Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Camel
Label: Decca Records
Release: 1977
Rating: 4.5/5
After the masterpiece “Moonmadness (1976), Camel made two major changes for the first time in their history: first to the lineup, then to their style. Bassist Doug Ferguson was unhappy with the already planned, somewhat jazzier direction for the band’s sound, which drummer Andy Ward in particular was pushing, and he was initially replaced by none other than guitarist/vocalist and occasional flautist Andrew Latimer. Luckily that didn’t last long, and soon the already legendary bassist and vocalist Richard Sinclair joined, a big name of the Canterbury school of progressive rock as a former bassist and vocalist of Caravan and Hatfield And the North. His arrival undoubtedly meant a major boost for the rhythm section and a great send-off for their jazzy plans. Sinclair’s arrival surely also piqued the interest of everyone who had long liked to link the stylistic similarities between the music of Camel and Caravan, though to be honest there aren’t many, apart from the fact that you can’t picture a desert caravan without camels. Before Sinclair came on board, one of the best flautists and saxophonists of the day, Mel Collins (ex-King Crimson and a few others as a guest musician), had also joined the band as an official member (on the previous tour he’d only accompanied them as a live member), and his saxophone added even more to the new direction. On paper, at least, Camel now looked even stronger, and that brought them quite a few fine results across a heap of excellent pieces on this superb album. Even so, on “Rain Dances” Camel didn’t quite manage to tap all the potential offered by this exceptional lineup, which successfully combined elements of both symphonic prog (the band’s traditional element) and Canterbury. Although it’s a unique album, their most experimental ever, and another confirmation of their exceptional musical talent, “Rain Dances” somehow fails to earn the masterpiece title that, in my eyes, all their albums before it deserved. And that’s more down to an overabundance of new ideas than a lack of them.
Sinclair’s arrival, through his excellent bass playing, didn’t just bring the band a much more jazz-leaning direction. As a great singer with a voice born for hits, he also started nudging the band toward AOR in places, which was one of the logical consequences of the musical climate at the time. Likewise, the multi-layered symphonic-epic compositions the band had always been best known for slowly began giving way to more compact, more radio-“friendly” songs. These were still complex enough and still contained enough of the band’s traditional elements to deliver some excellent results without Camel losing their recognizable sound. For the first time, new technology, especially in the keyboard department, also began to play a bigger role in their music. On the other hand, it’s precisely Bardens’ keyboards and Latimer’s unmistakable, subtle guitar solos that kept that traditional symphonic Camel sound alive, once again creating an indescribable atmosphere and helping many of the album’s stylistic experiments work. For its time, “Rain Dances” also boasts an outstanding, almost crystal-polished production.
“First Light” soon reveals two new aspects of Camel’s music, which this time got closer to jazz fusion than ever before or since. The first is that Bardens expanded his keyboard arsenal and that the rhythm section became far more precise and refined with Sinclair on board than it was before. The track stands out above all for the brilliant combination of Collins’ saxophone and Bardens’ synthesizers, alongside Latimer’s traditionally excellent guitar solos. Collins’ sax solos in particular add a completely new charm to the track, brought by this new element in their music. The atypical “Metrognome” is again built on a jazz-tinged rhythm line and is packed with interwoven great solos on guitar, sax and keyboards. In places it even leans into neo-prog waters, or toward the sound that shaped that genre. “Tell Me” also pulls off something the band hadn’t tried until then. At heart it’s a dreamy ballad with Sinclair’s melancholic vocals, but it already contains some AOR elements. After the sax intro, we can marvel at gorgeous melodies conjured up by the masters Latimer and Bardens, who enrich the track with an interplay of flute and ambient synthesizer. Collins’ bass clarinet adds even more to the wonderful mood. “Highways Of The Sun”, which was also released as a single, is the band’s first more obvious move toward an AOR sound and commercialization, even faintly recalling something by The Alan Parsons Project. Still, it’s an extremely likable track, winning you over with its direct approach, a great chorus and Bardens’ superb synth solos. It’s wonderful to realize that Camel can create a potential radio hit without selling out their recognizable progressive sound. “Unevensong” is a great jazz rocker that sounds much more like their work on earlier albums. With plenty of fast rhythmic shifts on Ward’s drums, Sinclair’s ethereal vocals, Latimer’s sharp riffs and supersonic, spacey solos on Bardens’ synthesizers, it’s one of the best pieces on the album. With “One Of These Days I’ll Get an Early Night”, Camel in their most jazzy garb flirt with funk too, making heavy use of subtle keyboard and saxophone passages. Bardens’ brilliant electric piano solo is a real treat. The same goes for Latimer’s guitar masterpiece that arrives near the end of the track. It leans so far into jazz waters that its sound is closer to the jazz bands of the American West Coast than to Canterbury. Amid all those jazz elements, the band keeps hold of the track’s basic motif, which is fairly simple, throughout. The result is yet another superb and original composition. Special guest Brian Eno (ex-Roxy Music, solo) creates a wonderful, almost cosmic atmosphere on “Elke” with his sonic curtains, accompanied by Latimer’s beautifully dreamy flute. The master of ambient music thus helped Camel create one of their loveliest instrumentals. The distinctly jazz-tinged “Skylines” is another album highlight, with excellent solos on guitar and synthesizers and a complex rhythm from Sinclair’s bass and Ward’s drums. The title track “Rain Daces” is basically an orchestral version of the opener “First Light”, with first-rate keyboard solos, and it rounds off the album fittingly, just the way it began. The latest edition of the album has a bonus track tacked on at the end, the single version of “Highways Of The Sun”, which differs from the album version only in that Bardens’ synthesizer solo is cut off.
“Rain Dances” is a turning-point album for Camel, one that, besides experimenting with jazz/AOR flavors, successfully blends in the signature symphonic progressive elements that distinguished the band’s earlier albums. At heart, “Rain Dances” is an excellent album on which Camel successfully and progressively explore new musical territory, resulting in their most experimental album ever. It doesn’t reach the level, and above all the atmosphere, of their earlier albums, each of which was characterized by being, in its own way, the next evolutionary step forward, but it’s still an album that no symphonic prog rock fan should overlook.
Lineup
Andrew Latimer – guitar, flute, vocals on 3, 4 & 5, some piano, bass
Richard Sinclair – bass guitar, vocals on 3, 5
Peter Bardens – keyboards
Andy Ward – drums, percussion
Mel Collins – saxophone
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Martin Drover – trumpet on 6, flugelhorn on 8
Malcolm Griffiths – trombone on 6, 8
Brian Eno – acoustic and electric piano, mini moog, bells on “Elke”
Fionna Hibbert – harp on “Elke”
Production
Camel
Tracklist
1. First light (5:00)
2. Metrognome (4:19)
3. Tell me (4:07)
4. Highways of the Sun (4:32)
5. Unevensong (5:34)
6. One of these Days I’ll get an early night (5:59)
7. Elke (4:31)
8. Skylines (4:26)
9. Rain Dances (2:59)
Running time: 41:27
