THE COLLECTION

Since Camel had lots of legal problems, Latimer divided his time between lawyer's offices and record companies as he sought an outlet for Camel's new material titled ''Dust And Dreams''. As Latimer scrutinized old contracts it came to light that Camel were owed royalties that had never been paid by Camel's management/production company, Gama Records.

Highly charged by this discovery, Latimer gathered support from Bardens, Ward and Ferguson to file a suit against Gama. This lawsuit, by comparison, would be brief and glorious. On 25th March 1985, they finally reaped the benefits of their past work together. Reunited in the same attorney's office that had accepted Ward's resignation from Camel just two years earlier, happier times now prevailed.

The former bandmates settled their lawsuit with Gama and received their first of many royalty payment to come. Formalities completed, they celebrated at a local pub until closing time. Though they no longer had interest in playing together, all parted as friends (info available on Camel's official website).

With all these legal problems, Camel had little time to release new material, so it was appropriate to produce a compilation effort (Money, it's a hit ...).

In terms of music, the track selection is quite appealing. It gives a pretty good overview of their earliest work : three tracks out of "Moonmadness", two from "Mirage", and six from their "Snow Goose" here represented by the live version available in the meantime on the remastered live album "A Live Record". Then bits and bites from their later work. At the time of release, it was meant to satisfy the new fans of the band and probably introduce them to Camel's older repertoire (more interesting IMO).

The original release was a double album. The CD version skipped some tracks although there is still some space available...

Three stars for this good compilation album.