Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Camel
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1979
Rating: 3.5/5
On “I Can See Your House From Here”, Camel predictably swung hard toward commercializing their sound, producing some material that had more in common with AOR and pop rock than with the symphonic progressive rock they’d carried the flag for pretty much throughout the entire 70s. The groundwork had already been laid by its predecessor “Breathless” (1978), where they first made it clear they were gunning for the charts, at the price of somewhat reduced creativity. This album takes another step down that commercial road. The sudden departures of founding member and cult keyboardist Peter Bardens, as well as bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair and saxophonist Mel Collins, obviously changed the band’s sound too. Bardens’ abrupt exit to join Van Morrison in particular was a big blow to the band’s jazz-leaning sound, and quite a few people used it to predict a quick musical (and every other kind of) decline for the band. Luckily that didn’t happen, but with constant lineup changes from then on, Camel were never a stable band again. Just to be safe, two keyboardists stepped in for the maestro Bardens ahead of the tour: Jan Schelhaas and Richard’s brother David Sinclair (previously a longtime member of Caravan). The latter was soon replaced by American Kit Watkins of the cult art rock band Happy The Man, who made sure you hardly feel Bardens’ absence at all. Bass duties went to yet another former Caravan man, Colin Bass, one of the few musicians who would keep working with the band in the future. For the first time in their history, Camel also invited a few guests along. There are three big names here: besides saxophonist Mel Collins, who had earlier given up his membership, there’s Phil Collins (Genesis, Brand X) on drums and acclaimed producer Rupert Hine (Quantum Jump, solo) on backing vocals.
The songs have mostly become even tighter and moved much closer to AOR/pop rock, while the old jazz and symphonic references have been pared right down, usually to a bit of extra backing in the background or not even that, although that classic, instantly recognizable Camel sound still shines through on almost every track, with Latimer’s masterful guitar solos and their interplay with the keyboards as its trademark. Some tracks also still feature good orchestral arrangements, mostly the fruit of the labor of the two top-notch keyboardists. The band’s recognizable sound survived it all and once again met up with excellent production, which was always one of their trademarks. Still, it lacks the transcendental depth that marked most of their studio work from the 70s.
“Wait” is a full-on AOR song despite its slightly jazzy opening rhythm, drawing strong parallels to what bands like Asia would later do, boiling prog rock down into strong melodic lines and adding some commercial appeal. “Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine”, with its ultra-melodic choruses, is probably their most commercial-sounding track, but the sax solos and quality bass guitar line keep it from dissolving into pure pop. The instrumental “Eye Of the Storm” is one of the few moments on the album where Camel revive their classic symphonic style with good orchestral arrangements, which also makes it one of the album’s better moments. What’s especially interesting about this track is that the same song shows up in a rather different version on the album “Better Latte (1979) by Happy The Man, since Kit Watkins was a member of both bands at the time. It’s the first and last time Camel came anywhere near what you could call a cover. “Who We Are” is another very good piece with tasteful orchestral arrangements and thrilling Latimer guitar parts, which turns into a subtle power ballad after an instrumental intro. “Survival” is a short instrumental with solid orchestral arrangements. On the excellent ballad “Hymn To Her”, where Latimer shines again with his guitar passages and emotional vocals, Camel got close, through keyboard solos and backing vocals, to their peers Yes for the first and probably last time, though only someone who knows both bands’ work well will pick up on the resemblance. “Neon Magic” opens like a pop song, but gains some progressive depth later on through clever keyboard work. Still, it’s one of their less noticeable pieces. The slightly burlesque “Remote Romance” is almost pure pop rock with a super-synthetic keyboard sound, a dance beat and loads of effects. That makes it the least recognizable Camel track on the album, and it reminds me more of something by The Alan Parsons Project than of Camel. Musically it’s the weaker side of the album, though it has a few interesting moments. Camel would sadly go on to make a few more pieces like this, which are hardly a credit to them in terms of emotional expression and overall musical depth, but hey, you can still dance to them pretty well. The closing epic instrumental “Ice” is without a doubt by far the best piece on the album, and it should satisfy even those prog purists who would never give the album as a whole a chance. It’s a rare flash of brilliance that revives classic Camel, as it tips from a calm piano intro into an ambient instrumental section with extensive Latimer slide guitar solos and majestic keyboards.
Even though it’s the weakest Camel album of the 70s, “I Can See Your House From Here” is a good record that flows remarkably smoothly overall, an interesting musical hybrid worth the attention of every true fan of the band, if not also of fans of more commercial prog rock and melodic rock. Bardens’ departure wasn’t as painful as most people feared, though it remains an undeniable fact that from then on they had constant trouble with lineup changes. “I Can See Your House From Here” marks the band’s sonic transition from the 70s into the 80s, when most of their work gradually started losing depth, although their always high level of tightness was still there. A new era for Camel had begun, and when the 80s finally rolled around, they pulled off one of the biggest surprises of their career with the next album.
Lineup
Andrew Latimer – guitar, vocals, flute, autoharp
Colin Bass – bass guitar, backing vocals
Andy Ward – drums
Jan Schelhaas – keyboards
Kit Watkins – keyboards
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Mel Collins – saxophone
Phil Collins – percussion
Rupert Hine – backing vocals
Production
Rupert Hine
Tracklist
1. Wait (4:50)
2. Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine (3:14)
3. Eye Of The Storm (3:42)
4. Who We Are (7:26)
5. Survival (1:04)
6. Hymn To Her (5:23)
7. Neon Magic (4:39)
8. Remote Romance (4:01)
9. Ice (10:10)
Album length: 46:13
