NEVER LET GO

Before this one I suggest you to start with "Coming of Age" and "A Live Record"!! Well in my opinion you have to start with these latter, containing a selection of some "must have" from CAMEL and also the fantastic live version of "The Snow Goose", because both sound much and much better than the studio album and contain also other jewels from various albums.

Anyway here, if you skip "City Life" (the unique weak track from "Nude"), "Hymn to Her" from "I can see your house from here"and accept another version of their standard mini-suite "Lady Fantasy" from the album "Mirage", which has been the song by which Andy has concluded a lot of lives, the rest is excellent stuff... Nevertheless they have forgotten here the essential "Beached" and "Docks" from "Nude", "Lunar Sea" from "Moonmadness"; and moreover of course there isn't any stuff from "Harbour of Tears", this CD being not issued yet.

Recommended, after having already bought "Coming of Age" and "A Live Record"!!

I highly recommend this album for anyone who does not want to buy all of Camel's Albums and just wants to hear a general idea of most of Camel's strongest songs during their early- mid career (then I would recommend to buy Rajaz which is for me their best 90s album)

Never Let Go starts the album with a mediocre acoustic song that turns into an energetic section that leaves a good impression. EArthrise from Mirage Follows it and it really rocks! The next songs are the beginning songs of Snow goose which are very nice. Next are 1 track from every following album with Ice being the strongest of the 4. The first disc closes with two decent songs that sound like video game soundtrack.

The second version contains a live version of the album 'stationary traveler' in its entirety. It is a good mellow album (I'll give it 3 stars). So, it is great that you can buy a live album, and get a studio album included. The last song is a better version of the mediocre Lady Fantasy.

My Grade : B-

As I have mentioned in my review for "Dust & Dreams", I was very happy that Camel did a great come back after such a long and unproductive period. This double CD comes out the "Dust" supporting tour.

So far, I have not been really overwhelmed with Camel's live albums, so will this one be different ?

CD one features the old repertoire. "Never Let Go" comes from their first album and was rather premonitory. I guess that Andrew choose this title to name this record to symbolize his very long fights with lawyers and record companies. And one can only be respectuous for his persistence. "Earthrise" from "Mirage" is really exceptional. The guitar and drums are so great that this track sounds like a Santana one from their glorious days. A highlight.

We move a bit in time for the next two "Rhayader" ones from "Snow Goose". Very good as well. "Moonmadness" is represented by "Spirit Of The Water". It was not the most impressive number, but this melodious and emotional track is a real delight here.

We continue our nice journey into Camel's repertoire with "Uneven Song" from "Rain Dances" which was one of the not so many good track on there. "Echoes" was my preferred track on "Breathless" and sounds really great.

One has to recognize that so far this live album is excellent. By far the best Camel one.

The best is yet to come. Finally, "Ice".

I have been desperate to hear this one live. They missed so many opportunities to integrate it in earlier live efforts that to get it here as well is a great relief. And, yes : the fan is rewarded. This version sounds again better than the studio one. In terms of live version, they will do even better during their Rajaz tour. But I guess that these albums, although available for reviewing during a certain time were retrieved from this site. Their (semi) boot status must be the reason (but still the "Ice" version from "Camelitis, Live In Chile" is even more emotional).

Talking about emotion, I will do the (obvious) link here with Carlos Santana. "Ice" is definitely a number he could have written. Maybe a duo one day ? It is science-fiction of course, but how great a moment it could be ! Andrew delivers here one of his most emotional guitar beak ever during this tour. FABULOUS. There are really no other words.

For their live come back, Camel did not take any risk (just like Yes did for the fantastic "Keys" albums). They picked up one of the best songs from each album. From their first one up to "Nude". The latter will also feature two songs (like "Snow"). While "Drafted" was again one of the best and passionate songs from the album, I could never stand "Citylife" and its poppy orientation.

Second CD features the whole of "Dust & Dreams" which is a good idea, since it was a concept album. I mentioned already that to my ears this new work was one of their best album so far (I have rated it four stars). On top of its intrinsic qualities, this live version adds such feeling and emotion that it even supersedes the studio effort (but most of the double CD will do so). To close this wonderful album, we' ll get "Lady Fantasy". OK, it is not the first time we get this one live but it is one of their most emblematic song.

