01	Three Wishes						07:00
	02	Lost And Found						05:40
	03	The Final Encore						08:09
	04	Rajaz						08:17
	05	Shout						05:17
	06	Straight To My Heart						06:25
	07	Sahara						06:46
	08	Lawrence						10:46

Rajaz
1999

Three Wishes
Lost and Found
The Final Encore
Rajaz
Shout
Straight to My Heart
Sahara
Lawrence

Andrew Latimer: Guitar, Vocals, Flute, Keyboards, Percussion
Colin Bass: Bass Guitar
Ton Scherpenzeel: Keyboards
Dave Stewart: Drums
Barry Phillips: Cello


Camel's third studio release in the 90's marks a change from the previous concept driven albums into a looser format. Andrew Latimer displays a wider range of arrangements and extends his guitar work, experimenting with some jazz/fusion influences. Latimer sings on all album's songs, giving a more personal feel to the lyrics which often reflect on his life-long artistic choices and personal experience with his band. The album's title, "Rajaz", refers to the songs sung by eastern travellers who matched their rhythm with their animal's footsteps; the title reflects as a common theme throughout the album's lyrics, written by Latimer and his partner, Susan Hoover.

The lyrics for The Last Encore are derived from other Camel's song titles and album names.
Ton Scherpenzeel contributed his role for the album by recording his material in his home studio at the Netherlands, and sending the recordings over the net to Latimer's studio in California. Scherpenzeel is uncomfortable with air travels, a fact which has prevented his working with Latimer during the 90s, until the internet provided a method for artistic collaboration.
At the time when Andrew was writing the music for Rajaz, he had been practicing the material with Colin Bass and Dave Stewart; the Camel lineup consisted of a trio. Working with a real band yet without a keyboard player, the multi-layered keyboards (typical of Andrew's compositions in Harbour of Tears and Dust and Dreams) were left out and the result focused instead on his guitar work. When recording the album, Ton Scherpenzeel contributed his share of solos, sending his material from the Netherlands over to the US studio. Although Scherpenzeel's keyboards are evident throughout, there are very few keyboard solos and the album is mostly guitar-oriented.


CP-009CD, Released on October 7th, 1999. UK release date: October 11th, 1999
Total Playing Time: 57:00



Featuring Andrew Latimer (guitars, flutes, keyboards, vocals); Colin Bass (bass), Dave Stewart (drums) and special guest Ton Scherpenzeel (keyboards).

The music of poets once carried caravans across the great deserts. Sung to a simple metre of the camel's footsteps, it transfixed weary travelers on their sole objective...journey's end.

This poetry is called 'rajaz'

It is the rhythm of the camel.




Camel - Rajaz
Format: CD
Record Label: Camel Productions
Catalogue #:
Year of Release: 1999

The new Camel is here. As Camel is one of the most important bands in our field, it is always a pleasure if a new album arrives. As a reference to my taste: Dust and Dreams was OK, but nothing really special, Harbour of Tears is sheer and utter genius. Now to the new album: the central theme is Rajaz, to qoute the sleeve notes:The music of poets once carried caravans across the great deserts. Sung to a simple metre of the animal's footsteps, it transfixed weary travellers on their sole objective...journey's end. This poetry is called 'Rajaz'. It is the rhythm of the camel. This is something one should keep in one's mind's eye when listening and appreciating the album.

Three Wishes opens very Floydian, with grumbling low synth sounds, but the main melodic line laid out by the electric guitar is typically Camel, in the style of Nude. It is fully instrumental.
The second song, Lost and found, could have been a song on Stationary Traveller, it has the same feel (including cello) to it. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out this song was actually conceived around that time. It features some great keyboard work and nice rhythmic variations.
The final Encore has a pounding mysterious opening and a way of interaction between keyboards and guitar lines that Camel has experimented with on Dust and Dreams where the guitar gives a melody and the keyboard takes over and breaks the melodic line. The rhythm is like sitting on a camel in the desert...like the sleeve notes promised. During the song the melodies vary constantly and Latimer lets the guitar talk about different subjects all the time.

Rajaz opens with a simple acoustic guitar and an extremely beautiful vocal melody, in the style of Harbour, followed by melancholic cello. This is the first moment that really sends shivers down my spine. Then four guitar notes are repeated constantly with a melody floating over it (remember part 3 of Shine on you crazy diamond I? This is the same basic idea, but with a very different result due to the bass line that gives it momentum). It becomes almost hypnotical.
Shout is a bit of a let-down. It is a regular pop song, nothing special, an unneccesary intermezzo. Fortunately, it does not break the atmosphere of the album. Straight to my Heart also has an acoustic guitar opening, with lyrics that are hopefully personal in which he describes the love for the sound of his guitar (we all love it, Andrew!). Well, the ending has some free-wheeling on the guitar like in the live version of Lady Fantasy. Stereo on 10 and enjoyment !

Sahara opens with a guitar melody that is almost identical as one featured on The Single Factor (I can't remember exactly which one, I don't own a copy of that album). This guitar melody is extended and a more uptempo part of the song sets in, with an arabic tune.
The album closes with Lawrence, which has a bit boring keyboard intro, the type of keys that made me critical of Dust and Dreams. The rest of the song gives you the impression of a wide desert in which you stand alone (though if I remember the story of Lawrence of Arabia well, he wasn't very alone very often ;-). I have seen the sun go down on the deserts of Tunesia and Jordan, and I must admit the melody of this song captures the melancholic feelings that grab one's soul at such a moment quite well. A beautiful ending to, all in all, a very atmospheric album.

