COMING OF AGE

Good band, amazing show, great guitar work!

Let�s not discuss the music on this DVD - this is already done with the reviews to the almost identical CD-issue. From a visual standpoint, it is quite a mixed bag: on the one hand, we see a great band with an exceptional Andy Latimer on guitar, flute and keyboards. And the rest of the band does not stand behind either. They all perform a great set with passion and emotion. The filming of the band is also good: dynamic and in line with the music.

However, you hardly see shots of the audience or even the venue (if you saw Symphonic Yes you know what I am referring to). This gives you the impression that it must have been a rather small location, with small stage and a rather small audience.

So, already knowing the music and being impressed by the powerful performance, I was somewhat surprised to see all this happening in such a small environment. If the purpose of a live DVD is to give you a visual experience of the band and the music in interaction with the audience, this one would be somewhat dissapointing.

Yet, the music is so damn good....!

For my 200th review for our esteemed progressive site, I decided to dedicate this opinion to an amazing musician, who I never had a chance to see live (one of my 5 wishes rubbing the lamp!) and with him recovering from a major operation, probably never will. Hence, the selection of Camel's Coming of Age� live DVD, a masterful visual testament of Andy Latimer's contribution to modern progressive music and a thoroughly rousing testament to his well deserved legendary status. While the recordings over the last 3 and a half decades have withstood time and word, it must be said that seeing his artistry is even more compelling when witnessed in a concert setting as Latimer expresses so much with so little, each note seemingly wrapped in a shawl of emotion , literally sparkling at the seams. This is what live prog should look like, no elaborate props, no shining lasers and no special FX, just four dedicated virtuoso musicians luxuriating in the expression of their craft, transmitting profound feelings through their instruments, fingers, hands and lungs. No ego, no attitude, just powerful passion and gut wrenching delivery. Long time friend and captivating musician Colin Bass has been a Camel member since the mid-70s and his contributions are awe inspiring throughout. Keyboardist Foss Patterson has always been around, floating from Camel to Fish (likes animals, I guess) whenever either needs a touring maestro, his reputation greatly enhanced in watching and admiring his grimacing synth solo work, a sight to behold! Dave Squeaky Stewart is another member of the Camel to Fish convention, supplying dynamic drum work that remains faithful to the Andy Ward tradition while displaying a supple bravura.

Finally, the sympathetic Andy Latimer shines like few guitarists can, his entire body trembling from the incredible intensity of his melodies, the deepest emotions etched on his grimacing face. There are few musicians who are as overtly expressive as Carlos Santana or as breathtakingly gorgeous as David Gilmour, but Latimer offers up an incredible combination of both these masters, dispensing one searing melody after another with utter honesty. Obviously, Camel fans will need little encouragement to wallow in bliss (the fan interviews in the middle are priceless, especially that middle aged female babe who proudly confesses to many sultry trysts while listening to Camel, hmmmm) as the 2 hour long affair is divided in epochal stages chronologically moving from the early days of Mirage, Snow Goose, Moonmadness and Nude, with added renditions of Drafted, Sasquatch and the truly magnificent "Ice"� (at the end of which his entire being shudders VISIBLY, as if in orgasmic release), to a post-interlude selection of pieces from Dust & Dreams and Harbour of Tears. I have shown parts of this DVD to the ignorant masses and the reactions have been revealing, mainly comments like "hey, this is way more cool than Pink Floyd"," these old guys can sure play with feeling"� and "that old fart sure can play a mean guitar". These rather infantile remarks from non-fans provide the prog world more than enough illumination to rekindle our deepest affection for one of the genres truly fantastic personas, as well as one of the true gentle souls that has graced our lives for so long.

Not only is this ship of the desert worthy of such lofty praise but this timeless DVD should be coveted by those who like me, have never seen them live, as well as worshipped by those lucky enough to have. My already sky-scraping opinion has taken a quantum forward leap in admiration. Let's all wish Andy a speedy recovery.

5 palm trees.

