One of the most remarkable things about Camel, is their evolution over time. In the early 70s the name Camel was chosen by the four members of the band, Peter Bardens (keyboard), Doug Ferguson (bass), Andy Ward (drums) and Andrew Latimer (guitar).

In that setting they made four albums, the first one called Camel, a good debute album, but not yet a coherent whole. The second, Mirage was already more structured and had just a few, but rather long tracks. The next album was their first concept album which was based on a book by Paul Gallico. The Snow Goose is their most famous album which they performed live with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1975.

The next and at the same time last album in this setting was Moonmadness. Moonmadness was released in 1976 and the tour they did was recorded and, just recently, released on the dvd Moondances. That dvd featured their strength in that setting, where they played truly amazing, confident, strong and breathtaking some of their best work at that time. They were very good together as they each had their role. The sound was very coherent and all seemed to work just perfectly together. One song transforms into another as if it was one ongoing movement, even if they were from separate albums (Mirage, The Snow Goose and Moonmadness). A true highlight and amazing to watch, with the stunning camerawork (especially the beginning of Lunar Sea and the end of Lady Fantasy) and fantastic bright colours in a dark background.

But at the same time it was the end of that setting. After that tour, the bassist Doug Ferguson would leave the band. And they would start a new road as a band. On the next five albums (Raindances, Breathless, I can see your house from here, Nude, The Single Factor) appeared many musicians. Some of them just played on the albums, while others also went on tour. And the sound was very different at times, one album better than the other, but all of them had some very good tracks which contained the characteristic emotions, expressions, structure and tight playing of the band. And while they were touring, which they did a lot, they also played their older songs which evolved as they changed settings.

The next coherent setting was at the same time their last for a long time. It was the Pressure Points tour with the promotion of the album Stationary Traveller in 1984. Which was very much in line with the phase of the band. After that tour it all would more or less fall apart and not until the early 90s before it would rise again in a new and independent form.

But Pressure Points itself was a very strong and fascinating concert. The members at that time were Ton Scherpenzeel (keyboard), Colin Bass (bass), Andrew Latimer (guitar, flute, vocals), Chris Rainbow (vocals) and Paul Burgess (drums).

If the timeline of the band would be compared with a symphony, this concert could be called the adagio. And the track Stationary Traveller the centre of that adagio. It gives the feeling of a journey that is forced to contemplate and reflect to come to the conclusion that independence is needed, but at the same time the realisation of the responsibility that comes with that. In there I hear the inescapable struggle and darkness but at the same time amazing beauty and strength, which is reflected in the whole concert.

So the next phase is that of a band independent of the pressure of record companies. The first album in that phase is Dust and Dreams which perfectly reflects their development. The central theme of the album appears to be the energy that is needed to start this whole new phase, together with the overwhelming struggle of life. The band at that point had some remaining members along with new ones but the feeling of the sound, although new in a way, still had the same power and melancholic beauty.

But the band did not stop evolving as is clearly shown in the Coming of Age concert in 1997. During that concert, in the second half, they played the whole of their album Harbour of Tears. That album was another concept album and there the strength of the tracks being more a part of the whole. All emotions seem to pass in less than an hour, follow each other in such a natural way. Latimers guitar sounds so very powerful but he just perfectly knows how to handle it and places every use at just the right place.

But before that, in the first half of the concert, they played ‘some old favourites’ of which some where just unbelievably fantastic. Some where better (in my opinion of course) in their other concerts (like Lunar Sea), but some where just so very good here. Drafted, Docks and Beached from the album Nude (also a great concept album), and Hymn to Her from the album ‘I can see your house from here’ (which has some of the best, but also some of the worst tracks).

And best of all, also from that album, was Ice. That is performed here in a way that is beyond words, so really very good. I was trying to get a blog post done about that video, but I just could not get into words what happens here. I will keep trying, but am not sure it will be possible to find the right words for that.

I am also trying to get a blogpost done about the album Dust and Dreams because I was so very moved by the book and the movie where the album is based on, The Grapes of Wrath. Reading a character analysis of Tom, the main character of the novel, I was really fascinated by his development during the story and found some interesting similarities with Rhayader, the main character of The Snow Goose.

When I was thinking about a tagline for my blog, I remembered a comment that was made on one of Camel’s videos on Youtube. It said When the human soul speaks, this is what it sounds like. And that was exactly how I felt listening to their music, especially the one the comment was made on, Ice.

When I read that, I thought that was indeed it, the language of the human soul. And that brought me back to what I was trying to put into words for a while now; what is the soul?

My best attempt so far was here. The soul as the passive potential of the active structure of the mind. But this individual human soul is only part of a bigger whole. And the best descriptions so far, I found in the zodiac, where the water- and firesigns reflect the evolution of the spirit and the soul.

