A LIVE RECORD

Camel's first official live record was a rather disappointing album for me. Contrary to what I had expected, the band doesn't improvise much around the fixed song structures and both the vocals and the musicianship are decidedly weaker then on the studio counterparts.

One exception of interest would be Never Let Go, this song got a funky update and sounds very different from the original: less melancholic but all the more energetic. By contrast, Lady Fantasy is drained from most of its original energy and has lost its edge.

The remainder of the performances can't convince me either. The live rendition of the Snow Goose stays very true to the original and the few sections like Dunkirk which are slightly different but no improvement. Though most of the music is great here, due to the lackluster performance I wouldn't recommend this unless you are already a convinced Camel fan.