THE SNOW GOOSE

I don't like snow, and I don't like geese, so I knew I wasn't going to like this album. You might say something like "that's the wrong way to approach it" or "that's being biased" or "animals have feelings too" and to you I say "I don't care." I've already established my mindset and that's near impossible to change, and I love chicken tenders and steak too much (not to mention other delicious foods).

It may have been a good idea to take the instrumental approach here; Andy Latimer can't sing very well, and their instrumental sections are their strong points. But with The Snow Goose the band make it clear that their future is pretty hopeless. Their vocals are poor, but when they try making music without vocals it's even worse. Surprisingly, they managed to make their best record and fulfill The Snow Goose's prophetic portent in two year's time.

This record does have some moments of greatness. The main theme from "Rhayader" is quite a fun one, "Migration" is a great canterburian spurt and "Dunkirk" is one of those cool songs that slowly builds into an awesome climax.

This album is good, but it is inconsistent and a bit boring. I find it difficult to finish, but I have managed to do it more than once. Better than most Camel records, but not better than most not-Camel prog-rock records.