1. Universal Soul: Mythical
The end of cycles, forming seeds for the next cycle. Magical thinking. Longing for unity.

2. Primordial Spirit: Impulsive
Activity that is self-motivated, unaffected by others.

3. Primordial Soul: Emotion
Nurturing, support, emotional bonding, belonging, roots, source.

4. Individual Spirit: Expressing
Self-expression, creating, being true to your inner nature, acting from the heart.

5. Individual Soul: Integrate
Transformation, power, ego-death, passion, self-mastering.

6. Universal Spirit: Vision
Consciousness expansion. Using your talents for the benefit of the greater whole.

7. Universal Soul: Compassion
Compassion and empathy. Seeing the unity of all things.

Stages combined
Music is often a mix of these and does not fall in just one category. Many love songs are a mix of the primordial soul (abandoned) and the universal soul (longing), while religious music can be a mix of the mythical (1) and conscious (7) longing for unity (universal soul) and music like rap is about personal expression (individual spirit).

I think the music of Camel has gone through these stages in the more then 30 years of their existence (not always chronological) and the videos of the live concerts show this transformation over time.

Although I have been thinking about this a lot, this blog post is in no way meant to be complete, and at this point I do not have any idea how to put it better into words. Maybe it will become more clear in time.

If I would follow the timeline of the concerts, the next video to describe would be the one with Preperation and Dunkirk from the album The Snow Goose. But that was not the video I wanted to continue with. I even had been hesitating to include that video. Not because of Dunkirk, as I think it is one of the best performances I heard of Dunkirk. I think it has a fantastic power in that concert and it also is amazing to see it played live.

Next is Lunar Sea, which is on the album Moonmadness. I always liked that album a lot, especially Song within a Song and Spirit of the Water but most of all Air Born. Air Born is one of those songs I can turn on repeat and listen to the whole evening, over and over again. And even with the volume up, you do not have to be alone in the room.

Others like it too (well, maybe not as many times in a row) and it gives a real relaxing and special atmosphere which fills the whole room. I also like the lyrics here (and if the world keeps spinning round, you’ll be back again), which summarizes a bit my overall feeling of the album.

But when I watched the live videos, I started to appreciate the other tracks on the album much more. Two of them are on the dvd Moondances (Another Night and Lunar Sea) and at the moment I like them even more than my previous favourites, but that might easily change if I would find a live version of Air Born.

What I like most in Lunar Sea, is the gradually rising from a background, playing an impressive role, going over in a perfect combination of qualities and then gradually being taken over again to finish where it started.

In the concert Lunar Sea starts after the White Rider (Expression of the self) which goes perfectly over from one song into another. The beginning gives a very specific mood, no real playing, actually more several sounds that fill the space. I never realised it so much before, but Andrews guitar is also very notable here and even plays a certain melody. I think it is something he does with his guitar what you can see very well in the middle part of Lady Fantasy. A sound as if he makes the guitar cry. And I think he does that here too, it is a sort of melody. Only very subtle and I am not sure because it could easily be another sound.

Amazing camerawork
Apart from the sounds, it also is very special to watch the camerawork, which is just amazing. During the whole concert there are close ups and images mixed up all the time. Which at times gives a very special effect. Here with Lunar Sea you look at the drums moving and the players are reflected in them. You see Peter Bardens reflected in the drums and you see the face of Andrew Latimer showing up very subtle. Most is dark but some lights  stand out, especially Badens’ blouse, a white shining blouse which reflects many of the colours during the concert. It is just a pity that the bass player, Doug Ferguson, is hardly visible.

Then a rhythm starts with the keyboard and the drums, very soft at first and gradually increasing, the speed as well as the volume. And now the colours come in. On this video it is not so visible, but the colours are very bright and really impressive.

Reacting to every tone
Then the sound of the guitar comes in very clear and several things happen at the same time, so you have no idea where to focus. First of course the sound of the guitar, it is just amazing. But at the same time your eyes get fixed on the expression on Latimers face, which again is in close up reflected in the drums. You can just watch the impact every tone has on him. Really very special to see. Then the camera moves away and you get a great look at his playing. He is still visible in the drums and very fixed on the sound of his guitar. You can see him react to every note. Then it seems that he is getting it and all instruments are coming together again.

Then the keyboard takes over and the rest is very relaxing supportive. Again great camera work with pictures through each other and beautiful colours reflected in the drums and the blouse. Then a focus on the drums and the speed goes up.

Coherent repeating melody
Now the guitar comes in again but this time much more playing his own tune. As if he is trying things out, but even though is fantastically followed by rest. It really sounds great together. Then the speed goes up even further and somehow it become a coherent repeating melody which goes on for a while.

I think this is my favourite part of Lunar Sea. Although the guitar is really going on with it, tends to escape and do very much what he wants, still it is followed by the rest and not just that, even very much complementing it. To me it sounds as this is what playing together is all about. It sounds very confident, melodic and powerful. But also a perfect coming together of instruments.

