BREATHLESS

I have "inherited" this vinyl from my sister, and as my vinyl collection is not so big, I have still listened to this album from time to time, though usually skipping half of it. (And when I tried some oil painting as a teenager, this cover art was the first thing I made a copy of.)

So, this is an album in the CAMEL discography that I feel I should like more than I do. The preceeding Rain Dances, the jazziest Camel album (with the singing bassist Richard Sinclair bringing some Canterbury feel) is among my very favourites, and the 1979 album I Can See Your House From Here - featuring keyboardist Kit Watkins from HAPPY THE MAN - is also enjoyable, despite some throwaway pop songs. Breathless is very light-hearted, airy, jazzy, and most of the time, so goddamn lame.

'Breathless' is a totally toothless, light pop song; sounds pretty but goes absolutely nowhere. I have always liked Richard Sinclair's elegant voice, which is best presented on CARAVAN's In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971), but it's tied here with lousy songwriting. 'Down on the Farm', happy and humorous hommage to coutrylife, gets just boring with the chorus repetition.

Tracks like 'Wing and a Prayer' and 'You Make Me Smile' also remain lazy and half-baked. 'Summer Lightning' even features a cheesy disco feel, but the guitar solo in the end is lovely. The calm closing song 'Rainbow's End' wouldn't be so bad if the thin singing wasn't so terrible.

Two 7-minute tracks are the prog highlights in this pop oriented album: 'Echoes' and 'The Sleeper'. These are good compositions even on the general Camel scale, but there are too many weak tracks to give more than 2½ stars. Rounded up for the happy atmosphere and a nice cover.