Camel - A Nod And A wink

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Camel - A Nod And A Wink

Artist:	Camel
Title:	A Nod And A Wink
Label:	Camel Productions
Length(s):	55 minutes
Year(s) of release:	2002
Month of review:	[11/2002]

Line up

Andrew Latimer - guitar, flute, keyboards, vocals
Susan Hoover - lyrics
Guy LeBlanc - keyboards, backing vocals
Denis Clement - drums
Terry Carleton - drums on 2, 6, percussion, backing vocals on 7
JR Johnston - backing vocals on 7

Tracks

1)	A Nod And A Wink	11.16
2)	Simple Pleasures	5.31
3)	A Boy's Life	7.20
4)	Fox Hill	9.19
5)	The Miller's Tale	3.34
6)	Squigely Fair	8.02
7)	For Today	10.40

Summary

Rajaz was certainly not my favourite Camel album, but I heard this one was quite a bit better.

The music

A Nod And A Wink is the longest track on these album, opening quite slowly and pastorally. The vocal part reminds me a bit of the later ballad songs on Stationary Traveller. The vocals are low and dreamy, and of course melodic. The flute plays quite a prominent role and the keyboards in the back have a mellotron feel. After three minutes or so, the bounce comes into the music and it seems at first we are in for something quite merry, but Latimer did insert some low key parts in here. LeBlanc plays a meandering keyboard solo here and there and this is quite a progressive affair with plenty of variety, but notwithstanding quite a consistent mood. Tension also creeps in towards the end of the track with the guitar dominating and the bass keeping a monotonous hold on things. I expect this to be gem in a live context, especially since the final part could even have been maybe a bit more flashy in the flashy parts. I think that it shows really well that LeBlanc has a good effect on the progressiveness (if I may say so) of the music: organ, synths, mellotron, they're all there. The song ends with dreamy shards of guitar.

With Simple Pleasures opens percussively, with bluesy guitar lines, all subdued. The blues is strongly present here. The vocal melodies are good, the guitar solo melody line is a bit Spanish, while LeBlanc inserts his tuney keyboards. A sad love song, with a lot of feeling in the guitar playing. Moody, moody.

On A Boy's Life we open with acoustic guitar. It is quite similar to Peter Hammill at his most mellow. After an instrumental intermezzo with plenty of keyboards, making the music more symphonic we return to a quiet folky tune with flute and acoustic guitar. Again, the music has a very rural, pastoral feel. Then a bit pace sets in again, with guitars strumming and the electric guitar doing the tuneful repetitive lead. The weakest track so far though.

With Fox Hill we move into danceable areas even, this is really a very merry, jolly track. Is this the tongue-in-cheek side of Caravan, and what is that reference to Matching Mole doing there? Through the bridge we end up in a pouncing instrumental middle part, where the music wants to fire, but does not yet seem to make it yet. Time for some meandering keyboard solo's then. A bit too merry this one, especially in the very up-beat middle. Some of the guitar parts are nice though. The song does pick up at the end, with some melodic flute and dito vocals.

The Miller's Tale has only a teeny bit of lyrics. Opening softly again with flute and acoustic guitar, it seems Camel is really in a soft folky mood on this album. Wordless female vocals, something akin a somber horn section, lead up to the longish instrumental Squigely Fair. Based on a strong guitar theme, this is an accessible thematic piece with plenty of room for everyone, the guitar however taking the lead. A Tull-like flute solo leads up to something a bit more tense with violin like sounds building it and the rhythm section following up. A bit of a Focus feel here as well. Hey there are some vocals here after all. They are simply not in the booklet (there isn't much though). The ending is a bit orchestral again. Either these guys are very good at fooling me, or they do really have a clarinet there. For Today is the moving closer of the album. It has a strong Floydian feel with sensitive guitar playing. LeBlanc's keyboards are just as sad in fact. The song ends with an anthemic choir and a guitar crying out. The train leaves.

Conclusion

Notwithstanding having been recorded in the States, the new Camel album has a very English feel and this one might say signifies the most drastic change with respect to Rajaz: the sense of identity, harkening back to the old days of Rain Dances and the like. Musically however, the band, fortunately maybe, does not go back to these times, but takes elements of Stationary Traveller and Harbour Of Tears, but with certainly a bit more adventure in the keyboards department than usual. A good and pleasant return of the humpbacked beast, comparable I think to Harbours Of Tears, but harbouring more variation, and also a bit more of progressive I might add.