Then the speed and volume gradually decreases and all is taken over again by the sounds of nature. And Lunar Sea will almost unnoticeable go over in the next ones, Preparation and Dunkirk from the album the Snow Goose.

Rhythm of life
Lunar Sea reminds me of the whole Story of the Snow Goose, which also has this increasing, playing its part and decreasing again. And I like that very much. It has this undeniable rhythm of life in it. Given as a very clear structure, but within that structure there is all freedom for experiment. And because they are so good together, it sounds amazing.

VIDEO: LUNAR SEA

The first video is the White Rider, which is originally on the album Mirage. Mirage is the album of 1974 and it was the second album of Camel as a group. I like it a lot as a whole, but it was not my favourite at the time I was listening to their music the most.

And as I am finding out now, it especially had to do with the White Rider (officially Nimrodel, the Procession, the White Rider). Not that I did not like that one, I always liked it a lot. The beginning, very spacy and atmospheric, great, I like that. Then the more determined marching feeling it gives, which I also very much enjoy listening to. Increasing and increasing and than wow, the guitar, just amazing. I just like it so very much. And then a sort of melancholic continuing.

Next is the start of the lyrics. While reading a lot of reviews of that album these last few day, it became clear that most consider those not the best part of Camel. So I tried to figure out what I thought of them. Some called them boring, while others called them effective but not to exciting. I kind of agree with that. Somehow Latimers voice gives me the feeling of  ‘okay someone has to sing here’, but it is not the way he expresses himself, not the way as he does that with his guitar.

Moving sound
There were a lot of reviewers who liked the way he played the flute, who were very charmed by the second song on the album, Supertwister. Well, I must say I personally like the way he plays the pan flute in Stationary Traveller. It is a very sensitive, but at the same time strong and genuine sound, it moves me a lot.

But even there the feeling of movement is largely increasing if he starts with the guitar again. Just breathtaking, every time I hear that.

When the lyrics start in The White Rider, that is certainly not the part I like the least. Especially here I find it most effective and grounding the spacey feeling. And right after that of course the guitar again.

Then everything almost comes to a stop, with a very subtle but at the same time effective drums. The next few minutes are not especially my favourite, but I do like them. The speed and energetic going on is exciting anyway.

Coming from another world
Then the lyrics start again and were never very special to me before, but got that when I looked at the video. He sings ‘He has a certain air, as if he’s never there, but somehow far away’. He is singing of Gandalf here, but to me it is the feeling he gives himself.

On the dvd Moondances The White Rider is the first song and until this moment it all gives the impression of beautiful music, coming from another world. And so far I like the song, it would have always been one of my favourites I think.

But then, about the last minutes it starts. It is the part I am very fascinated about now, but that was not always like that. And I noticed I am not alone in that. Although there are many who find the last part exciting, there are also a lot who find it very annoying. When I was playing the dvd at home, most reactions on the whole of this concert where very positive as everyone likes it a lot. But with the last few minutes of The White Rider everyone gets irritated. But for me the more I heard it, the more interesting it got. You see Latimer start doing all kinds of things with his guitar and you get curious what is going on. And than he starts and it really is fascinating.

Individual expression
It is as if indeed before that ‘he was not really there, but somehow far away’ but with this part he very much gives the impression of having found a way of expressing himself with the guitar. Still searching for different ways to do that and at a point of  ‘the more extensions the better’ but very much finding an individual way of expressing himself.

And after a search through classical music for several years, that, I know now, was what I missed there. No matter how much I like a lot of classical music, it always stays within a certain frame. And there is little room for self expression. Which can be a good thing. Most of the time I am more than happy if the performer keeps himself out of the way and tries to express the music how it was meant to be. But for me, there was a certain point where I started to miss the self expression of the performer.

But here it gets dangerous. Here the interpretation of the performer comes in and may be totally different from how the music was intended. Which might be fine in itself, but as a listener you often get the feeling it is not what it was meant to be, it feels overacted. As if you are not hearing the real thing.

Hearing the real thing
It is like some children are freaked out by clowns. They somehow feel the real person behind the mask and get confused. That is what I often felt with classical music. But that does not take away the immense pleasure, if it did sound as I felt was genuine. And if it did, I just had to listen to that over and over again.

But the beauty of modern music is, that it is sometimes performed by those who composed it. So that very much gives the freedom to experiment with your own compositions. And they might only get better. Which I think is the case with the music of Camel, the progression of each song through time. Although this concert on the dvd Moondances already is a highlight as a whole.

And beyond that, there always is the feeling of cooperation within the band, very stressful at times, but somehow always the coming together of very authentic individuals.

VIDEO: WHITE RIDER

(The video starts a little further in with the marching)