Harbour Of Camel

I first saw this DVD about three years ago when I was living in Ireland for two months over the summer. Little did I know beforehand that the Harbour Of Tears concept album, performed here in its entirety, had a very strong connection to Ireland. This turned out to be a very moving experience for me, walking around the Irish country side during the day time and listening to the Harbour Of Tears performance in the evenings.

Dust And Dreams had been the best Camel album for a very, very long time and Harbour Of Tears continued this new found direction for the band. These two albums are two of the very best Camel albums ever and both albums are represented on this DVD; Harbour Of Tears in its entirety, as I said, and a small portion of Dust And Dreams is here too.

The set list on this filmed concert is basically the best of Camel 1976- 1996. At first I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't play anything at all from their first two albums, no Never Let Go or Lady Fantasy here. But I soon got over this when I heard these magnificent performances.

The first part of the set consists of "some old favourites and stuff" to quote Andy Latimer speaking to the audience. Most of the songs played here are better than on the studio recordings. The material from the Nude album is especially enhanced. I have always felt that album is a bit tame and subdued; here the numbers from Nude really rock! Also Hymn To Her, a song I didn't pay much attention to before, turn out to be great here. The selection from The Snow Goose also significantly benefits from being played live. These songs are given new life here. Ice, an instrumental from the I Can See Your House From Here album, is breathtaking. And the band makes no mistakes playing these old classics, the performances are spot on. Latimer's guitar work is better than ever.

The second set is basically a short bit of Dust And Dreams followed by the whole Harbour Of Tears album. The Dust And Dreams songs sound better here than they did on the studio album, primarily because of the improved drums. Dust And Dreams had a somewhat sterile drum sound, typical of the early 90's. Here the drumming is more lively and "genuine" for lack of a better word.

From a visual standpoint this concert might not be the most interesting, depending on what you want from a concert experience. There are no video screens, fireworks, aeroplanes flying across the auditorium (see Pink Floyd's P-U-L-S-E DVD); no flying pigs; no dancers, midgets, jugglers, etc. Personally I think that the most rewarding concert experience is to see talented musicians playing their instruments and that is exactly what we get here. I very much like this very intimate setting, the band performing in a small club like this close to the audience. This is a very intimate and moving portrait of this brilliant band.

The bonus features consists of the band rehearsing and sound-checking plus some interviews with people who attended the show. The latter feature is completely dispensable and probably fun only for those who are interviewed and the people who know them personally! The rehearsal footage is interesting for hardcore fans but not something I would watch more than once or twice.

I'll bring this review to a close now. This DVD really brings out the very best moments from those Camel albums from 1975 to 1996 making this into one fantastic show! If all you know from Camel is their first four albums, this DVD is an excellent place to start if you want to explore later Camel stuff.

Extremely recommended!

No Doubt , like Solid Gold , there's no more room to talk about Latimer's & team , Reviewing my friends reviews about Camel satisfies my hunger to the truth , and my only truth is that Coming of age , in addition to few DVD releases between the period 1998 & 2008 , arriving somewhere ( porcupine tree ) is also one of them are more than satisfying , taking into consideration my age . and thanks God that i was able to witness that Camel releases during 37 years was more than excellent . A five stars indeed . /// Tracks In fact this show represent what i was waiting for from Camel since Pressure Points , i was really dreaming in this concert since the 70's , and when i first saw it , my heart was increasly beating , and my body trembled , from the choice of tracks , to the band performances , to the normal & easy stage without any fancy stuff and lighting , to the high quality of sound , and to Andy's emotion's while performing an excellent 25 songs from previous releases , mirage / moonmadness , i can see your house , snowgoose , nude , harbour of tears , & dust and dreams . So why i consider this dvd as a masterp[iece .

