Camel

Camel - Never Let Go - 1993 - Camel Productions

Progressive rock bands like Camel have to be creative in their touring schedules, often traveling to Europe in order to find a substantial concentration of fans in a single place. So it was that Camel arrived with their 20th anniversary tour at Enschede, Holland. After their tenth anniversary tour (which found them promoting The Single Factor), few would have predicted a 20th, but the release of Dust and Dreams in 1991 suggested the band had found a second creative wind (or at least tapped into the original breeze last felt on Nude). Never Let Go confirms the point that Camel has plenty of life left in it. Spread out across two discs (the untangling of which is like disassembling a child's toy, a problem common to two-disc sets), this live show features two distinct sets. The first is a remarkable retelling of their earlier travels, recounting highlights from each of their releases up to Nude, in chronological order no less. It starts out deceptively simple, with Andrew Latimer strumming a slow version of "Never Let Go," which soon explodes into a spot-on rendition. With keyboardist Mickey Simmonds joining a returning Colin Bass and Paul Burgess, the new quartet does a marvelous job of capturing Camel in its various guises: from the instrumentals "Ice" and "Earthrise" to familiar songs like "Spirit of the Water" (sung by Bass) and "City Life." The second set is devoted to a pristine presentation of their recent opus, Dust and Dreams, in its entirety. Amazingly, the live performance concedes nothing in clarity to its studio counterpart, so no harm done if you bypass the original and hear it here instead. As a bonus, Camel closes with the instrumental "Sasquatch" (one of the few bright spots from The Single Factor) and a beloved mirage from the past, "Lady Fantasy." Among their live releases (which number more than a few), Never Let Go may be the one worth holding onto. Latimer's voice has grown a little thinner over the years (and it was pretty thin to begin with), but his guitar work gets sharper with age. Critically speaking, this gets two humps up. © Dave Connolly © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-let-go-mw0000713430

Camel seem to be the kind of band that everybody has heard of, but not listened to. Camel were one of the the greatest archetypal progressive rock bands ever to emerge from England. The late Peter Bardens' brilliant keyboard-playing was a major force in Camel's success. Peter played with Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and had played keyboards with the legendary Van Morrison's "Them." Despite many album releases from 1972 onwards, Camel have never reached megastardom. But again, like so many other great bands, Camel have never bowed to commercialism, and for the last 40 years or so, through many different line-ups, continue to produce their own unique brand of wonderful music. This is Grade A progressive live rock from a band who deserve more accolades. This Official Bootleg album was recorded in one concert at Enschede, Holland, on September 5th, 1992, to coincide with Camel's 20th anniversary and the promotion of the band's "Dust and Dreams" album. The album arguably contains most of Camel's strongest songs from their early - mid career. Disc Two is a live version of the band's "Dust and Dreams" album. The guitar work from Andy Latimer is superb. Is this guy ever mentioned in any "Greatest Guitarist" lists"?. "Never Let Go" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to the band's brilliant "Nod & A Wink" album, and listen to their "Rain Dances" and "I Can See Your House From Here" albums. Read a more detailed bio of Camel @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_(band) Support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: 2 separate rar files: Pt.1 (Disc 1) = 134 Mb, & Pt.2 (Disc 2) = 163 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

DISC ONE

1 Never Let Go - Andy Latimer 7:22
2 Earthrise - Peter Bardens / Andy Latimer 8:02
3 Rhayader - Peter Bardens / Andy Latimer 2:23
4 Rhayader Goes to Town - Peter Bardens / Andy Latimer 5:14
5 Spirit of the Water - Peter Bardens 3:03
6 Unevensong - Peter Bardens / Andy Latimer / Andy Ward 5:44
7 Echoes - Peter Bardens / Andy Latimer / Andy Ward 7:48
8 Ice - Andy Latimer 10:21
9 City Life - Susan Hoover 5:10
10 Drafted - Susan Hoover / Andy Latimer 4:12

