Camel Rain Dances (1977)

From progarchives.com

Review by Trotsky

Camel’s fifth album Rain Dances saw a change in personnel with stalwart bassist Doug Ferguson having called time on his stint with the band. While his replacement Richard Sinclair (a founder member of both Caravan and Hatfield And The North) was arguably a superior musician, Raindance did mark the beginning of the end of Camel’s classic phase. For as they searched for a new sound to restore their commercial fortunes, Camel put together a number of tunes that bore the hallmarks of the neo-prog sound that Marillion, Pendragon and the like would emulate a few years later. Despite the fact that it’s not a sound I’m fond of, Camel’s musicians are far too competent to bore me in the way that many of the lesser lights of neo-prog do.

Nonetheless this album really is quite a mixed bag. On the plus side you have the opening track First Light, a stunning instrumental in which Peter Bardens plays some really lovely synthy (as opposed to his usual organ) leads, guitarist Andy Latimer weighs in for a while and then guest saxophonist Mel Collins (the guy who played with anyone from King Crimson to Bad Company) swoops in to clinch the deal. There’s also Highways Of The Sun, one of Camel’s breeziest moments. It’s actually their attempt at credible pop and may not sate your prog desires, but it sure is a light-hearted (and thanks to a gorgeous synthy mid-section … not entirely lightweight) track that ought to lift your spirits.

There are also two beautiful instrumentals … the laidback rather sad flute dominated Elke and the spacey synthy title track which is something that Tangerine Dream would have been proud of.

On the down side though, there are a fair number of songs I’m just not sure about. The jazz fusion instrumental One Of These Days I’ll Get An Early Night for example contains a brilliant electric piano solo from Bardens, but is generally a dull piece. Skylines offers more of the same … it’s very fusiony, with mediocre solos from Latimer and brilliant daring stuff from Bardens (who seems to have been in fantastic form throughout).

Metrognome is probably the worst song on the album and is a typical neo-prog tune. Unevensong though is just what it’s title indicates … it starts off as a meandering neo- prog effort with tedious vocals and plods along until Bardens’ keyboards take over at the two minute mark turning the piece into an exciting one which eventually reveals a lovely repetitive fade-out that is one of Camel’s most beautiful moments. One of the most intriguing pieces here is Tell Me which is held together by Sinclair’s bass and assorted brass. It’s a moody piece that is quite un-Camel-like and my opinion of it seems to change every time I hear it … although I quite dug it the last time I checked it out.

Because there are too many uncertain moments on Rain Dances, I can’t quite recommend this album as emphatically as I have done certain others, but there is a little doubt that its many peaks do not shame the Camel name. Incidentally, my CD contains an edited bonus single version of Highways Of The Sun, which is punchier but somehow not quite as cheery as the album version. … 64% on the MPV scale

Review by Easy Livin

The significance of “Rain dances” in the history of Camel is that it represents the first line up change the band experienced, with bassist Doug Ferguson leaving due to differences with drummer Andy Ward over the band’s style of rhythm section. In his place came ex-Caravan bassist Richard Sinclair, bringing with him a slightly jazzier style of playing. This pleased Ward, but the relationship between the two was by all accounts less than harmonious. While not an official member of the band, Mel Collins was pretty much on board too, his sax emphasising further the more jazz influenced direction of the band. Collins would go on to formally join Camel for the following “Breathless” album.

“Rain dances” has one of the best intros to an album you’re ever likely to hear. “First light” is an inspired instrumental track which bursts into life with an uplifting synthesiser workout, then moving through fine guitar and sax solos. This was, as far as I am aware, the first time sax had been used on a Camel album, Mel Collins introducing it in a similar way to how Al Stewart did on his “Year of the cat” song.

The album is in two distinct halves, the first side of the LP containing shorter tracks with a pop feel. Side two on the other hand is largely instrumental, and finds Camel indulging in some of the most fusion based work of their entire career. The lengthy list of guest musicians and their talents emphasises again the jazz orientation. Sinclair adds a new dimension to the vocals, although the slightly off key, dull nature of them is still present.

“Highways of the sun” is a synth based song with a catchy hook, while “Tell me” is a delicate ballad with some fine flute. Camel’s predilection for corny song titles continues with “Metro gnome” and “One of these days I’ll get an early night”. The former features some of Andy Latimer’s best guitar work, while the latter moves towards Average White Band territory, with some very jazz based piano and sax. The closing title track draws things back to a more “Snowgoose” like symphonic sound, the orchestral theme building nicely, but fading all too soon.

While “Rain dances” contains some overtly commercial sections, it is undoubtedly one of Camel’s most adventurous albums. In some ways it parallels Caravan’s “Waterloo lily” album in that it finds the band exploring the jazz side of their music in greater depth than on any other album. Whether this is due to the arrival of Mel Collins and Richard Sinclair, or whether they were brought in because Latimer and Bardens wished to move in that direction is not entirely clear. What is clear though is that with “Rain dances” Camel largely succeeded in their desire to extend their boundaries, and created a highly credible album in the process.