After their MCA debut, “Mirage” was the band’s first album for Decca (Deram). Strangely enough it failed to dent the U.K. charts but did sneak into the U.S. chart! This was particularly surprising as the band did tour the U.K. extensively, and I saw them on consecutive weekends at the Greyhound in Croydon and the Twickenham Winning Post. It says in the press blurb that the album was considered one of the best 50 prog rock albums by Rolling Stone magazine. Strangely enough (again) it also acquired that status in Acid Dragon’s own survey way back when.
‘Freefall’ gets the album off to a ‘flier’ as the band pushed conventional rock structures to the limit; despite the rather banal lyrics the ‘up-tempo’ feel that pervades the album is intoxicating with Andy Latimer launching into an early guitar break. (The band I was in at the time (Banshee) used to play it and we were lucky to have a gifted Dundee guitar player named John Singers within our ranks!) A second Pete Bardens composition, ‘Supertwister’ follows; a jazzier number which features Latimer’s characteristic ‘soul-stirring flute. ‘Nimrodel’, a mini-suite, takes us on a Tolkien-esque journey, with a fanfare (‘The Procession’), Latimer’s melodic guitar taking up the distinctive theme (shades of Hank Marvin) before a thrilling jazzy synth solo leads us into the powerhouse ‘White Rider’. The second side opens with ‘Earthrise’ as Camel become increasingly fluid and improvisational – the chaotic middle section defies description – and you can even forgive the lyrics about riding on Moon clouds walking on whirlpools and sitting on sunbeams as the playing says it all with a killer riff ,and Doug Ferguson on bass and Andy Ward on drums never sounding better.
Camel, and this album in particular, became increasingly influential, its impact lasting to this day. In this latest manifestation, released on 28th February, you can hear the original album mix remastered, a 5.1 surround sound stereo mix and seven bonus tracks recorded during the album sessions, including the rarity ‘Autumn’.
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