A LIVE RECORD

This is one of my absolute favorite live albums. Every song on here (with the notable exception of Lady Fantasy) sounds better than its studio version. Part of the reason for this is new singer Richard Sinclair's (ex. Caravan) vocals, which are smooth and beautiful and complement the Camel sound very well. The songs also get a significant lift in places from new member Mel Collins' (ex. King Crimson) saxophone, which again is beautiful and much welcome in the music. Another reason for the improvement is the full orchestration of the entire Snow Goose (most of disc 2) which sounds absolutely great. These factors bake for a much fuller, more dynamic and livelier sound. In addition, the band just seems to work better as a cohesive whole live than in the studio. By comparison, much of their studio work seems stale, tame and contained. the music really comes ALIVE.

For newcomers to the band, (as i was when I got this, advised by other reviewers) this is an EXCELLENT place to start. In addition to the entire Snow Goose (which is better than the studio version), there is 1 song from Camel, 2 songs from Mirage, 4 songs from Moonmadness 5 from Rain Dances and an extra non-studio track Ligging at Louis. These songs are also the best ones from their respective albums. In other words, the set list is nearly flawless. If you get this album, make sure to get the reissue, as it contains 7 additional songs.

This is a wonderful album, highly recommended to all fans of jazzy, melodic music and to fans of progressive music in general. Enjoy!

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