What The Critics Say
Strap yourself in for another dire journey with Camel. This time it's the Irish immigration to America, a fitting travel companion for Dust and Dreams or Nude. The Celtic overtones are largely dispensed with by the second track, and what emerges is a finely conceived concept album filled with rich, saturated arrangements and guitar leads that cut through the surrounding music like a beacon. More so than Dust and Dreams, Harbour of Tears feels like it was intended for the stage. The instrumentals are oftentimes simple bridges to the next phase of storytelling; the music is streamlined (even with strings and winds) to advance a linear progression in the listener's mind. If some of this seems familiar, remember that Camel have been likely to retrace the occasional familiar footprint during 20 years of traveling (e.g., "Eyes of Ireland" has been heard before). During the interim, Andrew Latimer has become a remarkable conjurer of conjoined sound and imagery; the way in which he uses different sounds to suggest scenes and action is imagistic music in the best sense of the word. The rest of the cast is equally accomplished, drawing on the estimable skills of Mae McKenna, Mickey Simmonds, lyricist Susan Hoover, and others to create a full-bodied presentation. Harbour of Tears isn't a sad tale; it's simply bittersweet, and sometimes heroic. Camel are careful to walk a balance between hope and hardship, to convey the hushed (if barren) beauty of Ireland against the coarse reality of immigrant life in America. Again, it's a marvel that the band continue to invest so much skill and vision into their music at this late juncture in their journey, but that's the advantage of choosing your own path. Drawing out individual tracks is antithetical to Harbour's design. The disc should be heard in its entirety, by Camel fans old and new. And if you're vacillating between this and Dust, dream another day and buy Harbour of Tears first. Just be mindful of the last track, as Camel take their time waving goodbye. ~ Dave Connolly, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Progressive rock bands like Camel have to be creative in their touring schedules, often traveling to Europe in order to find a substantial concentration of fans in a single place. So it was that Camel arrived with their 20th anniversary tour at Enschede, Holland. After their tenth anniversary tour (which found them promoting The Single Factor), few would have predicted a 20th, but the release of Dust and Dreams in 1991 suggested the band had found a second creative wind (or at least tapped into the original breeze last felt on Nude). Never Let Go confirms the point that Camel has plenty of life left in it. Spread out across two discs (the untangling of which is like disassembling a child's toy, a problem common to two-disc sets), this live show features two distinct sets. The first is a remarkable retelling of their earlier travels, recounting highlights from each of their releases up to Nude, in chronological order no less. It starts out deceptively simple, with Andrew Latimer strumming a slow version of "Never Let Go," which soon explodes into a spot-on rendition. With keyboardist Mickey Simmonds joining a returning Colin Bass and Paul Burgess, the new quartet does a marvelous job of capturing Camel in its various guises: from the instrumentals "Ice" and "Earthrise" to familiar songs like "Spirit of the Water" (sung by Bass) and "City Life." The second set is devoted to a pristine presentation of their recent opus, Dust and Dreams, in its entirety. Amazingly, the live performance concedes nothing in clarity to its studio counterpart, so no harm done if you bypass the original and hear it here instead. As a bonus, Camel closes with the instrumental "Sasquatch" (one of the few bright spots from The Single Factor) and a beloved mirage from the past, "Lady Fantasy." Among their live releases (which number more than a few), Never Let Go may be the one worth holding onto. Latimer's voice has grown a little thinner over the years (and it was pretty thin to begin with), but his guitar work gets sharper with age. Critically speaking, this gets two humps up. ~ Dave Connolly, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Camel packed up their bags and moved to California, with the dust of a seven-years span of quiet on their backs, and the dream of creative freedom through their own label, Camel Productions, ahead of them. Inspired by the John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" (and one can only hope that Camel's westward move went smoother), Dust and Dreams is exactly the sort of labor of love that makes a private label worth having. Elegiac, literate, largely instrumental in spots, this stuff would make most label executives' eyes glaze over. It's also the sort of finely wrought music that will delight Camel fans who still fondly imagine their band in the Nude. Despite the long absence since Stationary Traveller, many familiar faces return to Camel's ranks: Susan Hoover, Ton Scherpenzeel, Colin Bass, David Paton, and Paul Burgess. Andy Latimer, of course, remains the pivotal figure, writing the songs, taking the vocal leads (his sleepy, deep delivery suggesting a Watersed-down version of Pink Floyd), driving the music with his masterful guitar work. This last point is worth resting at a moment, since Latimer's guitar has grown audibly since we last heard him. While some of the guitar passages are classic Camel (e.g., "Cotton Camp"), Latimer is just as likely to invoke the image of David Gilmour ("End of the Line") and Steve Hackett ("Broken Banks," "Hopeless Anger"). Like Nude, Dust and Dreams initially divides its time between songs and instrumentals before ceding halfway through to purely instrumental music. The 18 tracks are interconnected, separated only by a four-second delay before "End of the Line," effectively marking a first and second act. The introductory "Dust Bowl" is a quiet overture reminiscent of Brian Eno, the closing "Whispers in the Rain" is actually an epilogue (the real curtain comes crashing down on "Hopeless Anger"). If it all sounds like a structured play, that's because Dust and Dreams is. The disc exists as a single work broken into two sections, inextricably bound together in the composer's mind (themes return, specific points of action take place). In retrospect, it's probably a wonder that Nude ever got off the ground, and few studios would have taken a flyer on the equally ambitious Dust and Dreams. Thank goodness Andy Latimer had the fortitude to see this through to completion; it is the mature work of an indomitable dreamer, if a little downbeat. It lacks the immediate melodies of Nude (which many would concede is the better album), but the victories here are harder won and thus to be prized by fans who were still scanning the horizon for the shadow of Camel's tall spirit. ~ Dave Connolly, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Stationary Traveller is a concept album, it musically falls into line with its predecessor The Single Factor, which found Camel trying to refashion themselves as the Alan Parsons Project. Where The Single Factor suffered from Camel's attempts to write pop hooks, Stationary Traveller finds the band breaking down the barriers, opening up their relatively concise songs with long, atmospheric instrumental passages. The album's lyrics, which were written by Susan Hoover, is about the divided Berlin and its political, emotional and physical divides. Often, the lyrics and music -- which work as individual entities -- don't quite work together, since they follow different emotional directions, yet the record remains a worthwhile listen, especially since it features Andy Latimer on pan flute. ~ Daevid Jehnzen, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A new, larger version of Camel debuted on Nude, a concept album about a Japanese soldier stranded on a deserted island during World War II, and stayed there, oblivious to the outside world, for 29 years. More ambitious than the preceding I Can See Your House from Here, Nude is in many ways just as impressive. Although it's a less accessible effort, it has a number of quite intriguing passages, particularly since it boasts heavier improvisation, orchestration, and even some worldbeat influences. It's not as spacy as Camel's earlier progressive rock records, yet it is quite atmospheric, creating its own entrancing world. ~ Daevid Jehnzen, All Music Guide
'I Can See Your House From Here'
What The Critics Say
Although not an honest representation of the band's character, this is undoubtedly their most popular work. The one-time addition of American Kit Watkins produces some fine keyboard lead work. Rupert Hine's resourceful production and appearances by Phil Collins and Mel Collins round out this strong import release. "Survival" and "Who We Are" feature some fine orchestrations, and guitarist Latimer delivers some exceptional lead work on the album's closer, "Ice." ~ Matthew Plichta, All Music Guide
