STATIONARY TRAVELLER

As I go forward in time with my personal discovery of Camel I have arrived to Stationary Traveller, and have become more and more convinced (I knew it before, but now I'm convinced) that this was not the decade for prog rock. And my realization of the ups and downs in this band's discography also gains more conviction.... Only that this time, the low point that was The Single Factor remained true in this album.

I cannot say I dislike this release. There are certainly some interesting moments, i.e., the title track; Fingertips (I have this weakness for fretless bass, and David Paton did a nice job on this song); Pressure Points; and some parts, especially the guitar solos on Vopos, Refugee, and maybe West Berlin. But unlike The Single Factor, and even Breathless, which had good or very good tracks that saved the day, none of the aforementioned tracks are outstanding. They are only minor outcroppings in a generally OK album.

Besides that, the concept that was the meat of this release ultimately sacrificed the quality of the music. Maybe it's just that I was too young when all this East-West push and pull was happening and now it's only history to me, but I found it rather boring, uninteresting. So I as I poured all my attention on the music, I was greatly disappointed.

I felt really bad when I considered putting this on the same level as Breathless, so I can raise only half a star to it, but rounded to the lowest unit.