Camel: Moonmadness (2023 reissue) [DECCA]

Why you'll love it

This remastered reissue brings back the last album by Camel's original line-up. Prog magazine readers voted it No. 58 in the top 100 prog albums of all time in 2014.

This edition

• Remastered
• Stereo mix

About the album

Following a hit instrumental album is hard enough; Camel decided to follow The Snow Goose by adding words. After Melody Maker readers voted them Britain's Brightest Hope, the band spent three weeks writing in late 1975 and recorded Moonmadness at Basing Street Studios in London in January and February 1976, with Rhett Davies co-producing and engineering. Latimer said at the time that he was very pleased with the album, despite the rush to finish it.

There's a loose concept, with a piece built around each member: "Air Born" for guitarist and flautist Andrew Latimer, "Chord Change" for keyboardist Peter Bardens, "Another Night" for bassist Doug Ferguson and "Lunar Sea" for drummer Andy Ward. Ferguson and Latimer share the vocal on "Song Within a Song," Bardens sings "Spirit of the Water," and Ward lends his voice to the opener, "Aristillus."

Camel played the whole album live on a 2018 tour, 42 years after it first came out. On some early pressings, the wind at the end of "Lunar Sea" would loop forever in the run-out groove, which counts as value for money in our book.

Also at Kops: more Camel on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Decca / Gama (cat# 456 829-5), a reissue of the 1976 album.