Camel - The Snow Goose - 1975 (24/96 Vinyl Rip) *NEW-RIP+REPOST*

"The Snow Goose" is one of Camel's best works; it's an atmospheric album and a great recording (37 years old UK pressing); Enjoy this Camel highlight!

Note > Tracks walk-over in each other; gapless burning is essential to seamless play the whole album..

Review:

"The Snow Goose" was an instrumental concept-album based on Paul Gallico's book of the same name,
and is often regarded as Camel's finest moment. The sound of the album was far more symphonic, polished
and atmospheric than anything on their two first albums and featured some of their strongest melodies and themes ever.
A few passages also included some orchestration, giving a very big and impressive sound. Many of the tracks on the album
are rather short (there were 16 of them!) but all of them floats into one another and creates a 45-minutes constant flow of music.

The album opens with the lush, symphonic sounds of "The Great Marsh" and moves then over into "Rhayader" that next to "Supertwister"
stands as the best flute-theme Latimer ever wrote. The more complex "Rhayader Goes to Town" demonstrated the instrumental abilities
of all the members very well, even if Latimer and Bardens remained the main musicians.

"Fritha" and "Rhayader Alone" showed Latimer from his most beautiful and utterly atmospheric side, while the title-track
showed his melodic guitar-playing from its best side. As I said, this is an instrumental album but "Migration" does in fact feature some
vocals but there are no lyrics, just a very catchy vocal-theme sung by Latimer. Side 2 opens with the cheerful "Flight of the Snow Goose"
that quickly goes into the more free-floating "Preparation" that makes some truly haunting atmospheres. "Dunkirk" is orchestrated
progressive rock at its most powerful and majestic, building slowly up to an energetic finale.

Then come some short and atmospheric interludes again before "La Princesse Perdue" that re-visits several earlier themes of the album.
And at last, the whole album slows gently down and returns to the opening "The Great Marsh" that is slowly faded out and marked
the ending of one of progressive rock's most memorable and successful instrumental albums. Very essential stuff!
Review from Vintageprog.com.

Track List:

01 The Great Marsh
02 Rhayader
03 Rhayader Goes to Town
04 Sanctuary
05 Fritha
06 The Snow Goose
07 Friendship
08 Migration

09 Rhayader Alone
10 Flight of the Snow Goose
11 Preparation
12 Dunkirk
13 Epitaph
14 Fritha Alone
15 La Princesse Perdue
16 The Great Marsh (Reprise)