I guess that you have understood that I can only give it a five stars rating.

Released to coincide with Camel's 20th anniversary and the promotion of "Dust and Dreams", "Never Let Go" is an expansive and ambitious live effort. The first disk provides a more than capable summation of prior classics, some of which are real gems not heard in a live context previously, such as "Echoes" and "Ice", both in excellent versions that capture the original spirit while providing for tasty live diversions. Other highlights are a splendid rendition of "Unevensong" and a languid but iconic "Drafted".

Disk 2 presents "Dust and Dreams" in its entirety. The band seems unsure whether to be faithful to the original or strike out adventurously, so, while it is professionally and ably performed, it does not really add new dimensions. In particular, the lack of female co-lead on "Rose of Sharon" and an overly miked "Mother Road" detract from the experience. The choice of encores might have pleased fans but one hardly needs more live versions of "Sasquatch" or "Lady Fantasy".

Thanks to the superb track selection and performance on disk 1, I am rounding up to 4 stars. Recommended for that reason, even though I still counsel the purchase of "Dust and Dreams" separately. Camel at 20 shows no signs of relinquishing their hold on anything.

I'm never going to let go of this!

Dust And Dreams was the best Camel album for a very, very long time. Indeed, it has become one of my all time favourite Camel albums. It is performed here in its entirety on this fantastic live album.

The set list is divided into two parts and is basically the very best of Camel on two discs. The material ranges all the way from their debut album up till Dust And Dreams. All songs are given magnificent performances. Latimer's guitar work is better than ever. His sustained guitar notes sends chills down my spine - such emotion he puts into his playing! He can make a guitar speak like very few people can.

The first part of the set consists of classic Camel. Basically all the songs here are better than on the studio recordings. The opening Never Let Go is significantly different from the original and all other live versions I have heard of this classic song. It is a very stripped down, acoustic version. Very brave to start the concert like this!

The selection from The Snow Goose significantly benefits from being played live; it has more power than the original version. Many of the songs are somehow given new life here. Ice, an instrumental from the I Can See Your House From Here album, is simply breathtaking.

The second set consists of Dust And Dreams (plus an encore including the eternal Lady Fantasy). The Dust And Dreams songs sound even better here than they did on the studio album, primarily because of the improved drum sound. The studio version had those stale 80's sounding drums. Here the drumming is more lively and "genuine" for lack of a better word.

If I must point out a weak link in this album it has to be the keyboards. They could be more organic and "real". Especially on Lady Fantasy where the organ is replaced by electronic keyboards. Doesn't quite fit this song, I think. But the amazing guitar work overshadows any lack in the keyboard department.

I will not say too much about Dust And Dreams here. See the reviews for the studio album. But I can say as much as this though: It is a stunning conceptual masterpiece, very emotional and Mother Road is a great rock song with an excellent guitar melody. Even if I like this live version very much, I wouldn't say that it makes the studio album redundant.

If all you know from Camel is their first four studio albums, this double live album is an excellent place to start if you want to explore some later Camel stuff. However, I would say that the Coming Of Age live album (which is available both as a double CD and a live DVD) is slightly better than this. The old Live Record from the 70's, on the other hand - great though it is! - doesn't even come close to any of these two, and both Never Let Go and Coming Of Age are extremely highly recommended.

Review Nº 870

"Never Let Go" is the fourth live album of Camel and was released in 1993. It was recorded from a live performance of the band in Enschede, Holland, in 1992, and as with "Camel On The Road 1972", "Camel On The Road 1981", "Camel On The Road 1982" and "Camel 73 ? 75 Gods Of Light", "Never Let Go" is also a live bootleg, a common thing with Camel.

"Never Let Go" is a double live album with twenty eight tracks. It was released to support the live tour of "Dust And Dreams". When "Never Let Go" was released, Camel had eleven studio albums, "Camel" released in 1973, "Mirage" released in 1974, "The Snow Goose" released in 1975, "Moonmadness" released in 1976, "Rain Dances" released in 1977, "Breathless" released in 1978, "I Can See Your House From Here" released in 1979, "Nude" released in 1981, "The Single Factor" released in 1982, "Stationary Traveller" released in 1984 and "Dust And Dreams" released in 1991.

