When people think of Progressive Rock in the early 1970s, minds invariably wander to the likes of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes and even possibly Supertramp and Frank Zappa could be mentioned in there with hushed tones. All these bands and many more would get the nods of approval and songs readily ticked off the list to why they would be included in any compilation from that era, however unless they were dedicated fans, listeners of Progressive Rock might skip completely over the debut self titled album by Camel released in 1973.

The reason is not really evident, it certainly didn’t really trouble the charts in anyway shape or form upon release and critically it was forgettable and yet with fresh ears Camel deserves a much better reception than it was given 40 years ago. Arguably it does pale into comparison to the follow up and rather enjoyable Mirage but as a debut album and with the 1970s Progressive Rock scene coming into its own, it seems now with the music that Andrew Latimer on guitar and vocals, Peter Bardens on organ, mellotron and piano, Doug Ferguson on bass and Andy Ward on drums were providing on the debut album, they really should have been taken more seriously than they were at the time.

Camel’s debut album epitomises the excitement that Progressive Rock was stirring. From the attention-grabbing cover of a camel/train hybrid which evokes the images of the exotic merged with the futuristic, there seems to be everything a listener would associate with the ever widening world of music that Progressive Rock was opening up to music listeners fed up of three minute pop songs.

The album cover hid the secret but not for long as the needle goes down on the vinyl, the music is exposed and the elements of Jazz, unadulterated Prog and interesting lyrics come flooding over the listener in waves. From the opening track of Slow Yourself Down and to the very end of Arubaluba the album flows and ebbs like the tides affecting the seas, gently overlapping, surging and strong in places, wistful, romantic and dangerous in others, it is an album that shows the ever increasing depth that new Prog bands could make, especially with the giants of the genre, Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson and the newly emerging Mike Oldfield on their way to making seminal and in some cases, career defining albums to date.    

What captured the essence of Camel though was the addition of Pete Bardens to the group. His superb organ and mellotron playing added a depth to the debut sound that might not have been there with any other musician at the time in the ranks of the band. It stomps and glides through the album almost like no other person was doing at the time with the possible exceptions of Rick Wright of Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman of Yes and Genesis’ Tony Banks, the latter combining with Steve Hackett to make Supper’s Ready from the previous year’s Foxtrot album a tour de force of classical guitar work and exciting keyboard playing a dream to listen to.

Perhaps it is the tracks of Mystic Queen and Curiosity, both written by Bardens, that sum up how good this debut album is and how it is sometimes unfairly treated to Mirage.

The psychedelic feel of Mystic Queen invokes images of the Oxford set of writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the simple honesty of the lyrics concealing a complexity of music that wraps itself around the short snappy sentences is a joy. It also however has the feel of danger within the music, of something that shouldn’t be looked at too deeply. The imagery of the White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe abounds in the 12 lines of words. The lengthy progression of Prog/Jazz fusion masks the simplicity of the tale as the 12 lines are basically repetitive as if conjured up by some story teller trying to rock a child of to sleep with an almost perfect lullaby.

The choice before the listener is simple, do they allow the music and words to take them off to a place unknown where, no matter what they might be basked in a truth of music and experience things they have never witnessed before and might never again or do they reject the adventure to come and stay safe with the realm they understand. It is a choice, whether by design or by happy accident, that could be seen as the option between the eras of 1960’s pop or this new exciting world of story-telling in the world of Progressive Rock. The vocals offers the listener the line, “If You like I’ll take you there,” this seems to suggest that the way has been trod before by certain people and in a marked contrast to The Beatles similar offer to the listener in Strawberry Fields. Both tracks offer a glimpse into some realm of the fantastical but Camel’s Mystic Queen seems to kindly take you by the hand and offer a more gentle choice, one that deep down they know the listener will still take as the inquisitiveness has been woken.

Intrigue is awoken in the aptly titled Curiosity, the penultimate track on the album and also written by Bardens. Standing at an impressive 5 minutes and 51 seconds, the track also offers the glimpse into another realm. Having had the interest revealed in the tracks preceding it, Curiosity is finally a two way choice as the narrator of the song finally gives way to their own sense of wonder and continually asks the listener where they are going and asking if they can join in on the rest of the journey. The track deals with the mind and the ever increasing questions it asks when it meets a kindred soul who have shared an incredible adventure with but now finds that they must leave to carry on the tale without them. As in all the best literature of the preceding 30 years to the release of Camel’s debut dealt with, the journey is never really over, the quest is never finished it is just that sometimes those that showed the way in the beginning cannot carry on to the ultimate destination, they just have to hope that the story will continue.

An outstanding debut by Camel, perhaps unfairly treated in the wake of their follow up album but still one that kept the interest of the first Progressive era going.

Ian D. Hall