Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Bass, Colin
Label: Wild End Records
Release: 2015
Length: 56:42
Rating: 3/5
British bassist and singer Colin Bass is best known to prog rock fans as a member of the legendary band Camel, where he’s been since 1979. That makes him the second-longest-serving member of the band, right behind founder and boss Andy Latimer, if you don’t count a short break in 1982, when David Paton (ex-Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project) briefly filled in for him. Bass’s solo career has been running since 1988, while with 3 Mustaphas 3 he has spent years exploring world music, which, alongside prog rock, is his first musical love. He recorded a few records under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha, specifically for the Indonesian market, where he was even successful with them, which speaks volumes about his fascination with the music of the Near and Far East.
»At Wild End« is his latest solo album, released in the same year he wrapped up a successful European tour with Camel. Andy Latimer guests on guitar and keyboards, so that’s one more reason for Camel fans to pay attention, even though the album as a whole leaves a rather mixed impression. Instrumentally and in terms of arrangements it’s a deeply thought-out piece of work, but slow tempos, lots of acoustic guitar and a more or less melancholic mood dominate every part of the album, so »At Wild End« is definitely not for every occasion, especially if the listener happens to be feeling depressed. The overall ‘mournful’ atmosphere is already set by the opener »Return to Earth«, dedicated to Camel keyboardist Guy LeBlanc, who passed away recently. One of the few livelier moments is »In Another Time« with its bluesy pulse, where you can’t miss Latimer’s distinctive guitar variations. The touches of world music on the instrumentals »Szegereli Eternal« and »Bubuka Bridge« are no surprise either
Bass is also well aware of his vocal limitations, and with frequent help from backing vocals he sticks to calm tempos, with no ‘stretching’ himself too far, while Latimer’s guitar passages, of which there aren’t many on the album, are easy to recognize. The best track is the title one, tucked away at the very end of the album, and it’s also the only one good enough, mostly thanks to Latimer’s guitar solo and the superb vocal harmonies, that most Camel fans will want to spin it again and again.
Colin Bass isn’t going to rattle many Camel fans with »At Wild End«, even though in terms of arrangement, lyrics and instrumentation it’s a thoroughly decent effort that says exactly what he wanted it to say. A bit more liveliness and eclecticism wouldn’t have hurt »At Wild End« at all. It would surely have brought it closer to Colin’s target audience, which is still prog lovers, because despite a few flashes of brilliance and some interesting ideas, the whole thing quickly starts to get dull.
Lineup
Colin Bass (Camel) – bass guitar, guitar, vocals, keyboards
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Andrew Latimer (Camel) – guitar, organ, keyboards
Kim Burton – piano, piano, accordion, kaval, cifteteli
Dave Stewart – drums
Sian James – Welsh harp
Ben Mandelson – guitar, harp, Hungarian whistle stick
Alan Prosser – guitar
Jenn Williams – whistle
Lisa Jen Brown – backing vocals
John Lawrence – backing vocals
Nigel Watson – backing vocals, percussion
Production
Colin Bass
Track list
1. Return to Earth (4:30)
2. We Are One (5:55)
3. Walking to Santiago [6:46]
4. Waiting for Someone (4:10)
5. In Another Time (1:48)
6. Szegereli Eternal (4:53)
7. Darkness on Leather Lake (5:03)
8. Bubuka Bridge (1:54)
9. If I Could Stay (5:59)
10. Girl From the Northwest Country (4:35)
11. Up at Sheep’s Bleat (2:51)
12. At Wild End (8:12)
