Camel "The Single Factor (2009, Reissue, Expanded & Remastered)"

The Single Factor, released in 1982, is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. The album was essentially a contractual obligation album, created under pressure from Decca Records to produce a hit single, and the "made-to-order" nature of its composition resulted in a selection of songs described as "odd" on the band's official website. Unlike previous Camel albums, The Single Factor consists exclusively of shorter compositions around 3 to 5 minutes in length.

Guitarist Andrew Latimer was the only original member remaining, although original keyboardist Peter Bardens returned for a guest appearance on 'Sasquatch'. According to the liner notes, original drummer Andy Ward, who had appeared in all previous Camel albums, was now absent "following a serious injury to his hand". In reality the injury was self-inflicted, and years later it was revealed that he was forced to retire due to mental health problems.

The album was reissued on 8 September 2009 by Esoteric Recordings with a bonus version of "You Are the One".

Anthony Phillips, an original member of Genesis, is featured on the album, playing guitar, organ and synthesizer. According to Phillips, a song "with big Genesis-sounding, slightly choral keyboard phrases with super soaring guitar over it" was also recorded for the album, but the band decided to leave it off "because it didn't have 'the Single Factor'."

Track listing

1. "No Easy Answer" Andrew Latimer 2:59
2. "You Are the One" Latimer  5:25
3. "Heroes" Latimer, Susan Hoover 4:52
4. "Selva" (instrumental) Latimer   3:34
5. "Lullabye" Latimer  0:59
6. "Sasquatch" (instrumental) Latimer 4:44
7. "Manic" Latimer, Hoover 4:28
8. "Camelogue" Latimer, Hoover 3:44
9. "Today's Goodbye" Latimer, Hoover 4:10
10. "A Heart's Desire" Latimer, Hoover 1:11
11. "End Peace" (instrumental) Latimer, Anthony Phillips 2:55

2009 Expanded & Remastered Edition

1. "You Are the One" (Edited version) 3:49

Camel "Moonmadness (2002 Reissue, Remastered, UK, London Records, 8829292)"

Moonmadness is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in April 1976 on Decca and Gama Records and is their last album recorded by the group's original line-up of Andrew Latimer, Peter Bardens, Doug Ferguson, and Andy Ward. After reaching success with their previous album, the all instrumental The Snow Goose, the band started on a follow-up and incorporated vocals and lyrics to the new music. Moonmadness has a loose concept with one track based on the personality of each band member: "Air Born" for Andrew Latimer, "Chord Change" for Peter Bardens, "Another Night" for Doug Ferguson, and "Lunar Sea" for Andy Ward. In 2018, 42 years after its release, Camel performed the album live in its entirety.

Camel's popularity grew in 1975 with their critically acclaimed instrumental album The Snow Goose, which was followed by the group voted Britain's Brightest Hope by readers of the nationwide music publication Melody Maker. In late 1975, the band spent three weeks writing new music for a follow-up album, and recorded Moonmadness in January and February 1976. At the time of release, Latimer said he was very pleased with the album despite the need to rush to finish it.

The last track, "Lunar Sea", ends with a minute-long wind-blowing effect. On some LP pressings, the record arm would skip during the end of this part and naturally return to the beginning of the effect, playing it endlessly (the "terminal groove" effect).

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came number 23 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

It was voted no. 58 in the Top 100 Prog albums of All Time by readers of 'Prog' magazine in 2014.

Camel performed the album in its entirety on a 2018 tour.

Track listing

1. "Aristillus" (instrumental except for a spoken voice by Andy Ward) Andrew Latimer 1:56
2. "Song Within a Song" Latimer, Peter Bardens 7:16
3. "Chord Change" (instrumental) Latimer, Bardens 6:45
4. "Spirit of the Water" Bardens 2:07
5. "Another Night" Latimer, Bardens, Andy Ward, Doug Ferguson 6:58
6. "Air Born" Latimer, Bardens 5:02
7. "Lunar Sea" (instrumental) Latimer, Bardens 9:11

Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster

1. "Another Night" (Single version) 3:22
2. "Spirit of the Water" (Demo) 2:13
3. "Song Within a Song" (Recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon 14 April 1976) 7:11
4. "Lunar Sea" (Recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon 14 April 1976) 9:51
5. "Preparation/Dunkirk" (Recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon 14 April 1976) 9:32

Camel "The Snow Goose (2002 Reissue, Remastered, UK, London Records, 8829292)"

The Snow Goose is the third studio album by the band Camel, released in 1975. The critical success of "The White Rider" suite (based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and appearing on the band's previous 1974 album, Mirage) inspired the group to write more novel-inspired conceptual suites.

