Camel
Alive Record

The live album is always a decisive event for a rock group called to confirm its ability to maintain the energy of the studio tracks intact on stage. Camel passes this test with flying colors with this double album, a true must for the group's devotees, always living somewhat on the fringes of the crowded '70s prog scene, suspended in this romantic and gentle sound dimension of the Canterbury sound.

The work opens with "Never Let Go", a track curiously tinged with funky suggestions that support Latimer's gentle singing, which reappears in the following "Song within a Song", this time in the tradition of the classic Camel sound, brilliant melodies in their simplicity, almost music tailored for humans. The prolific pairing of Latimer-Bardens also signs the subsequent "Lunar Sea", which after an ethereal intro delves into a furious gallop where Latimer's guitar always proves to be very lyrical and recognizable. A wink to the sirens of jazz-rock, a real temptation for every musician of the era, and we set off on "Skylines" amidst the electric piano trills and moog murmurs of the late Bardens, an intelligent and discreet architect of the group's harmonies.
A pleasant and anonymous "Ligging at Louis" precedes "Lady Fantasy", an ensemble contribution by Camel, which soon became a live classic: a couple of quiet initial verses colored by Bardens' Hammond that flows into the usual fast tempo hosting the six-string evolutions of Latimer, before a sweet and melancholic bridge and an epic-toned finale.

The second part of the concert is reserved for a 1975 performance where they perform, in its entirety at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the suite "The Snow Goose" accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Bedford, well-reviewed under the relevant title. The live version is very exciting although penalized in the purity of the acoustic sounds of the flute and orchestra, whose union with rock music has always suffered in timbre terms, but everything is compensated by the extreme musical suggestion of this small masterpiece of the Canterbury sound.

In conclusion, a great performance by the group that confirms they master romantic rock language, characterizing it with the personal and recognizable imprint of the talented guitarist-flutist Latimer, as well as the intelligent arrangements of keyboardist Bardens.

A must-have.