DISC TWO

1 Dust Bowl - Andy Latimer 1:58
2 Go West - Andy Latimer 3:47
3 Dusted Out - Andy Latimer 1:36
4 Mother Road - Susan Hoover / Andy Latimer 3:44
5 Needles - Andy Latimer 3:31
6 Rose of Sharon - Susan Hoover / Andy Latimer 5:32
7 Milk 'N' Honey - Andy Latimer 3:28
8 End of the Line - Susan Hoover / Andy Latimer 7:27
9 Storm Clouds - Susan Hoover / Andy Latimer 3:16
10 Cotton Camp - Andy Latimer 2:28
11 Broken Banks - Andy Latimer 0:45
12 Sheet Rain - Andy Latimer 2:20
13 Whispers - Andy Latimer 1:06
14 Little Rivers and Little Rose - Andy Latimer 2:10
15 Hopeless Anger - Andy Latimer 4:54
16 Whispers in the Rain - Andy Latimer 3:56
17 Sasquatch - Andy Latimer 4:58
18 Lady Fantasy - Camel 15:28

BAND

Andy Latimer - Guitar, Keyboards, Flute, Vocals
Colin Bass - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Mickey Simmonds - Keyboards
Paul Burgess - Drums, Bells, Octopad, Tambourine

SHORT BIO

Camel never achieved the mass popularity of fellow British progressive rock bands like the Alan Parsons Project, but they cultivated a dedicated cult following. Over the course of their career, Camel experienced numerous changes, but throughout the years, Andrew Latimer remained the leader of the band. Formed in 1972 in Surrey, Camel originally consisted of Latimer (guitar, flute, vocals), Andy Ward (drums), Doug Ferguson (bass), and keyboardist Peter Bardens, previously of Them. By the end of 1973, the group signed with MCA and released their eponymous debut. In 1974, the band switched record labels, signing with Decca's Gama subsidiary, and released Mirage. In 1975, Camel released their breakthrough album The Snow Goose, which climbed into the British Top 30. The band's English audience declined with 1976's Moonmadness, but the album was more successful in America, reaching number 118 -- the highest chart position the band ever attained in the U.S. Following the release of Moonmadness, Ferguson left the band and was replaced by Richard Sinclair (ex-Caravan); at the same time, the group added saxophonist Mel Collins. Latimer and Bardens conflicted during the recording of 1977's Rain Dances and those tensions would come to a head during the making of 1978's Breathless. After Breathless was completed, Bardens left the band. Before recording their next album, Camel replaced Bardens with two keyboardists -- Kit Watkins (Happy the Man) and Jim Schelhaas (Caravan) -- and replaced Sinclair with Colin Bass. By the time Camel released their 1979 album, I Can See Your House From Here, rock & roll had been changed by the emergence of punk rock, which resulted in less press coverage for progressive rock, as well as decreased record sales. Camel suffered from this shift in popular taste -- I Can See Your House From Here received less attention than any of the band's releases since their debut. Latimer returned to writing concept albums with 1981's Nude. In 1982, drummer Andy Ward was forced to leave the band after suffering a severe hand injury. Camel's 1982 album, The Single Factor, was a slicker, more accessible affair than previous Camel records, but it failed to chart. Stationary Traveller (1984) was another concept album. After the release of the 1984 live album, Pressure Points, Camel entered a long period of hibernation that lasted until the early '90s. In 1985, Decca dropped Camel from its roster. Latimer wasn't able to find a new label because he was embroiled in a difficult legal battle with Camel's former manager Geoff Jukes; Camel eventually won the lawsuit in the late '80s. Throughout this period, Camel produced no new music. In 1988, Latimer sold his home in England and moved to California, where he founded the independent label Camel Productions. By the time Camel recorded their follow-up to Stationary Traveller in the early '90s, the band was, for most intents and purposes, simply Andrew Latimer and a handful of session musicians. Dust and Dreams (1991) was the first release on Camel Productions. In 1993, PolyGram released a double-disc Camel retrospective, Echoes. In early 1996, Camel released Harbour of Tears. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/camel-mn0000943268