Enjoying an excellent musical achievment doesn't necessary put it in the top rating , but in the case of Coming of Age , there's no doubt for me that this work is the best & rare Camel live releases since the early 70's , and simply the best it can be done by the creativity source of Camel , Andrew ( Andy Latimer )

My rating was based on , The Stage , easy & suitable for the band and the kind of music played The Crowd , focusing & witnessing one of their favourite bands in wonderful shape , and responding with passion to every song . The track list was more than satisfying , at least to my taste as a Camel's fan & collector since their very first album . The Versions of Ice , Watching the Bobbins , Rose of Sharon , Drafted , Docks , Hymn to her , and Rhayader are simply amazing . The Band Performance was full of feelings & emotions , Andy's guitar was a part of his body while playing Ice , twisting in harmony and responding to his fingers in a beautiful ways . Colin , Foss & Dave as well were charming in their plays . My Best Tracks in this dvd are ,,,,, All of Them , from the beginning till the end , but , i insist on Ice , and Andy's feelings while playing this wonderful instrumental track , really amazing Toni ///

Coming of Age.what a great DVD .this is just fantastic. this is a great live experience .every song is great.the first haft it has some classics tracks [like lunar sea or ice ] and the second half it has the best song of dust and dreams and harbor of tears [two excellence albums ] .and the band is in a really good form.so dont expect a big show or lights ,this is a band of 4 talent musicians playing beautiful music,in in a stage in a small club,[ very intimate perfomnant imo ] .so if you like camel and want to get a dvd get this one .a visual masterpiece of prog

Camel - Coming of Age DVD (1998)

Showing us what it is.

This is perhaps the best Camel dvd to date. It has a two-part set-list. In the first halve of the concert Camel plays repertoire of all over there career with a focus on the Snow Goose and the strong middle section of the Nude-album. In the second halve the band plays the at the time newest album, Harbours of Tears. The first halve is a bit more exciting then the integrated version of Harbous of Tears, but the latter has a sort of different quality. The emotional matured song-writing, the extremely symphonic passages and strong songs like Mother Road and Watching The Bobbins are very up-lifting.

The band sound extremely professional, without making a single mistake. The vocals are good, though perhaps Camel never had amazing vocals. It's part of their atmosphere. The guitars are amazing throughout. In fact, I have troubles with finishing the dvd because I want to play my own guitar! Truly inspiring, emotional guitar playing. Andy Latimer is one of my favorite guitarists and this dvd is truly a good example of why that is so. The other band-members do fine job to. The sympathetic Colin Bass does a great job on both vocals and.. yeah bass-guitar. The keys by Foss Patterson are accurate, but a vintage sound would have been better. Finally, the drums are good and on some instrumental passages a great achievement.

Though the band is perhaps one of the most professional bands of the progressive genre, their image is.. .well it's absent. The footage, the people involved, it is really a realistic view on a concert. There isn't much light-show, it's just a great band playing their great music. Somehow this feel right with the music, but it is important to know if you are considering to purchase this dvd.

Conclusion. A great, realistic live performance of a great band in great shape. The track-listing is good (perhaps not perfect) and the footage is relaxing. Four stars.

Camel's towering performance creates a truely emotional experience

Camel's Coming of Age DVD begins with a fly on the wall style mini documentary showing the band in rare form rehearsing for a show. They discuss various chord structures and movements to get that distinct Camel sound and they play full pieces effortlessly. It is a wonderful start to this fabulous DVD. The sound check follows which is basically the band preparing prior to a show on a stage with an empty auditorium. We see the roadies getting the gear ready and the band taking off on a couple of numbers. Then the actual show starts and they begin with classic Lunar Sea played to perfection and then Latimer announces that the band are going to do two sets, one will feature songs from the new albums and the first will be more familiar classic material. They begin with a few tracks from Snow Goose to rapturous applause and it's great when Rhayader is heard, familiar to any Camel addict. An essential rendition of a classic.

The harmonies are accomplished on the track Drafted which begins slowly and then builds to a captivating Latimer lead solo. The lighting in the concert is basic blues and melancholy shades with touches of red lights occasionally to bounce off. It is a fairly standard concert visually but the main drawcard is of course the music. The sound quality is well executed and ultimately the songs are all chosen carefully and make up a lengthy set list with some surprises along the way. A few of these tracks I had never heard before as they were from the recent albums but that was an endearing aspect of the concert. Most songs were quite moderate in tempo and featured soaring lead solos, Latimer being the main star, but the band members all blend beautifully together on every track. The flute is a nice touch especially on peaceful serene pieces such as Spirit of The Water. There are images of water rippling on this and it enhances the emotional resonance of the music.