The band considered several novels on which to base their next album. For a time they settled on Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, and some songs were written before the idea was abandoned in favour of Paul Gallico's novella The Snow Goose. The album's name, originally The Snow Goose, was altered to Music Inspired by The Snow Goose to accommodate legal protests by Paul Gallico. The album was originally due to feature lyrics based on Gallico's text, but this was abandoned due to the copyright objections. The music was mostly written over a fortnight in a cottage in Devon, England.

Recording began in January 1975 at Island Studios in London with producer David Hitchcock and engineer Rhett Davies. Later overdubs were recorded at Decca Studios and engineered by John Burns. The London Symphony Orchestra participated in the recording, with David Bedford supplying the arrangements.

The 'duffle coat' on the album's credits was used by Andrew Latimer and Doug Ferguson on "Epitaph" to simulate a flapping of wings by waving it in the air.

The album was released in May 1975, eventually reaching number 22 in UK album chart that summer. It spent 13 weeks on chart and was certified silver. In the US, the album was released in July and reached No. 162. It was critically successful and sold well in Europe and Japan. and in 2014 was voted no. 31 in the Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time by readers of Prog magazine.

The album's success led to a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, with the London Symphony Orchestra in October 1975, which was later released as part of the live double album A Live Record (1978). The Melody Maker magazine to declare Camel to be Britain's "Brightest Hope", leading to an appearance on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test on 21 June 1975, (where the band performed with a woodwind section a medley of "Snow Goose" themes) and Radio One In Concert programme (22 April 1975). To promote the album Decca decided to release an edited version of "Flight of the Snow Goose/Rhayader" as a single in May.

Camel embarked on a brief tour in autumn 2013, performing The Snow Goose for the first time since the Royal Albert Hall show in 1975. Andrew Latimer was joined by Colin Bass, Denis Clement, Guy LeBlanc and Jason Hart for the tour, which marked the first time the band had played since their farewell tour.

A statement from the band for the initial show said: "The evening pays tribute to former band member Peter Bardens, who died of cancer at the same time as frontman Latimer was battling a terminal illness. Ten years later, Latimer has regained health and is willing to celebrate a career that spans over four decades. This two-set show will also embrace compositions recorded throughout those years in a personal covenant of appreciation for a deeply rewarding life of music."

Track listing

All songs by Peter Bardens and Andrew Latimer.

1. "The Great Marsh" 2:02
2. "Rhayader" 3:01
3. "Rhayader Goes to Town" 5:19
4. "Sanctuary" 1:05
5. "Fritha" 1:19
6. "The Snow Goose" 3:11
7. "Friendship" 1:43
8. "Migration" 2:01
9. "Rhayader Alone" 1:50
10. "Flight of the Snow Goose" 2:40
11. "Preparation" 3:58
12. "Dunkirk" 5:19
13. "Epitaph" 2:07
14. "Fritha Alone" 1:40
15. "La Princesse Perdue" 4:43
16. "The Great Marsh" 1:20

Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster

1. "Flight of the Snow Goose" (Single edit) 2:05
2. "Rhayader" (Single edit) 3:09
3. "Flight of the Snow Goose" (Alternate single edit) 2:50
4. "Rhayader Goes to Town" (Recorded live at The Marquee Club) 5:07
5. "The Snow Goose/Freefall" (Recorded live at The Marquee Club) 11:01

Camel "Mirage (2002 Reissue, Remastered, UK, London Records, 8829292)"

Mirage is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band Camel, released on 1 March 1974. It features songs such as "The White Rider", "Lady Fantasy", and "Supertwister" which includes a showcase for Andrew Latimer's flute.

There are five tracks on Mirage, two over 9 minutes. Those two are multi-part songs: "Lady Fantasy" and "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", the latter being about The Lord of the Rings. The album was released on Gama Records/Deram Records. Mick Rock shot the inner sleeve photo.

