Camel
Breathless

After the progressive splendor of the early '70s, music experiences its dark years. The punk "revolution" sweeps everything away like a tide, leaving only confused memories after the ebb; at the end of the decade, pop-electronic trends begin to emerge, which will be the bane of the Eighties and will forever infect music. Amidst all this, some bands, including Camel, sail alone.

"Breathless," from 1978, is their sixth album; the lineup is three-quarters the historic one, but on bass and vocals is Richard Sinclair from Caravan, while the great Mel Collins, after "Rain Dances", is promoted to a full member. The sound, despite the two new members bringing a certain change, is still typically Camel: smooth, precise, often imaginative, sometimes frenetic, but it is undeniable that the impact of their early works is missing here. The long instrumental diversions remain, now slightly more jazz-infused, but the fantasy and dreamlike atmospheres have been drastically reduced, while the tendency to compose more concise and accessible material, suitable for radio play, is clear.

The album opens with the title track: a very sweet song, far from the typical progressive canons, embellished by Latimer's delicate arpeggio, Sinclair's singing, but especially Collins' winds (I believe it's a clarinet..) that draw a simple yet very evocative melody. With Echoes, we already encounter what I consider the masterpiece of the album, which undoubtedly earns a place among the band's great classics. It's a long track (7 minutes), with a powerful and splendid instrumental introduction of sublime and epic tones, where various themes and rhythmic scansions succeed each other, and you can appreciate Bardens' synthesizer interludes, Latimer's solos, and Ward's refined drumming. The brief lyrics are very captivating and beautifully sung, and there is also a short keyboard solo that leads the track to its glorious conclusion. A magnificent piece, I believe among Camel's best, which will rightly always find a place in their live sets from now on.

After such a bomb, Wing And A Prayer does what it can; it is a light and pleasant track, without pretension, with a nice organ riff, slightly Hawaiian guitars, a Collins solo, and a diligent job by the rhythm section. Down On The Farm is instead very fun and bizarre, with an atmosphere taken from the cousins Caravan, animal noises and tractors in the background, hard strumming, and precise rhythmic scansions by Latimer. The lyrics, needless to say, describe the happy life on the farm. Starlight Ride is a brief sketch essentially for voice and guitar, with wind counterpoints that create an almost medieval atmosphere.

Another strong piece of the album is Summer Lightning, characterized by a very "disco" scan of guitar and drums; Bardens allows himself a crystalline synth solo, while in the last section, Latimer takes the lead with a very beautiful guitar solo on the final fade. The performance by all the musicians, even in the vocals, is excellent.

The next track represents the only major drop in tone. You Make Me Smile is an insipid little song, almost unacceptable from a band like Camel. An annoying synthetic bass riff marks the entire song, and although a Bardens solo slightly lifts the situation, the piece remains irritating. Another long piece, the only completely instrumental one on the album, The Sleeper starts with an ethereal melody drawn by guitars and keyboards, then explodes into very beautiful jazzy riffs; Bardens attempts a solo, Collins inserts himself with his usual authority with his sax, followed by Latimer's solo intervention, which lifts the piece on the precise beat of the bass and Ward's varied drumming before handing the scepter back to Bardens; another excellent performance.

In conclusion, we find the alluring yet slightly mawkish Rainbow's End, with Sinclair's sometimes overly sugary voice on a bed of synthesizer and piano, but here too, Collins' winds give the piece personality, both epic and melancholic; moreover, this is Bardens' farewell, thus ending his long adventure with Camel. After a shadowy solo career, he would pass away from lung cancer on January 22, 2002.

My judgment on the album is more than good. It is certainly not a peak in their discography, but the five musicians show great harmony, Sinclair's singing finds more space, and Collins provides an undeniable touch of class. Personally, I am very fond of Camel, and I must say that "Breathless" did not disappoint me at all. On the contrary, it is a courageous and quite successful attempt to persevere on a path that the musical world had forgotten and that critics decided to ignore; amid all the difficulties and shortcomings of the period, not much more could perhaps be asked. On this album, ideas certainly do not lack, and pearls like Summer Lightning, The Sleeper, and especially the magical Echoes await, thirty years later, to be rediscovered.

P.S. Have mercy, it's my first review..