The audience is quiet and captivated during each track but burst into applause and occasionally are rapturous after each song, ending with well deserved standing ovations. The music tends to draw you in due to the highly polished emotional soundscape that is created. There is a high degree of patience as the songs build gradually to crescendos. Latimer certainly has to be one of the greatest prog guitarists on the planet, he absolutely sparkles on this DVD. The cinematography never gets inj the way of the performers and is a rather concentrated focus on each of the members and there are no effects to get in the way. During Ice dry ice drifts across the stage at appropriate moments but there are no visual enhancements, apart from a large screen above the stage to show the band, but no pretty pictures as far as I could tell. Ice is a true highlight of the concert with a scorching lead solo as good as you will hear and gains a standing ovation. Latimer absolutely wrenches every note out of his singing axe and it is spine tingling to see him emotionally delve deep into the music as he plays. A plethora of fade ins are used and some overlaps of band members so that we can gain a full visual experience; it really is beautifully edited with love and reverence to the band. Audience members are only shown occasionally, but the main focus is on the stage.

Latimer wears a black Moonmadness T Shirt; Foss Patterson on keys has a black T and a wide sleeve royalistic leopard skin style robe looking majestic and as regal as Wakeman; Colin Bass on Bass is clad in black; and Dave Stewart the drummer wears simple black. They are genuine legends of prog and present a commanding performance on stage. They are all business when they launch into one track after another and there is often a huge jam session. Occasionally Latimer addresses the audience.

To break up the first set there are fan interviews, and to hear from the fans is always a treat, some travelled 1500 miles to see them. There are old fans, female fans as well as male, one in particular that is easy on the eye, and some middle aged fans as well spout their admiration; they really encompass the adult generation. When asked of what is the favourite album the fan's response is mainly Snow Goose, and Moonmadness, as one would expect.

The second set begins with a rocker, the delightful riffing Mother Road. The newer material features more vocals and less jamming but are no less captivating. I like listening to this new material as many I do not have in my collection. They are very catchy songs with infectious melodies and brilliant virtuoso musicianship. Harbour of Tears is the main album featured played from beginning to end, wonderful as I did not own the album, and Dust and Dreams gets some exposure too, along with other recent releases to the time of the concert. A nice surprise is to hear the Irish sounds of Mae McKenna on Irish Air, that features scintillating flute and smoke over a lonely moon is seen. The sheer beauty of this track is unsurpassed, and has the power to relax the senses, lulling you into a peaceful dream. The guitar is divine and those gorgeous vocals; and as Harbour of Tears begins we see footage of Latimer walking across Irish landscapes, with old boats ready at their moorings, and the farewelling throng of crowds, archival footage and very appropriately ethereal. The music is entrancing with sustained keyboard passages and guitar swells with blue lighting cascading down; it is a visual and aural feast. Overall this was a pleasant excursion into the revered territory of prog legends Camel and I would return to this experience often. A triumphant concert and one of the best examples of how to do it right. Style over substance, music over effects, band members over extraneous imagery.

Excellent live performance! The setlist presented here is not as varied or chronological as in "Never Let Go" or "Pressure Points", but it is a good selection from some of Camel's best studio output. I didn't really like the rehearsal and soundcheck parts, so I skipped those halfway. But the rest of the concert is excellent. And to hear "Harbour of Tears" live in its entirety is surely a reward.

Couldn't manage to highlight any particular song, because all are played with energy and enthusiasm. I do have to mention that the production and camera work here is better than on the video of "Pressure Points". The chemistry between the players is also better, and of course, having less music from their 80's catalogue is definitely a plus

Review N� 858

"Coming Of Age" is the second DVD of Camel and that was released in 1998. It was released at the same time of their seventh double live album with the same name. It was recorded from a live performance of the band that was made at the Billboard Live, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. in March of 1997.

