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Camel
Music Inspired By The Snow Goose
(Decca, 1975)
It starts with the sound of geese and lush ambient ARP swoops that lead into a baroque Tull-esque flute passage before diving into a Wishbone Ash-like twin guitar work-out. Simple it ain’t, but …Snow Goose is a time-piece that is both ambitious and, in parts, utterly overblown. Marrying the Canterbury scene’s pastoral prog intent with neo-classical arrangements courtesy of Dave Bedford (previous clients: Messrs Oldfield and Harper) it serves as a hearty reminder of a period in British rock when musicianship was highly prized. That said, the concept behind Camel’s third album was instantly flawed, disrupted by Snow Goose author Paul Gallico’s refusal to allow the group to use passages from his book to animate the album. But Camel made do, an attitude best summed up by the fact that the sound of goose wings on the record is in fact created by the flapping of bassist Doug Ferguson’s duffle coat. PA
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