So, as we can see, at the time of "Never Let Go", Camel had already a very extensive and amazing career. But, as many of we know, Camel had some problems with their lines up in the 70's. Camel only had a stabilized line up on their four first studio albums. Of their original line up, Camel saw the departure of Doug Ferguson in 1977 after "Moonmadness", the departure of Peter Bardens in 1978 before the supporting tour of "Breathless" and the departure of Andy Ward after "Nude". Besides that, Camel had also some legal problems. For a few years Andrew Latimer was fighting with lawyers to get some due royalties and to resolve the problems with their former manager. After the end of the contract with Decca, Camel was able to create their own record label, and after seven long years they released "Dust And Dreams".

"Never Let Go" has twenty-eight tracks. From all studio albums of Camel, at the time, almost all are represented here. The only exception is "Stationary Traveller" without any of its tracks represented on "Never Let Go". Thus, from "Camel" we have only one track "Never Let Go". From "Mirage" we have two tracks "Earthrise" and "Lady Fantasy", which is divided into three parts "Encounter", "Smiles For You" and "Lady Fantasy". From "The Snow Goose" we have two tracks "Rhayader" and "Rhayader Goes To Town". From "Moonmadness" we have only one track "Spirit Of The Water". From "Rain Dances" we have only one track "Unevensong". From "Breathless" we have only one track "Echoes". From "I Can See Your House From Here" we have only one track "Ice". From "Nude" we have two tracks "City Life" and "Drafted". From "The Single Factor" we have only one track "Sasquatch". From "Dust And Dreams" we have sixteen tracks "Dust Bowl", "Go West", "Dusted Out", "Mother Road", "Needless", "Rose Of Sharon", "Milk 'N' Honey", "End Of The Line", "Storm Clouds", "Cotton Camp", "Broken Banks", "Sheet Rain", "Whispers", "Little Rivers And Little Rose", "Hopeless Hanger" and "Whispers In The Rain". So, "Dust And Dreams" was entirely performed live.

The line up on "Never Let Go" is composed by Andrew Latimer (vocals, guitars, flutes and keyboards), Mickey Simmonds (keyboards), Collin Bass (vocals, bass guitar and keyboards) and Paul Burgess (drums). Camel gave a very extensive live show, a kind of a nostalgic time trip, a voyage for almost all Camel's studio works, starting from some of their best and oldest musical material in the 70's and ending with what was, at time, their last studio creation. The pieces are largely kept on the originals, but overall appear stronger than on the studio versions. So, it contains some of their best jewels from their various studio albums. We may say that "Never Let Go" is divided into two distinct musical parts. The first disc contains some of their best studio material from some of their best studio albums, and begins with a song from their debut studio album, and goes forth following a perfect chronological order with songs from their first to their eighth studio album. The second disc contains the complete live performance from their eleventh studio album "Dust And Dreams". No major changes have been made to the studio version, but the game is played with more pressure. "Never Let Go" ends with the encore of two songs from other two studio albums, which represents a kind of two bonus live songs of the show, the instrumental "Sasquatch" and the classic "Lady Fantasy".

Conclusion: Another Camel's bootleg live album. What can I say? I can say that we are in presence of another live masterpiece from Andy Latimer and his friends. And once more and despite we are in presence of a live bootleg album, the quality of its sound is once more very good. I even dare to say that it's completely irreproachable. Fortunately, their weakest albums "Breathless", "I Can See Your House From Here" and "The Single Factor" are each represented with some of their very best songs, "Echoes", "Ice" and "Sasquatch". So, "Never Let Go" is a fantastic live album of Camel, and is an excellent place to start your journey through Camel's world, if you aren't used with Camel's music, especially if you want to explore some stuff that desn't belong to the so-called golden era, that comprises their first four studio albums. Overall, "Never Let Go" is one of the best of Camel's numerous live albums due to the great selection of songs.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)