COMING OF AGE

"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*)

Share this CAMEL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to VianaProghead
• Report this review (#3142500)
• Buy CAMEL music online with PA partners
• Show all CAMEL MP3/Stream
• Go to CAMEL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Coming of Age page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for CAMEL related discussions