RAIN DANCES

Following the release of the band's fourth LP "Moonmadness", unhappy with the more jazzy direction that drummer Andy Ward was taking, bassist Doug Ferguson would leave the band, ending what would be considered Camel's golden age. With Ferguson gone, the rest of the band would go full throttle with their desire to have a jazzier touch on their highly-anticipated fifth studio album. The hype surrounding this album was large given the musicians Camel drafted to flush out their new sound; former Caravan bassist Richard Sinclair would fill in for Ferguson, and the band would add esteemed journeyman multi-instrumentalist Mel Collins of King Crimson fame to form a quintet. All things seemed extremely hopeful for Camel, as Sinclair was a far better musician technically, and was a fine vocalist in his own right. Camel, having lacked a true dedicated vocalist since the band's inception, seemed like it finally had an all-star roster to make an essential work of progressive rock.

"Rain Dances" was released on 17 September 1977, and would achieve similar commercial success to the band's previous two albums, "The Snow Goose" and "Moonmadness". However, many consider this album to be a letdown in perspective with its lofty expectations. One would not assume this immediately given the eclectic jazz-infused opening instrumental "First Light", which is capped off by an absolutely incredible and inspiring Collins saxophone solo which made for one serious first impression. This hot start is succeeded by the aptly-titled "Metrognome", which allows the band to properly introduce Sinclair with a bit of Canterburyian charm. An okay rocker, it really does not catch my attention like the previous composition. We then have a more experimental and psychedelic interlude in "Tell Me", where the band eschews their newfound identity to go for a more atmospheric tone that is a refreshing break from the opening tracks. If Camel did one thing especially right on "Rain Dances", it's that there is a plethora of different sounds that can encapsulate a listener. However, I am sure many progressive fans would, and perhaps have upon first listening, developed buyer's remorse for the poppy "Highways of the Sun" which closes out the first side. This is the first song in Camel's history that is obviously a song designed for commercial success, and while it is not a bad song, it will definitely irritate the seasoned prog listener. Of course, this was the late-seventies, prog had faded from the mainstream, and smooth rock a la Alan Parsons Project was taking root behind the obnoxious rebelliousness of punk rock. This song is merely Camel trying to emulate that refined sound, and it is overall a mediocre track.

Fortunately, Camel comes back strong on the second side with the elegant and inspiring "Unevensong", my personal favorite from this album. While it takes a little while to truly heat up, the convergence of harmonies in the coda is absolutely beautiful, with guitarist Andrew Latimer and Collins interweaving solos to conclude the song. If you are to listen to this album, I would do it for this song alone. At this point, I noticed that out of the five tracks I have listened to, one was instrumental and the other four had lyrics, with Sinclair doing lead vocals on two, Latimer on one, and shared vocal sections on "Unevensong" itself. However, I had pretty much neglected the vocal presence of Sinclair up to this point, and in my opinion his presence as a vocalist really wasn't the remedy for Camel's deficit in that part of the musical landscape that I had hoped for. He is not a bad vocalist by any means, but his contributions on bass far outweigh his contributions on vocals.

On cue, we transition into Camel's second instrumental of the album, with another aptly named title "One of These Days I'll Have an Early Night". This is the token mediocre instrumental of the album, it is extremely jazzy and has elements of seventies funk. More interesting is another instrumental in "Elke", which features the contributions of the legend himself, Brian Eno. As is the case with an Eno production, this is an ambient and experimental track which was pretty interesting, albeit sadly forgettable despite the presence of some nice "soundscapes" as Fripp would call it. Instrumentals indeed seem to be the theme of the second side, as two more of them conclude the album, the first being the more Camel-esque "Skylines". At this point in the album I had noticed that the contributions of longtime keyboardist Peter Bardens had been largely marginalized on this album. Of course, behind the music, both Latimer and Bardens were beginning to feud creatively, setting the stage for a decline that would result in Bardens's eventual departure. "Skylines" is the first song that seems to really showcase his ability, and it's a welcome sight, even if it's not a really killer instrumental in the grand scheme of the album. The title track concludes the album, with a haunting array of tones that remind me a lot of the band's 1984 album "Stationary Traveller", which I am quite fond of. Really not much else to note here.

Overall, I can see why "Rain Dances" has been met with the reception it has. While I think it's a very good album with a refreshing sound, it does not live up to the marks to "Mirage" or "Moonmadness". Personally, I prefer it to "The Snow Goose". I appreciate Camel's willingness to change their sound with the times; at this point in the band's lifespan, they have released albums which have all been unique in sound on their end. Unfortunately, "Rain Dances" would mark the beginning of a period of decline for the band, and as the years passed by, like many other prog bands of the time, they drifted away from progressive rock and more towards album-orientated rock and pop. If you are a fan of jazz fusion or have been a fan of Camel's music so far up to this point, this is a very fine album to add to your collection. Highlights are "First Light" and "Unevensong".

OVERALL RATING: 4.1/5

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