STATIONARY TRAVELLER

By the time this album was released, Camel were very much Andy Latimer's band. They (he) attempted to answer the perennial criticism of previous albums (other than "Snowgoose"!) that their vocals were their Achilles heel by getting Chris Rainbow (who here remembers "Glasgow Boy"?) to take lead vocals on a couple of the tracks. The result is an excellent album by any standards. Once again, we have one of Camel's striking opening themes, with a brief but dramatic lead guitar piece instantly grabbing the listeners attention and setting the mood for the rest of album.

Latimer uses his position as de facto leader to showcase his guitar prowess, particularly on the beautifully crafted title track and the stunning closer "Long goodbyes". The latter track is a real classic prog ballad, with a soaring guitar solo to finish. As a whole, the album is generally lighter than the early albums of Camel, leaning more towards Art Rock and even at times AOR. The wartime concept contributes to the continuity and completeness of the album, with tracks such as "Refugee" and "West Berlin" reflecting the generally slightly depressed atmosphere.

A video. "Pressure points" which includes most of the tracks and mixes live footage with atmospheric war years scenes was made around the same time. It was recently re-released in DVD format.

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