Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Camel
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1984
Rating: 3/5
“Stationary Traveller” was the last Camel album before they went off on an unexpected “break” lasting almost seven years because of legal wrangling with their former manager. Anyone who was hoping that, after “The Single Factor” (1982), Camel would stop bending their sound to the digital technologies that were still fresh at the time was in for a letdown. That makes the album a typical product of its era, and although it’s noticeably more ambitious than its predecessor, since it carries a concept about life in Berlin divided by the Cold War, the band just can’t pull off another concept masterpiece this time. Concept and lyrics author Susan Hoover, Andy’s partner, already proved herself on the excellent “Nude” (1981), but this time the concept, especially today when it’s no longer relevant, somehow fails to come alive across the individual pieces, even though the overall pulse of the album is pretty sentimental. Like on “The Single Factor”, Camel are far from their classic symphonic, jazz-tinged sound and closer to art rock and pop rock. Still, the album is a noticeable step forward in returning to the old glory; the production is a little sharper and less synthetic than on its predecessor, and most of the instrumentals are better built too. They’ve also finally given up chasing a radio hit, which did them more harm than good.
Once again they didn’t manage to put together a stable lineup, which lasted only until the end of the tour promoting the album. By this point Camel were, without a shadow of a doubt, the band of their excellent guitarist, singer (and occasional flutist) and founder Andy Latimer, who, as is obvious on some of the tracks, had started taking the (unjustified) criticism that the vocals were always the band’s weak spot more and more to heart. That’s why he again invited Chris Rainbow (The Alan Parsons Project) to guest on a few tracks. On both tracks where Chris sings, the band sounds the least like itself, since Latimer’s vocals are without a doubt indispensable for recognizing the band. Helping Latimer out this time were the excellent Dutch keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel (ex-Kayak, Earth & Fire), bassist David Paton (who already played on the previous album) and drummer Paul Burgess (ex-10cc, Jethro Tull (as a live member)), who, despite their notable contributions, had more of a hired-gun status. Despite all the trouble around a permanent lineup, Camel adapted nicely to the new technologies of the 80s and made another quality album, which, as the fruit of some other, more media-hyped band, would surely have been far more commercially successful and noticed. The only slightly bothersome element for my taste is the occasional appearance of a drum machine, which you couldn’t hear in their music before, and never would again. That and the synthetic production typical of the time still don’t kill the essence of a band that has always liked to look for the right balance between melody and the depth and complexity of its sonic structures.
The instrumental opener “Pressure Points” is a short but excellent overture to the album and another fruit of Latimer’s guitar genius, setting up the contrasting elements of the whole album right from the start. His instantly recognizable, layered and melancholic soloing builds the atmosphere over a pulsing rhythm line and digital keyboards. “Refugee” sounds almost like perfect AOR in the style of The Alan Parsons Project. It has an infectious pulse and an intelligent structure, but it only rarely manages to really win me over, since it lacks that real spark I’m otherwise used to from Camel. “Vopos” is yet another new extreme in Camel’s music, delving even deeper into synth-pop structures, seasoned with a refreshing contribution from a blues-tinged guitar. No doubt about it, Latimer is the main star of this album, and his contribution is what saves the band’s honor. His refined solos often do more for the mood of individual pieces than most of the vocals on the album. “Cloak And Dagger Man”, with Chris Rainbow on vocals, a drum machine, the powerful sound of digital synths and a hard rock-tinged guitar, is the closest thing to AOR or pop rock on the whole album, and fans of bands like Boston, Journey or Foreigner will lick their lips at it, while many a classic prog fan will clutch their head at what they’re hearing, since the band is almost unrecognizable here. Even Latimer’s extremely punchy, hard rock licks are relatively atypical for him. Fortunately, they steered clear of such experiments in the future. The title track, on the other hand, is an excellent, dreamy instrumental, the kind no other band can create the way Camel can, and one where you can enjoy much more natural drums than on most of the record. In harmony with the synths, which create a romantic and melodramatic mood that peaks when the “crying” guitar joins in, it’s one of the emotional highlights of the album. After this peak the band returns to its basic formula. “West Berlin” is a mix of a melancholic chorus and a slow, monotonous rhythm with a typically 80s pulse, containing a few interesting keyboard bits, but it lacks some extra inspiration. “Fingertips” is a melancholic, solid piece, where the guest appearance of old fox Mel Collins on sax stands out, and which leans heavily toward the music of some 80s detective film, where the hero arrives at a bar in the evening and sits lost in thought at the counter. Two instrumentals follow. The first, “Missing”, is entirely the product of Latimer’s hands and guest Haydn Bendall on sound effects. It has an excellent guitar solo and a good keyboard climax built on a rather sleepy rhythm. The second instrumental, “After Words”, built on Scherpenzeel’s piano, has an exceptionally melancholic pulse, which unfortunately is mixed so low in the production that, with the low tonality of the sound, you can barely hear it. “Long Goodbyes” is an excellent power ballad and the sentimental climax of the whole album, closing it out in a good way. Even though Chris Rainbow sings on it, it has enough recognizable Latimer guitar and good synths that it doesn’t fade into something saccharine. In mood it reminds me a bit of “Afterglow” as well as “Follow You Follow Me” by Genesis, although the Genesis of that time would have killed for a guitar solo like the one in the last part of this track.
All in all, “Stationary Traveller” is still a very solid and highly listenable album, with plenty of good moments, and it’s progress over the fairly average (by the band’s standards) “The Single Factor”. Especially if I don’t hold their 70s work against it, I can say this album is even a bit underrated compared to what some of their musical peers were doing at the time, and that Camel came through the mostly gloomy 80s for prog rock better than most of their contemporaries, since instead of making fools of themselves they picked a sort of middle path between prog and pop. They modernized their sound, but not to the point of leaving their essence in the lurch the way Genesis did, for example. Sadly, the album lacks the inspiration and spark that are otherwise so typical of the band. Most prog rock fans won’t miss anything if they never hear it, but for a real fan of the band it would be a mistake not to have it in their collection. As with most good albums of that era, the appeal of “Stationary Traveller” depends mostly on whether the listener is bothered by the mechanical minimalism of the rhythm line and the plastic production.
Lineup
Andy Latimer – guitar, vocals, flute
David Paton – bass guitar, backing vocals
Ton Scherpenzeel – organ, synthesizer, piano, keyboards, mellophonium, backing vocals
Paul Burgess – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Mel Collins – saxophone (7)
Cris Rainbow – vocals (4,10)
Haydn Bendall – keyboards (1,3,8)
Production
Andy Latimer
Track List
1. Pressure Points (instrumental) (2:10)
2. Refugee (3:47)
3. Vopos (5:32)
4. Cloak and Dagger Man (3:55)
5. Stationary Traveller (instrumental) (5:34)
6. West Berlin (5:10)
7. Fingertips (4:29)
8. Missing (instrumental) (4:22)
9. After Words (instrumental) (2:01)
10. Long Goodbyes (5:14)
Album length: 42:14
