Camel Album: “Pressure Points: Live in Concert”

Pressure Points is the highlight of this album. Unfocused? It is a singular piece of genius, that expands beyond the limitations placed upon the original presentation on "Imaginary Traveler". Camel had some great music, and some formulaic fillers. This album takes their best tracks, and expands and reinforces them.

This DVD is essentially a straight transfer of the VHS that's been around for ages. So on that score it's a bit of a disappointment that no extra effort was made to flesh out the offering with interviews, photos, bios, etc. But considering that most prog-related DVDs are done on small budgets it's no real surprise. The essentials of the video are solid, from camera work, sound, lighting, and recording quality, though don't expect a 5.1 mix or any other modern enhancements. And your mileage may vary when it comes to the theatrical elements that were slipped in, but I think they do a good job bringing the conceptual nature of the Camel album Stationary Traveler that this concert was supporting to the fore. The playing is excellent and it's nice to have a bit of Peter Bardens at the end, so all in all it's a nice slice from a period of Camel's history that often gets overlooked.

Unless you're a hardcore Camel fan, don't feel bad if you can't track down this out-of-print 1984 live album. It's okay, but far from a necessity. Guitarist Andy Latimer leads a six-piece band (notably featuring ex-Kayak keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel) at the Hammersmith Odeon. The best tracks are all instrumentals: "Captured", "Sasquatch", and the "Snow Goose" pairing of "Rhyader" and "Rhyader Goes to Town", the last of which includes guest appearances by former Camel members Pete Bardens on keyboards and Mel Collins on sax. Of the songs with vocals, the moody "West Berlin" is the best; ballad "Fingertips" also comes off well, and includes a Collins solo. "Pressure Points" is a non-descript 7-minute instrumental that's too unfocused to work as the centerpiece of a live album. "Drafted", "Lies", and "Wait" are mediocre songs, though "Lies" sounds better here than on the "Nude" album. The sound quality of the album is good, though due to the song selection, the intensity is only intermittent.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)