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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic memories......, 23 Nov 2005
Those who shamelessly lambast the 70s as 'the decade that style forgot' were never there. Sure, there was a lot of pap around (lots of chart stuff, for instance!), and yes, we all looked naff in our HUGE flares, but sheer musical diversity and quality was everywhere - whether you liked dance, metal, prog or even punk. The truth is that record companies in those days largely allowed bands a free creative reign (just ask the band members from Yes about this!) and that resulted in some extraordinary, long-lasting musical legacies. And this is one of them..... Camel are a great example of a fine prog rock band who certainly found a niche for themselves in the mid 70s. Often put in the same bracket as Yes and Floyd, such comparisons were unfair, as Camel were as unique in their sound as those two prog rock giants. The Snow Goose is, of course, their tour de force and it was always going to be difficult to follow such an epic. No vocals to speak of, wonderful melodies and great musicianship all lead to a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Critics argue that such fare is self indulgent, but the music is very evocative and I defy anyone not to be carried along on this journey through Paul Gallico's classic novel. I remember everyone in school borrowing my (now dead) vinyl copy of this when I was a spotty teenager. I saw the band - my first ever concert - in 1975 when they were touring with The Snow Goose. It was a memorable night, the band were on top form and I remember marveling at Andy Latimer's guitar work. To my mind, they never reached such heights again, with lineup changes and their musical style altering significantly to a more vocal sound (as it had to, I suppose). I don't much like the extra tracks at all - totally superfluous in my view - but it would be cruel to take a star off for that. The release of this album on CD is a wonderful testament to Pete Bardens who died from cancer in 2002 - he had every right to be proud of this classic work.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspired Music, 6 Oct 2002
Inspired by the book "The Snow Goose" by Paul Gallico, this album is amazing at the worst of times. Partly classical in places, rocky in others, it is very hard to place exactly what category this album quite fits in to. It was the bassist, Doug Ferguson who suggested this concept album after the success of the song "The White Rider" off their second album Mirage(inspired by Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings). The choice of the book "The Snow Goose" is genius. The book, which is only about 50 short pages long, can actually be read in time to the album, thus the album creates, for the first time in my knowledge a soundtrack to a book. The album opens with an eerie representation of Gallico's "Great Marsh" and throughout the album manages to portray the emotions written in the book with pin point accuracy through the music. The album however, is not only credible as a soundtrack alone. The variations of the theme originally laid down by the track "The Snow Goose" the whole way through the album are nothing short of brilliance, best portrayed by the track "La Princesse Perude", which heralds the final track, a variation of the first track, but similarly called "The Great Marsh". This however, is not the end of the album. To remember former keyboard player Peter Bardens, who died an untimely death, the album was re-released with 5 bonus tracks including live performances and original single tracks from the album. All in all, "Music Inspired by The Snow Goose" is, in a word: inspired.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Forgotten Classic..., 5 Aug 2006
It's great writing reviews for music like this. Looking at the "purchasers of this also bought..." section sets me off on a tangent to dig forgotten treasures out of my collection...
I first heard Camel with the excellent "Mirage" and went to see them live when they were touring this album (and on other occasions).
Camel created some lovely soundscapes, some heavy, others quiet and melodic. This release is the first to truly bring it all together with no vocals this time.
The production is very good, if a little "bass light" by modern standards (listen on a pair of very large, decent speakers and all is then ok...). I understand the CD transfer WAS from the original masters that Decca had. The music, I suppose, is very much of its time, but is highly enjoyable nonetheless. I've just looked at some of the Gentle Giant discs on here and the sound samples presented from this band seem really dated, if very well played....
If you remember Camel with great affection as I do (I lost touch with their work in the late eighties), then I urge you to buy this disc and forget the cares of the world for three quarters of an hour or so.
Great music from a great band...
P.S. A real shame about the death of Pete Bardens, as he and Andy Latimer worked really well together...
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