MOONMADNESS

While Side 2 of the original album is one of those oh-so-rare nearly flawless sides of music, Side 1 rarely drew me back for more. "Song Wthin a Song" is pretty--almost too pretty--though the vocals are a weak point. Flutes are pretty but nothing like IAN ANDERSON, THIJS VAN LEER or JOE FARREL. The song structures are so simple and single layered, single melodied. The later CD had a much better version--the 'demo'--of "Spirit of the Water." Also, I never really lliked the Camel drumming style--call it the Michael Giles school of soporific drumming. I'm glad to have heard some of Camel's live recordings to know that there can be a little life in the songs--that the drums don't always hold them back. Still, string together "Another Night" (9/10), "Air Born" (9/10), and "Lunar Sea" (10/10) and you have one helluva twenty minute ride into liquid space!