonesia in the mid-90's (before it was re-recorded for An Outcast Of The Islands)!

The whole of the first disc of this live album is very strong and the lion's share of the second disc is similarly very enjoyable. However, towards the end it begins to drag a little, and there is the misplaced and (lyrically and musically) embarrassing Blues rocker Poznan Pie which is best avoided altogether. Overall, this is a good Crossover Prog live album and a very worthy companion to An Outcast Of The Islands (or a very good introduction to Colin Bass). Despite the absence of Andy Latimer, I actually prefer many of these live versions of the An Outcast Of The Islands material to the studio versions (though both have their charms).

A strong three stars