Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Camel
Label: Camel Productions
Released: 1997
Rating: 4.5/5
One magical evening in 1981, mid-tour for the album “Nude”, Camel stopped in London, at the legendary Hammersmith Odeon to be exact, and played an unforgettable show. The lineup at the time included, besides the two original members, guitarist/vocalist/flautist Andrew Latimer and drummer Andy Ward, Colin Bass (ex-Steve Hillage) on bass and Kit Watkins (ex-Happy The Man) and Jan Schelhaas (besides Latimer, the only current official member of the band) on keyboards. Their idea of two keyboardists at once, original for the time, hits the bullseye on this live recording. But that’s just one of many great things about this lost (and now found again) concert tape. On this live album, Camel bring back almost the whole of their legendary story about the Japanese soldier who, in the middle of the chaos of war, was left forgotten for decades on a lonely island.
The show opens with the unforgettable classic “Never Let Go” from their first album “Camel” (1973), which had been in their live sets ever since the band first appeared. The original features vocals by Peter Bardens, the band’s former keyboardist (from 1971 to 1978), which makes it especially interesting here in Latimer’s vocal take. As a phenomenal guitarist, with his breathtaking solos and other guitar “spices”, Latimer wows you again and again. Next comes another classic, “Song Within A Song” (Moonmadness, 1976), with an outstanding intro on Mellotron and keyboards from both keyboardists. The Mellotron and Latimer’s excellent flute playing create a properly esoteric mood. His vocals, set in a lower key here, blend perfectly into the whole atmosphere of the song. The interplay between the two keyboardists and Latimer’s guitar is especially lovely. Then comes one of the band’s grandest pieces, the epic instrumental “Lunar Sea” (Moonmadness, 1976), which has one of Latimer’s best solos. Ward, as usual, is one of the best on drums in his line of “work”, and he really shines here. The keyboards are a chapter of their own anyway. The song opens and closes with a sampled intro of an astronaut landing on the Moon. This version of “Lunar Sea” is the best live version I’ve heard so far, from any of their live recordings. Listening to these three 70s classics, thanks to the incredible sound, it’s hard to believe this is a concert from the early 80s and not from the classic era of progressive rock. After the “warm-up”, the real treat follows for all fans of their concept album “Nude” (1981), one of the best prog rock records of the early 80s, because the band suddenly decides to play the whole album, almost in full. The only tracks missing are “Pomp & Circumstance”, “Please Come Home”, “The Homecoming” and “Lies”. Of those, I only miss the excellent “Lies”; all the other songs are played phenomenally and manage to revive the spirit of the original album, and in places even surpass it. The AOR-leaning “City Life” briefly reminds us that this is a concert from the early 80s and not from the band’s classic era in the mid-70s. It’s an excellent AOR song, even with some hit elements, but for Camel it’s a relatively atypical one. In between comes the short instrumental “Nude”, which links up to the next song. The ballad “Drafted” is in a similar style, has AOR elements, and calms the whole mood of the show. Latimer again takes your breath away with his melancholic solos. As if the guitars were crying. This is also the last song with vocals on the recording, because only instrumentals follow. Next is “Docks”, which again builds the drama nicely with keyboard arrangements and first-rate guitar solos. The atmosphere really gives you goosebumps. It grows even more with the ultra-dramatic “Beached”, where an extremely fast rhythm line and nimble-fingered solos create a real battle of instruments, which also helps with the concept, as the battle on the shore begins. Then comes the esoteric “Landscapes”, which pleasantly calms the mood with brilliant arrangements on both keyboards and truly conjures an island-in-the-Pacific vibe with its sound. That special atmosphere deepens further with “Changing Places”, which has a real ethnic touch on Ward’s percussion and Latimer’s unforgettable flute. “Reflections” is another esoteric moment, dominated by soothing “soundscapes”. The mood boils over again with “Captured”, which serves up a whole palette of breathtaking instrumental bits on keyboards and guitar. The show closes with the triumphant “The Last Farewell”, the final act of “Nude”, which at the same time leaves everything open.
Latimer’s solos and instrumental parts take your breath away. So does the interplay between the two keyboardists, which proved to be a hugely successful move. The band manage to revive almost the entire album “Nude” and in many places even surpass it. At the same time, they also manage to keep their recognizable sound, which was one of the rare phenomena of 80s prog rock, when most of the progressive bands from the 70s sold their essence for commercial success. Despite the noticeable commercialization of some segments of their music, Camel were successfully proving at the time that you could ignore trend-chasing and the pressure from greedy labels after all and keep playing first-rate symphonic prog. Because commercial success was never the priority for this band. This live album is living proof that classic progressive rock never died with the start of the 80s and the arrival of new wave and punk. No true fan of the band, and especially of the album “Nude” should be without this excellent recording with exceptionally good production, which the band released in 1997 on their own label as an official bootleg.
Lineup
Andrew Latimer – vocals, guitar, flute
Colin Bass – bass, backing vocals
Andy Ward – drums
Kit Watkins – keyboards, flute
Jan Schelhaas – keyboards
Production
Andrew Latimer & Chris Now
Track list
1. Never Let Go
2. Song Within A Song
3. Lunar Sea
4. City Life
5. Nude
6. Drafted
7. Docks
8. Beached
9. Landscapes
10. Changing Places
11. Reflections
12. Captured
13. The Last Farewell
