Camel-Camel (1973)

When Camel released their debut album, it was during the peak year of progressive rock's creative boom, meaning their music went largely unnoticed by most fans of the genre, who were more focused on listening to the dozens of established, leading bands that existed at the time. That year also saw the release of some of the genre's masterpieces, such as Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon", Yes's "Tales from Topographic Oceans", Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery", and Genesis' "Selling England by the Pound," to name just a few examples from the vast array of albums released in 1973. Amid this whirlwind of releases, it's no surprise that Camel's first album wasn't taken very seriously by a large part of the progressive rock community. On this self-titled debut album, the band featured their classic lineup, or at least the one that would later record their masterpieces (“Mirage”, “The Snow Goose”, and “Moonmadness”): guitarist and vocalist Andrew Latimer, keyboardist Peter Bardens, drummer Andy Ward, and bassist Doug Ferguson. Recorded during the middle months of 1972 and released in February 1973 on the MCA label, it proved to be a very strong starting point for their progressive rock sound, setting them apart from their contemporaries. The influences of blues, jazz, classical music, and their own personal style combined to create a unique and distinctive sound. However, despite this, a certain musical imbalance is evident, which is understandable considering they were still newcomers and this was their debut album. Among the highlights of this first work are the melodic "Slow Yourself Down" where it already shows the duel between guitar and keyboards that will be Camel's DNA from then on, or one of their classic tracks like "Never Let Go", a piece that perfectly defines the band's style. The rest is made up of minor tracks that nevertheless attract the listener's attention, such as the instrumental "Arubaluba", the atmospheric "Curiosity" or the catchy "Separation".