Gama Records was looking for an outlet for their projects and quickly signed a long-term deal with Decca/London branch label, Deram Records. The first fruits of this collaboration was Mirage. For this first installment, the Gama Records label makes a production effort well above that of the first album with MCA. The first step was to have a weight producer like David Hitchcock (Genesis, Caravan), and half a dozen sound engineers including John Burns, Bill Price or Howard Kilgour and distributed between Island Studios, Decca Studios and the Air Studios.

There was no promo single, nor did it chart in the UK, but the general media response to the finished record was very promising. The prestigious Sounds magazine was one of the first to praise the work and Andy Ward and Doug Ferguson were described as a well-oiled machine. Even further was The Beat Magazine that declared Mirage "Album of the Month", and finally came the surprise when the record entered the Billboard Top 200 at number 149 and remained visible for no less than 13 weeks. Today, Mirage is considered one of the essential Progressive Rock albums of all time, occupying position 21 on the list of the 50 Essential Progressive Rock Albums by Rolling Stone magazine.

In a Sputnikmusic album review, critic Matthijs van der Lee declared Mirage as Camel's "magnum opus". The album was voted no. 51 in the Top 100 Prog albums of All Time by readers of Prog magazine in 2014.

Prog Sphere considered Mirage to be the band's best album, writing that it is a prog classic that should be owned by anyone that is a fan of progressive rock.

Track listing

Side one

      1. "Freefall" Peter Bardens 5:53

      2. "Supertwister" (instrumental) Bardens 3:22

      3. "The White Rider" Andrew Latimer  9:16

           a. "Nimrodel"   0:49

           b. "The Procession"  1:03

           c. "The White Rider"   7:24

      4. "Earthrise" (instrumental) Bardens, Latimer 6:40

      5. "Lady Fantasy"  Bardens, Latimer, Andy Ward, Doug Ferguson 12:44

           a. "Encounter"   3:47

           b. "Smiles for You"    1:25 

           c. "Lady Fantasy"    7:32

Bonus tracks on 2002 remaster

1. "Supertwister" (Recorded Live at The Marquee Club - 30 October 1974) 3:14
2. "Mystic Queen" (Recorded Live at The Marquee Club - 30 October 1974) 6:09
3. "Arubaluba" (Recorded Live at The Marquee Club - 30 October 1974) 7:44
4. "Lady Fantasy: Encounter/Smiles for You/Lady Fantasy" (Original Basing Street Studios Mix - November 1973) 12:59

Camel "Camel (2002 Reissue, Remastered, UK, London Records, 8829252)"

Camel is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Camel, released in February 1973 by MCA Records.

By August 1972, Camel were signed to MCA Records. They quickly entered the studio to record Camel. A collection of individual songs, chiefly from Andrew Latimer and Peter Bardens, the album was greeted with muted success and MCA did not take an option for a second album. By then, the group had acquired the management team of Geoff Jukes and Max Hole of Gemini Artists (later to become GAMA Records) and had moved to Decca Records, where they would remain for the next 10 years.

Camel gigged 9 months of the year and firmly established a reputation for their live sound in the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They shared the stage with other artists such as Stackridge, Barclay James Harvest, Gong, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, Global Village Trucking Company, and Spyro Gyra.

In their ranking of the band's 14 albums, Prog Sphere placed Camel at #4, calling the song "Never Let Go" the real highlight on it. They wrote "this debut is not just another example of a stepping stone, but an accomplished work in its own right. While not as good as the group’s later albums, it is a most excellent start and an essential Camel release, as well as a very good starting point to get into their wonderful music."

The album was remastered and reissued in 2002 on London Records with two bonus tracks: the single version of "Never Let Go" and a live version of "Homage to the God of Light", a staple of the band's early shows. A studio version of the latter had appeared on keyboard player Peter Bardens' debut solo album The Answer in 1970.

Track listing

1. "Slow Yourself Down" Andrew Latimer, Andy Ward 4:47
2. "Mystic Queen" Peter Bardens 5:40
3. "Six Ate" (instrumental) Latimer 6:06
4. "Separation" Latimer 3:57
5. "Never Let Go" Latimer 6:26
6. "Curiosity" Bardens 5:55
7. "Arubaluba" (instrumental) Bardens 6:28

Bonus tracks

1. "Never Let Go" (Single version) Latimer 3:36
2. "Homage to the God of Light" (Peter Bardens cover; Recorded Live at The Marquee Club – 29 October 1974) Bardens 19:01

Engineered by Roger Quested

Sleeve design by Modula