The line up on this live performance of the DVD "Coming Of Age" is Andrew Latimer (vocals, guitar, flute, keyboards and pennywhistle), Foss Paterson (vocals and keyboards), Collin Bass (vocals, bass guitar, 12 string guitar and keyboards) and Dave Stewart (drums and percussion).

Despite it has been taken from the same live show, the tracks contained on both versions, the CD and DVD versions, aren't properly the same. While both versions, the double CD version and the DVD version have the same number of tracks, twenty-eight, not all tracks correspond to the same on both. So, four tracks on the double CD live version, "Preparation", "Dunkirk", "Milk N'Honey" and "Irish Air (Reprise)" were substituted on the DVD with non musical tracks, "Rehearsal (Bonus Footage)", "Soundcheck (Bonus Footage)", "Fan Interviews" and "Closing Credits/Irish Air".

So, as I said before, "Coming Of Age" has twenty-eight tracks. The first track "Rehearsal (Bonus Footage)" represents a very interesting documentary. It's very special to all Camel fans, where we can see the band preparing the material and rehearsing for the live tour. The second track "Soundcheck (Bonus Footage)" is also a very interesting track that shows the band making the sound check to the live concert that would be released in that evening. The third track "Opening Titles/Lunar Sea" presents the concert itself, the band's members and some images of the band and of the stage. All these images are supported by their track "Lunar Sea" which was originally released on "Moonmadness". The fourth track "Hymn To Her" was originally released on "I Can See Your House From Here". The fifth track "Rhayader" and the sixth track "Rhayader Goes To Town" were both originally released on "The Snow Goose". The seventh track "Drafted", the eighth track "Docks" and the ninth track "Beached" were originally released on "Nude". The tenth track "Spirit Of The Water" was originally released on "Moonmadness". The eleventh track "Ice" was originally released on "I Can See Your House From Here". The twelfth track "Sasquatch" was originally released on "The Single Factor". The thirteenth track "Fan Interviews", as its name indicates, is composed by some interviews with people who attended the live show and correspond to the brief pause of the live show between the two parts of it. The fourteenth track "Mother Road", the fifteenth track "Needless" and the sixteenth track "Rose Of Sharon" were originally released on "Dust And Dreams". The seventeenth track "Irish Air", the eighteenth track "Harbour Of Tears", the nineteenth track "Cobh", the twentieth track "Send Home The Slates", the twenty-first track "Under The Moon", the twenty-two track "Watching The Bobbins", the twenty-three track "Eyes Of Ireland", the twenty-four track "Running From Paradise", the twenty- five track "End Of The Day", the twenty-six track "Coming Of Age" and the twenty-seven track "The Hour Candle" were all originally released on "Harbour Of Tears". The twenty-eight and last track "Closing Credits/Irish Air", as its name indicates, represents the credits on the DVD and is supported by "Irish Air", a song already performed live by them on this DVD.

The DVD "Coming Of Age" is particularly interesting due to the almost complete live version of the then current studio album "Harbour Of Tears", which takes up most of the second part of the show. The pieces don't sound exactly the same, but they stick relatively close to the studio versions. Overall, this is a great DVD with nice playing and some great tunes. Much better than shows made by so-called big name bands. Still, for me, Camel always was one of big names.

Conclusion: From what I know, "Coming Of Age" is the best DVD of Camel and represents, in my humble opinion, one of the best DVD's ever released by any band. It brings to us some of the best musical moments created by Camel from 1975 to 1996. The final result was a tremendous triumphant concert, one of the best examples of how to do it right with great style. To conclude, I can't resist to transcribing the second paragraph on the back cover of the DVD, which resumes perfectly well my present feelings about Camel and "Coming Of Age". In a chaotic business that has seen countless musical trends come and go in the last two and a half decades, Camel have remained true to themselves, their music, and their ever growing legion of fans. The soaring melodies, the dazzling arrangements, the superb musicianship, the intensity, the emotion, the artistry?it's all here in glorious surround sound to be experienced again and again".

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)