The Camel appreciation thread

O666 wrote: I am a Camel HUGE fan and ofcourse I like Camel's vocalists . I like to know opinions about :   Why they don't have big number of fans in PA ?! Many of Progressive Rock fans ignore Camel easily. Many of Prog fans never count Camel as a "Great Band" or "Prog Giant" in Prog history , bands like King Crimson , Genesis , Yes , ELP , Pink Floyd , ... and I don't know WHY?!.  Camel is not a "Mid Level" band . They are a "High Level" band IMO. They impressed Prog Rock music scene during their career. They deserve to known more than now.

Don't get me wrong; I love Camel. There's a kind of melancholic, soothing mood or atmosphere to their music that makes them very dear to me. But as to why they may not be considered a "prog giant" in the same sense that King Crimson or Yes undoubtly are - its really no mystery. Debuting in 1973 they were late comers to the scene, three, four maybe five years after the bands that had established the sound and mindset to what we now have come to know as progressive rock. And their music, great as it is didn't really bring anything new to the table. Look to any other genres or musical development throughout history and you'll find the same mechanisms and logic at work. Regardless of what you think of A Love Supreme, Revolver, In The Court..., Bitches Brew or Autobahn, bands and artists inspired by these revolutionary albums won't have the same impact or historical importance. I that light Camel has done really well compared to almost any band comparable that I can think of.

I don't think  Ice is one of the best tracks.

noni wrote: O666 wrote: I am a huge fan of Camel. Unfortunately Camel is underrated band and I don't know why?! Kingsnake wrote: Camel is absolutely not underrated. Who underrates Camel? Almost anyone into progrock knows the band, and have at least one favorite album. I really don't like the term 'underrated'. I agree with Kingsnake, while references are often used in rating other bands new music with their reviews in DPRP and on this site Prog/Archives,  you will always see Camel mostly used.   Had Camel been more popular in the 70s and should of been on Top of the Pops or other TV shows as regular guests, I'm sure a lot more people would know more about this band.  Genesis were not that popular, until they kept being seen on TV shows and became world wide success with loads of hits.  The same goes with Yes, King Crimson and ELP.  All these bands had huge hits and appeared on TV shows.  Camel never made a hit and stayed with their albums , they only appeared in 2 common UK shows.  So not being able to have the common radio airing as with the other bands I mentioned.  It's a shame really,  had they made a few hits, Camel would be known by more people and even hear their music on local radio stations.

Kingsnake wrote: Camel is absolutely not underrated. Who underrates Camel? Almost anyone into progrock knows the band, and have at least one favorite album. I really don't like the term 'underrated'.

Kingsnake wrote: I'm just stating what I overheard people complaining about. I myself am a huge fan of the Andy's voice (and Colin's aswell). To be honest, there's a certain style to their voices. When you don't know wich bandmember sings wich song, it's hard to tell if Doug, Peter or Andy is singing (on Camel or Moonmadness). The same goes for Nude. Is it Andy or Colin singing? Hard to say. Richard Sinclair was a nice vocalist for the band on Rain Dances and Breathless, sharing vocals with Andy. It works very well, but didn't bring the band huge success. The ratings even go down, when compared to the first four albums.   You were right about Chris Rainbow. He just didn't fit the band. The same goes for the one-time-only vocals of Doug Patton (on Heroes).   Don't get me wrong, I never stated that Andy couldn't sing. I like his warm and soothing voice.

Edited by noni - September 23 2016 at 01:01

O666 wrote: I am a Camel HUGE fan and ofcourse I like Camel's vocalists . I like to know opinions about :   Why they don't have big number of fans in PA ?! Many of Progressive Rock fans ignore Camel easily. Many of Prog fans never count Camel as a "Great Band" or "Prog Giant" in Prog history , bands like King Crimson , Genesis , Yes , ELP , Pink Floyd , ... and I don't know WHY?!.  Camel is not a "Mid Level" band . They are a "High Level" band IMO. They impressed Prog Rock music scene during their career. They deserve to known more than now.

Also you can consider that Camel has beat ELP on polls in this site, and nobody can deny that ELP were one of the biggest prog giants back in the 70's.

I am a Camel HUGE fan and ofcourse I like Camel's vocalists . I like to know opinions about :  

Dellinger wrote: There may be many prog bands with better vocalists than Camel... but Camel's vocals have never bothered me. Their limitations can actually make them rather charming. I have heard songs from them (from the 80's, I think) with Chris Rainbow (who I have heard with Alan Parsons Project and really liked how he sang, but didn't really sound the same with Camel anyway), whom I guess most would agree is a better singer than Latimer (Latimer himself would agree, I suppose). However, the songs just don't work, they lost their charm. Actually, I like Camels vocals more than John Wetton's or Peter Gabriel's, and I believe there would be people saying they prefere them over Jon Anderson or Peter Hamill... or even Phil Collins.

Hi. Now you can compare this thread with another "Appreciation Threads" like BJH (another great band) that you made it. I really love BJH or "The Flower Kings" or ... 

Kingsnake wrote: I was not looking for a fight, and I don't understand your hostility. Maybe we just have to stop this conversation, so maintain the peace, adn talk about Camel's music.