HARBOUR OF TEARS

Camel

Symphonic Prog

3.75 | 723 ratings

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judahbenkenobi

The Symphonic Prog Camel is back!

Although not one of Camel's essential masterpieces, an honor reserved to its early seventies work, Andy Latimer's baby is back with an excellent addition to its plethoric discography.

This time the concept is way more inspired, undoubtedly prompted by the sad passing away of Stan Latimer, Andrew's father. The lyrics and vocalization are far more refined than on Dust and Dreams, Andy's voice more fitting to the concept.

And last but not least, the music. A truly symphonic work of art, what lacks in rhythm certainly wins on melody. The instrumentation is excellent, although as with previous albums, I would have enjoyed it a lot more if performed by an orchestra, but that is just a personal taste. The little drumwork was apparently performed by a session musician, but his participation is very spare. Anyway, the concept of the album deserved the focus given on the melody, which of course borrows some Celtic sounds, in view of the Irish context of the story.

Highlights: As with other concept albums, it is not fair to single out any track, but the band itself chose to perform tracks such as "Watching the Bobbins" (I don't know what a bobbin is) and "Coming of Age", the latter not being one of my favorite moments. I certainly can point a weakness, though, which is the last track, "The Hour Candle". I was in disbelief when I saw the track list that stated an epic 23 minutes for this song; and I was ultimately correct, since after 8 or 9 minutes the only thing to be heard is the sound of waves. It's not that I don't like the lulling sound of sea surf, but it's certainly not what I expected from a 23-minute track. Anyway, that is just a minor flaw.

judahbenkenobi | 4/5 | 2019-3-2

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