NUDE

Following 1979's "I Can See Your House from Here", which continued a steady nosedive in quality for Camel's music, the band experienced even more flux. Kit Watkins, who had joined the band for that album, would depart, although he would change his mind and be a touring keyboardist following the release of 1981's "Nude", the album which I consider to be the official beginning of the more modernized, Latimer-controlled Camel era that would exist to the present day.

Bucking the trend, "Nude" is considered to be one of the band's better albums, especially given the circumstances. 1981 saw the emergence of neo-prog, but many of the genre's stalwarts either disappeared or sold out to the world of album-oriented rock. In the vein of the band's previous two albums, Camel finds a way to fuse this more modern streamlined sound with implicitly progressive music, and for the first time it really seems to gel to form a cohesive album. Perhaps the reason why "Nude" was so successful critically is due to the album's format; this would be the band's second concept album, and the first since their 1975 hit "The Snow Goose". Incidentally, it follows a similar structure, save for the inclusion of vocals.

The concept of the album is based upon the Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender after the end of the Second World War, opting to continue the fight on their own using guerrilla warfare. One such famous example is the soldier Hiroo Onoda, who the protagonist of the album is based upon pretty heavily. The album starts off with the smooth and quintessentially 1980's "City Life", which is by no means progressive but is an example of a pop song done right. Very catchy hook, relaxing atmosphere, and sentimental tones make this opener very palatable. Another great song follows in "Drafted", which would come to be a pioneering track in where the band would go into their future albums with more complex and emotional compositions, with a stunning evocative guitar solo. "Nude" also marks the first album where guitarist Andrew Latimer's wife, Susan Hoover, would make lyrical contributions on the album, something that would remain a staple of Camel's discography all the way through "A Nod and a Wink" in 2002.

For the fans who crave more progressive and instrumentally challenging compositions, Camel comes back with two solid instrumentals in "Docks" and "Beached", which are good examples of prog with a 1980's tinge. Indeed, side one of this LP is perhaps the best we've seen since 1977's "Rain Dances", and marks a significant step in the right direction for the band.

Side two is a little less interesting in the sense that a lot of the instrumental tracks on this side really did not inspire me. We open up with a very world music-inspired "Changing Places" that makes liberal use of tribal drums, and a very emotional interlude "Pomp & Circumstance", but the following four tracks are all pretty forgettable, and it isn't until we reach "Lies" that we get some sort of resonant music once again. This song is very funky and marks a pretty significant change in the band's sound compared to the rest of the album, but isn't different enough to where it sticks out like a sore thumb. In fact, it has an edge of clean-cut 1980's professionalism that makes it rather listenable, even if it is just as "prog" as "City Life". The album is then finished off with a decent instrumental in "The Last Farewell", which features a Latimer guitar solo and drum rhythm that properly wraps the album up in a way that is conclusive.

"Nude" was definitely a strong comeback from the previous two albums; it is a wonderful example of 1980's prog that is totally worth a listen. The major issue I have with this album however is that, unlike all Camel albums to this point, there really was not a decisively seminal track to takeaway from the experience. Where "I Can See Your House from Here" had "Ice", "Breathless" had "Echoes", and "Rain Dances" had "Unevensong", there really is no lasting composition that came off of "Nude". That, and this album tends to suffer from some annoyingly boring moments similar to "The Snow Goose", a trait that kept me from deeming that album essential despite its commercial success. In reality, this would come to be a marring issue that would hold back every single Camel concept album, as 1991's "Dust and Dreams" and 1994's "Harbour of Tears" would suffer from the same auditory attrition. With that said, there are some really enjoyable tracks on "Nude", and it is an album that I would listen to again. I even found myself humming the solo from "Drafted" and the keyboard riff from "City Life" after the album concluded, a sign of good pop tunes.

Unfortunately, Camel's lineup woes would continue from here, with a rather scary incident in which Andy Ward, driven to depression by drug abuse, would attempt suicide. This would result in Latimer deciding to part ways with the drummer, who had been with the band since its inception. Ward would retire from music altogether as a result of this ordeal unfortunately, and Camel would be forced to march on with just one of its original members, who at this point had become the definite leader of the band's direction. The band's label Decca however was growing impatient at the band's choice in writing less commercially appealing concept albums, and demanded Camel release an album that would be more palatable to radio. Of course, as was the case for pretty much any band forced to follow the will of the record label instead of their own creative minds, the result was horrid to say the least.

OVERALL RATING: 3.1/5

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