CHAMELEON (BEST OF CAMEL)

I am probably one of the very few Camel fans who actually enjoy this album.Obviously someone at Universal Music shares my enthusiasm because it finally got a CD release (in Japan) last year much to my pleasant surprise.Obviously as a single vinyl LP originally, there is no way it could ever manage to be fully representative so the compilers have simply taken a minimum of one track off all the Deram Lps.Fortunately with a couple of exceptions, this compilation has managed to cherry pick many of my favourite tracks. "Echoes" from Breathless is far and away the best and proggiest track on that album. "Rhayader /Rhayader Goes to Town" from the Snowgoose album is arguably the strongest track from that album.I was never as enthusiastic about Moon Madness as most fans seem to be but I always liked "Song Within a Song" from that album and here it is- track 4.I actually really liked the Raindances album and my favourite from that album "Unevensong" is here as well.I always found Nude a bit difficult to digest like a lot of concept albums but "Nude/Drafted" and "Lies" from that album were pretty strong and make a welcome appearance too. I Can See My House From Here saw the group moving into dangerously commercial waters and unfortunately this compilation includes "Remote Romance" from that album which is the most irritating song they ever recorded. There are actually quite a few decent tracks from that album which the compiler could have chosen but there you go. "Rainbow's End from Breathless round off the compilation and is rather a lightweight syruppy ballad and there are any number of tracks I would have preferred - maybe "Highways of the Sun"

Overall though, as a listening experience I think this album works extremely well. There are much more comprehensive collections like the 2CD Echoes but I actually find those exhaustive compliations a bit tough to get through. Ironically unlike single LP samplers which make no attempt to be comprehensive but work as an album when listening to these blockbuster 2CD collections I spend most of the time irritated by the tracks they omit.

So again- I realise I am in the minority but I still recommend Chameleon as an excellent sampler and a very enjoyable album in its own right

4 stars

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