A LIVE RECORD

The incredible live version of "Never Let Go" with the sax of Mel Collins and the great solos inside is enough to give the maximum rating to this album, but that is not the only highlight of the album.

It is a collection of songs recorded during the transition from Doug Ferguson to Richard Sinclair, so some tracks are performed by the first and some by the second.

Never Let Go is followed by about half of "Moonmadness". Song Within a Song and Lunar Sea are two of the best tracks ever released by Camel, and the first disc is closed by a decent version of their masterpiece Lady Fantasy. I say decent because I prefer the studio version. The previously unreleased "Liggin' at Louis" and Skylines from Rain Dances complete the disc.

It would be enough, but the whole second disc is occupied by The Snow Goose. I think all the Camel fans know about the first Camel's concept album and the only one fully instrumental. For those who are new to Camel, this is a single instrumental suite. Don't look at the number of tracks of disc two, it's just a symphony. On other live albums they often played the second and third track, "Rhayader" and "Rhayader Goes To Town", so there are a lot of different versions. This is the best live version even if also in this case I prefer the studio one.

What to say? It's a great live album where the only negative thing is that the public seems too distant. I would have expected an explosion of applauses at the end of Never Let Go, but it's like there are few dozens of persons attending the gig.

It's their problem in any case. For me it's a five stars.