Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Camel
Label: Camel Productions
Release: 2001
Rating: 3/5
Before and during the W2K tour, which followed the release of their Orient-soaked masterpiece “Rajaz” (1999), Camel ran into a whole string of logistical problems. So the decision to put out a live album once the tour was over turned out to be a pretty bold one. It’s not one of their best recordings, mainly because of a few not-so-happy song choices and the absence of the recognizable vocals and flute of their central figure, Andy Latimer, who this time devotes himself purely to his guitar acrobatics, as always virtuosic and sensitive at the same time. Still, it’s a solid recording that will satisfy all the band’s old fans. Luckily, instrumentals mostly dominate, so the few vocal parts, shared by bassist Colin Bass and new keyboardist Guy LeBlanc, a French Canadian who also adds a pinch of humor with his banter with the crowd between songs, don’t spoil the overall vibe. Even though both handle their vocal duties fairly decently, I’d much rather have heard Mr. Latimer do it like he usually does, and he must have had really good reasons to give it up for the first time. On the other hand, the recording is raw in terms of production, so there’s no trace of studio polish on it. You can hear a few technical glitches and bits of noise that the usual studio “ironing” would have wiped out. So the main trump card here, besides excellent performances of most of the material, is that “natural” live atmosphere.
The show surprisingly opens with an interesting take on the instrumental masterpiece “Ice” (I Can See Your House From Here, 1979), which I’d usually experienced as one of the ideal concert closers, but it turns out surprisingly effective as an opener too. Once again it’s a great performance of one of their best pieces, where as usual the stars are Andy’s extended, melodramatic solos over the spacey sounds of LeBlanc’s synths. “Chord Change” (Moonmadness, 1976) is another excellent instrumental pick, where LeBlanc treats himself to a few extra solos on the Hammond organ. For the ballad “Fingertips” (Stationary Traveller, 1984) they went with an acoustic approach, which adds even more melancholy to this fairly average song, though the ballad shows up a bit too early and nearly kills the mood of the whole recording before it’s even warmed up. The legendary “Slow Yourself Down” (Camel, 1973) is a much more interesting choice. They play it almost entirely in an acoustic version and cleverly work in a few extra passages. The only thing dragging it down a bit is LeBlanc’s vocal interpretation, which doesn’t match the original. To my great disappointment, the excellent instrumental “Sahara” is the only piece from the then-current, superb album “Rajaz”, which they could surely have played in full, just like they did with its two predecessors. As it is, I miss masterpieces like “Three Wishes”, “Rajaz” or “Lawrence”, which plenty of people would have loved to hear live. That said, “Sahara” is one of the highlights of the recording and is played a touch faster than the original. It’s followed by a classic medley from the conceptual masterpiece “Dust And Dreams” (1991): the standard versions of “Mother Road” and “Little Rivers And Little Rose”, plus an excellent rendition of “Hopeless Anger”. The latter might even be the best version of this piece I’ve heard so far, original included. As on most of the album, you can clearly hear the effective use of the double bass drum from new drummer Denis Clement. I never would have expected that adding this rhythmic element would fit so well into their songs. The main part of the recording closes with their biggest classic, “Lady Fantasy” (Mirage, 1974), which at least partly makes up for the chronic shortage of classics. As it should be, they play it faithful to the original, though you miss Latimer’s vocals the whole way through, because it just doesn’t work without them. As a bonus track there’s another, this time fully acoustic, version of “Slow Yourself Down”, based only on acoustic guitar and piano, but with Latimer’s vocals, which is also why it beats the one in the main part of the recording.
“The Paris Collection” gives the listener a slight impression of being unfinished and of a “club” vibe (the large share of acoustic moments adds to the latter), which I’m not used to from sonic perfectionists like Camel, who usually spoil their listeners with crystal-clear sound. That wouldn’t be bad at all, it would even be a welcome change, if the song selection had been at least a bit more varied and the whole recording didn’t fly by so quickly. Besides the very thin representation of “Rajaz”, I especially miss a few pieces from “The Snow Goose” (1975), led by the classic “Rhayader”, which they really shouldn’t have left out of the repertoire, since that’s a bit like Yes skipping “Roundabout” or Pink Floyd skipping “Time”. Because of the shortcomings listed above, “The Paris Collection” is certainly not one of their best live moments, but it’s still interesting enough for all their fans who may never get, or never again get, the chance to catch a show by these eternally overlooked legends of symphonic prog rock in person.
Lineup
Andy Latimer – guitar
Colin Bass – bass guitar, vocals
Guy LeBlanc – keyboards, vocals
Denis Clement – drums
Production
Andrew Latimer
Tracklist
1. Ice (8:47)
2. Chord Change (8:52)
3. Fingertips (6:40)
4. Slow Yourself Down (4:30)
5. Sahara (6:51)
6. Mother Road (6:07)
7. Little Rivers and Little Rose (1:55)
8. Hopeless Anger (5:43)
9. Lady Fantasy (16:04)
Bonus track:
10. Slow Yourself Down (5:34)
Album length: 71:03
