MIRAGE

After mainly listening to symphonic prog rock bands like Yes, Pink Floyd and King Crimson i thought i would give camel a try after reading the good reviews of this album. Mirage is an impressive album yet i was a little disapointed at the lack of exploration on this album. All of the prementioned bands tend to have vast amounts of explorational soundscapes on their songs with no limits, including many different styles, instruments and experimentation, which i believe to be one of the most important features of progressive rock. Mirage does have some of these elements in songs like "Nimrodel" and "Lady Fantasy" but i still found these songs very lacking in any direction.

Still, i am new to camel and was impressed by what is here. I especially enjoyed the keyboard and flute duo on "Supertwister". This is a decent instrumental and keeps the flow of the album going. The singer isn't too special. i found his voice to be dull, flat and he doesn't really stretch his voice. It was a shame to hear the lack of emotion in Camel's songs. The guitar work is excellent here, especially in the guitar solos. This is one of the most solid guitar based symphonic albums i have heard yet it still isn't enough to keep me gripped.

"Lady Fantasy" is probably the best track on the album and it has clear progressions within the song and is very consistant but i think they could have made it flow better as it sounds patchy in areas. Altogether this is a very enjoyable album, but it feels very claustrophobic and is rather limited compared to bands like Yes and Pink Floyd.