MOONMADNESS

Ah, now here is an album -- and indeed a band -- that I've ignored for far too long. I will admit I am a newbie to the wonderful world of Camel, but they are quickly becoming one of my favorite discoveries since joining this site.

This album could not have been titled any more appropriately, as there is a slightly spacey, very "night-ish" and serene feel to the entire thing. I can imagine listening to this disc while sprawled on my back and watching the stars on the hood of a car, Wayne-and-Garth style.

Kicking things off is the exceedingly odd "Aristillus", a jaunty, happy-sounding instrumental piece that is rife with Moog-a-licious keys and bright melodies. There is a strange, space-rock-like "bubbling" vocal in the background that makes the piece a tad sinister and keeps the tune from being overly cheesy.

Next up is the wonderful "Song Within A Song", which is probably my favorite from the album. This track could easily be split up into three distinct sections, with the first being slightly jazzy and containing a rather Canterbury-esque sound. The second section has guitarist Andy Lattimer delivering a cool guitar riff that is a bit reminiscent of the guitar bit in the pre-chorus of Gentle Giant's "Pantagruel's Nativity". The third section ups the tempo, with outstanding Pete Bardens keyboard work. A great song, start to finish!

"Chord Change" is another winner, which features Lattimer playing some fabulous "single-notey" guitar over many different chord changes, hence the name. Great band interplay in this one; excellent bass playing and drumming in addition the the two "lead" instruments.

"Spirit Of The Water" could be seen as a throwaway track, but that would be a big mistake in my opinion. There are some beautiful flute and ethereal vocals over a background of lovely piano. A gorgeous little song.

"Another Night" is probably my least favorite track here, as it's perhaps a little too Pink Floyd-esque for its own good, with Andy sounding like a dead ringer for David Gilmour on the verses. It's also the most poppish song on the album, but it's not bad at all overall.

Next is "Air Born", with its beautiful flute and piano intro dissolving into another dreamy piece chock full of floating keyboards, etheral vocals and tasteful guitar work. In other words, it's more classic Camel.

"Lunar Sea" closes the album, and boy, what a closer! Shimmering Moog sounds set the scene, with ghostly guitar volume swells which morph into more single-notey goodness from Andy. Another jazzy piece, this is a showcase for the band much like "Chord Change". The song fades out with the same dreamy keyboards that it started with.

My CD contains 5 bonus tracks, which are hit-and-miss. The live versions of "Song Within A Song" and "Lunar Sea" are nice, if not much different than the album versions. There is also a "demo" version of "Spirit Of The Water" which, frankly, isn't different enough from the final version to merit much of a mention. A live version of "Preparation" and "Dunkirk", from The Snow Goose, is an odd choice to include on this album, but it's much appreciated since I don't have that album yet. Rounding out the bonus tracks is the single edit of "Another Night" which, in my opinion, is useless as it cuts out most of the best parts of the song.

I have no problems whatsoever in giving this album 5 stars, as I believe it is an essential album that I missed out on for far too long. If you are interested in Camel's unique fusion of space rock and symphonic prog, with just a hint of Canterbury, this is probably as good a place to start as any. I have only heard three Camel albums thus far (others being Nude and Mirage), and this is by far the best one. I only wish I had discovered it sooner.