In general, one has to get used to the album, let the melodies sink in. The first time I heard the album, I must admit I was a bit disappointed due to the slowness of the album and wouldn't have rated it higher than a 7.5. After a few listenings you discover that that is actually the strenght of the album. The style is typically Camel, but each song appears to have its roots in a different era of the Camel history. In that, it has become a very interesting album. But interesting is not enough: one needs emotion, something truly present on Harbour of Tears. Not all songs on this album are equally strong in this respect, but that is made up for by the fourth song, Rajaz. This is a song that should silence all critics of this album, otherwise you do not understand music. Straight to my Heart also comes from deep within. Poetry in music. Rajaz.

Conclusion: 9 out of 10.

Remco Schoenmakers

===============

Camel, "Rajaz"
Camel Productions, 1999

Rajaz is Camel's long-awaited follow-up to their excellent 1996 release Harbour of Tears. This new album is not a concept album like their last two, but does have a loose thematic tie. "Rajaz" is a form of poetry chanted in time with the camels' hooves on long desert voyages, making these difficult passages a little easier. In all of these songs there is a subtle sense of forward momentum, like a camel taking its time shuffling through the Sahara sands.
Andrew Latimer (guitar, flute, keyboards, voice) is the only original member of Camel remaining in the band. As you would expect, his distinctive, flowing guitar playing dominates this record. In the opinion of this reviewer, this is a wonderful thing! From subtle acoustic parts to soaring, uplifting solos, Latimer shows once again he is one of the most underrated guitarists in rock. Few players are his equal for emotionally expressive playing. His slightly better than average singing voice has improved with time, his husky British-accented baritone adds a personal character to most of the songs. Latimer is supported on this release by long-time Camel stalwart Colin Bass on bass, Dave Stewart (yes, another one) on drums, and special guest Ton Scherpenzeel of Kayak renown on keys. Scherpenzeel, noted for his passionate hatred of air travel, contributed his parts via the Internet and CD-R submissions.

The album begins with "Three Wishes", a rousing instrumental true to the Camel tradition. It features some nice Canterbury-style electric piano, along with a memorable clean guitar line, a pulsing bass riff, and some subtle flute and synth contributions. A couple of hairpin stops & starts and rhythm shifts keep this track highly interesting.

"Lost and Found" is the first vocal number, again featuring unmistakable Latimer guitar soloing. Scherpenzeel adds an excellent (but short) synth solo in the instrumental break. Some nice piano work in the background adds to the introspective ambiance. The song's lyrics point cryptically towards the completion of a search for one's past, perhaps bringing some closure to the material explored on Harbour of Tears.

"The Final Encore" has a retrospective feel, with snippets from old Camel lyrics cropping up now and again. In light of a previous announcement in 1997 that Camel may be through as a touring band, the lyrics are poignantly bittersweet. (The braintrust at CP is fortunately mulling the feasibility of a Y2K tour.) The guitar parts give the listener a whiff of melancholy without resulting in wholesale depression.

"Rajaz" is perhaps my favorite song on the disc. Acoustic guitar starts out in the forefront, a very nice touch. One can feel the shuffling gait of the camel throughout. A couple of stunning guitar solos make this track a real standout. Latimer's intimate, understated vocals draw the listener in, allowing the emotional impact of the music to hit home.

The album takes a bit of a step backward with "Shout", virtually an "unplugged" track except for one amplified section. The almost-country sounding rim shot percussion, coupled with the Dire Straits-sounding guitar is probably too much a shock to my system. Latimer's vocals here are a bit thin as well. For a song with such positive lyrics ("Shout to the mountain/shout to the top"), the music's almost dirge-like tempo leaves an odd taste in the mouth.

"Straight from the Heart" is an almost biographical piece. Latimer sings of listening to a shortwave radio under the covers with his brother, his father's band, and how his early musical influences carry forward to the present, all over a sparse acoustic guitar background. This track catches fire with the guitar solo right after "The sound of that red guitar/takes my breath away". Simply breathtaking.

"Sahara" is a rippling instrumental, loaded with expressive guitar, that would have fit perfectly on earlier albums such as Nude or Raindances. Another standout track.

"Laurence" is this album's equivalent of the classic Camel cut "Ice" from 1979's I Can See Your House from Here. The song starts from a subtle beginning to a rousing, biting ending, with a jaw-dropping guitar section thrown in. This song is another example of the Camel's famous "slow burn" effect.

As a whole, Rajaz is introspective in nature, more stripped down, with much less of the orchestrations and thicker arrangements of Harbour of Tears and Dust and Dreams. While Camel has always been more about subtlety rather than flash, the almost spartan arrangement of some of the songs may surprise some Camel fans. I can see only a couple of subjective flaws. Since Latimer is just as expressive with his flute playing, it would have been nice to hear some more. Also, I have enjoyed how Latimer's and Bass's voices harmonize together on prior releases. Curiously, Latimer is the only vocalist on Rajaz. Nitpicking aside, it is much nicer to see this veteran band forge out into new directions and explore some different influences, than have more of the same. Absolutely this is the way for Camel to remain fresh as a creative entity.

In conclusion, the emotional impact and the stunning guitar work make Rajaz a highly recommended purchase despite a few minor criticisms. Progressive music fans can only cross their fingers while awaiting official word from CP on the status of a year 2000 tour. Let's hope they do take Rajaz on the road, so we can feel the impact of this powerfully emotive music live...and have another installment of their "Official Bootleg" series to look forward to.


Reviewed by:
Robert LaDuca, rob@ghostland.com
11/29/1999