Camel Album: “Rain Dances [Bonus Tracks]”

This is another fantastic album from Camel for many of the same reasons that made "The Snow Goose" great. Longer pieces are de-emphasized, song structures are reasonably complex, and melodic counterpoint remains the focus. Moreover, extended guitar and keyboard soloing over a bass ostinato is set aside to make room for integrated ensemble work. Pete Bardens contributes some very nice synthesizer work (Elke, Rain Dances), and the quality of both the vocals and bass playing increase dramatically with the addition of Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield and the North etc.). This is a moody and atmospheric album created in the Camel tradition of classically influenced jazz-rock and is the last of Camel's "progressive" recordings. Highly recommended along with the debut (1973) and The Snow Goose (1975).

I've been waiting years for Rain Dances to receive the remaster treatment that the 1st four Camel LPs and the Live Record enjoyed. I am pleased to report a job wonderfully executed. This version has a punch the original Decca cd lacked...to keep it short it sounds fresh, bright and clean w/ some volume added...it's been in my car since I received it last week...The bonus tracks to me don't really add much, I actually wish they were left off: the single version of Highways of the Sun and 6 live audio tracks from the '77 Sight and Sound footage found on the Camel Footage dvds (which are beyond essential) .

Now I am crossing my fingers for Breathless, I Can See Your House From Here, Nude, The Single Factor and Pressure Points to see remasters (Stationary Traveller was remastered by Andrew Latimer and can be found at Camel's website). Overall a wonderful new updated package w/ great liner notes and killer sound...Enjoy this great LP by a criminally overlooked band.

Rain Dances is fantastic- the spiritual beauty of the instrumental playing, along with the bands *incredible* ability to create emotional guitar jams and back it up with BRILLIANT songwriting. Not to mention that special atmosphere that's hard to forget.

Camel is about as good as it gets. For some reason, a band going by the name Camel will probably make you think about hot, desert places from around the world, but the truth is, the music these guys play is perfect for COLD climates. Not TOO cold- just cold enough to make taking a walk a fun treat while admiring the snow banks and white setting.

It's impossible to believe just how good this band is, and you know, I've mentioned it before but it needs to be said again- this band just has something extra special about them that puts beautiful and adventurous pictures in your head while you hear their music. I don't know exactly what it is that's triggering those reactions out of me.

In todays world, with economic problems, heating oil costs, and high gas prices, it's hard to appreciate the way the world works. But whenever I sit in a dark room and blast an early Camel album, all the worlds problems go away temporarily so my mind feels like it's free from worry and fear, and turns to comfort and relaxation. To me, that makes early Camel albums a perfect experience.

I still don't know if there's some kind of spiritual feeling I'm getting out of these early Camel albums, or maybe the band is just so GOOD at writing incredibly moving and powerful (and melodic) music that everything in my mind is just telling me Camel is the perfect band for me.

This is progressive rock played in such a way that ANYONE can enjoy it. That's the honest truth. I think Santana and Allman Brothers Band fans would love these guys honestly, because those are two other artists capable of moving me with their instrumental playing that only a few other artists are capable of doing. Please, give Camel a chance, especially their 70's albums. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

Ok, here we have the long awaited remaster of one of the best Camel album, wonderfully played and beautifully sung (thanks to Richard Sinclair from Caravan...) And the good news is that it is excellent ! A must have for every fan and the one to start with if you don't know the band... RAIN DANCES offers the perfect balance between instrumental sections and songs, that defines Camel music.

On the "downside" (but only for perfectionist): 1) the live tracks are not of the same quality as the ones on A Live Record and the set is incomplete (but you can get the entire concert on the dvd MOONDANCES); 2) we have 3 versions of the weekest song of the album, which is imho HIGHWAYS OF THE SUN (regular, single edit and live !)

Nevermind... It's good to have all this stuff with an exccellent sound and you won't be disappointed by the music !

Camel's greatest moment was when their third album, 'The Snow Goose', suddenly took off and sold in bucketloads. The band had experimented with a variety of styles over the course of the first three albums in their effort to break into the big time. But having established a successful formula with Snow Goose, they never really changed it thereafter. And while it's nice to have one Snow Goose in your collection, you wouldn't really want three or four. The quality of musicianship never faltered, and the music was attractive but inoffensive. But it was not the stuff that would inspire teenage rebellions. To think that pop music had come to this!

Since seeing the band in concert in 74/75, I have always liked them. I like this album, particularly Collins' sax solo on 'First Light', 'One of these Days', 'Rain Dances' and 'Unevensong'. 'Metrognome' has always been a source of irritation -- I dislike the Canterbury style of throwaway vocals that Richard Sinclair lifted from Robert Wyatt.

In the liner notes, the journalist obsesses about LP serial numbers yet fails to tell us who guested on the album. So many of the other reviews mentioned Eno being on the CD that I felt forced to delve into my attic to find the original LP. For anyone who is interested:

Tracks 1-4 feature the band and Mel Collins on sax/flute. Tracks 6 & 8 feature Mel, Martin Drover on trumpet, and Malcolm Griffiths on trombone. 'Elke', track 7, features Eno on stuff, plus Fiona Hibbert on harp. There is absolutely no mention of Bob Fripp.

Delving into a scrapbook I compiled in 76, I have a cutting of an interview guitarist Andy Latimer gave to Melody Maker magazine, in which he says his guitar hero was Hank Marvin (he of Cliff Richard and the Shadows). If you can imagine Marvin's insipid licks transformed into a 70's orchestral synth-mix, you pretty much have 'Rain Dances'.