01	The Great Marsh						02:02
	02	Rhayader						03:01
	03	Rhayader Goes to Town						05:20
	04	Sanctuary						01:05
	05	Fritha						01:19
	06	The Snow Goose						03:12
	07	Friendship						01:44
	08	Migration						02:01
	09	Rhayader Alone						01:50
	10	Flight of the Snow Goose						02:40
	11	Preparation						03:58
	12	Dunkirk						05:19
	13	Epitaph						02:07
	14	Fritha Alone						01:40
	15	La Princesse Perdue						04:44
	16	The Great Marsh						01:20

Decca (800 080-2)
UK 1975

Andy Ward, drums, vibes, percussion;
Doug Ferguson, bass;
Peter Bardens, organ, minimoog, acoustic and electric pianos, pipe organ, ARP Odyssey;
Andy Latimer, electric, acoustic, and slide guitars, flute, vocals

Jon Byrne:
Following the relative success of Mirage, Camel decided to embark on that staple of prog rock, the concept album. When they were finished, they produced an instrumental one that holds together quite well. The Snow Goose (technically, the title is legally Music Inspired By The Snow Goose) is a beautiful work of prog grandeur, one that lovers of melodic prog should enjoy.
The story for this disc comes from a short book of the same name (hence the "legal" title). It basically has something to do with an isolated hunchback, a little girl, and a wounded (surprise!) Canadian snow goose. To get the full story, see a review of this album by Eric Porter written for ProgNet. Knowing nothing of the story when I first listened to this album, I can say that the plot isn't essential to enjoying the work.
Put simply, this album is a great blend of acoustic and electric guitar work, beautiful melodic keyboard work, accented by the occasional orchestral moment. It is a lush work, well orchestrated. Some of the most interesting non band work, however, is the chamber wind ensemble feel of "Friendship". Where was this when I was a high school clarinet player?
The only downfall here is that the music very rarely hits any emotional high points for me. The closest is probably the buildup of "Dunkirk". Nothing really reaches out and grabs me, tho'. But that's a relatively small nit. There is plenty of great music going on here, particularly if you can just sit back and take it in.

Sean McFee:
The Snow Goose, based upon the novel of the same name by Paul Gallico, stands as the only concept album of the first incarnation of Camel, and their strongest. Because the band was unable to get permission from Gallico, the official title is actually Music Inspired by The Snow Goose, and the album is entirely instrumental whereas originally it had been planned to read excerpts in certain parts.
The music is characteristic of Camel's work at the time; warm passages of mini-moog from Peter Bardens accompanied by Andy Latimer's emotionally-charged guitar work and lovely flute parts. Despite the lack of vocals, the album succeeds in telling a story by alternating dramatic instrumentals with quiet, reflective parts. Themes are used to represent different characters and situations and are then reprised and revised as the story heads towards its conclusion.
Camel's light symphonic sound and Latimer's guitar work recalls Genesis or Pink Floyd, but with more flute. While Camel is not at the forefront in terms of chops, this very tasteful album is a most sublime slice of pretty sympho. May even bring a tear to your eye.

Joe McGlinchey:
Camel's third album is generally considered to be their magnum opus. Even if you've never read Paul Gallico's novella from which this music was based (see Eric's excellent description below), you'll feel like you grew up reading it after listening to this. The Snow Goose is neither a particularly complex nor even groundbreaking album. But its approach is to provide a very simple lyrical beauty that surrounds the listener with an almost palpable cinematic feel, and like the best of Camel's work, it conveys a strong emotional sense throughout. I always get exhilarated hearing the reprise of the Snow Goose's flight theme ("La Princesse Perdue") after the death of Rhyader (represented in "Epitaph"); a strong musical symbol of resurrection and liberation that leaves the listener with a feeling of renewal and hope.

Eric Porter:
The Snow Goose is an all instrumental release that is written around Paul Gallico's short story of the same name. To many, this was Camel's finest moment on record and I would be hard pressed to disagree. The music is superb, and it follows the mood of the book's sections well. The story is of Phillip Rhayader, a man who isolates himself due to his disfigurement (hunchback). His love of nature and his disfigurement leads him to live in a lighthouse in the great marsh isolated from society. He is a painter, and also constructs a bird sanctuary where he takes care of sick and injured animals. A little girl named Fritha brings to him an injured Canadian Snow Goose, which they both nurse back to health. They form a bond, and the girl returns to see Rhayader and the Snow Goose which they name La Princess Perdue (Lost Princess). Fritha only returns when The Snow Goose returns for winter. Rhayader feels lonliness and isolation which is well relayed in the music. Eventually, Rhayader goes off to help stranded British soldiers and The Snow Goose follows overhead; he rescues many soldiers at Dunkirk but is ultimately killed on one of his rescue missions. Stories are told of the bird that flew with him, and how it protected his dead body from any approaching ship. Fritha had stayed at the lighthouse to care for the sanctuary while Rhayader was gone, and The Snow Goose returned to signal to here Rhayader had passed. The lighthouse was destroyed by a German plane and the birds would never return. My favorite pieces are "Rhayader Goes to Town", the acoustic guitar and lead in "Sanctuary", "Friendship" which has an oboe and woodwinds that are very good, and the visual you get during "Migration" with the music driving, picturing the birds leaving for summer only to return again the following fall. Most of the pieces are short ranging from 1 to 5 minutes in length, which keeps the entire disc fresh. The disc seems much shorter than its 43 minutes and I find myself wanting to hear more. I highly recommend this disc; it is one of my all time favorites, and if you can find the book, it is only 58 pages which makes it an easy read along with the CD. Get this one!

conrad

Words that come to mind when I think of this album are likeable, solid, cohesive and pleasant. Words that don't come to mind are challenging, complex, inspired and masterpiece. That may seem rather damning to the average prog fan, but that doesn't mean this album won't have anything to offer them.
This concept album holds together as a single entity about as well as any I can think of. There are also four genuinely strong tunes on here. "Rhayader" and "Rhayader Goes To Town" appear near the beginning of this album, and get the listener in a receptive frame of mind. The inspirational "Flight of the Snow Goose" was the single from this album and "Dunkirk" provides a fitting crescendo.

The novel this album was based on is a similarly inoffensive, which manages to be quite effective despite its simple style. It is short, no doubt to help conserve paper during World War II when it was released, and can easily be read in the time it takes to listen to the album. According to the liner notes Paul Gallico refused to endorse this record partly because he thought Camel were affiliated to the cigarette brand.

I don't think I would have classified this album as progressive if it were not a concept album, in spite of the arbitrary use of 5/4 time in "Preparation". I also don't consider this to be the masterpiece that some others do. But most of all I don't regret buying the album, because it is very enjoyable listening, if rarely challenging.

1-13-03

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

Andy Ward: Drums, Vibes, Varispeed Percussion
Doug Ferguson: Bass and Duffle Coat
Peter Bardens: Organ, Mini Moog, Electric Piano, Pipe Organ, Acoustic Piano, ARP Odyssey
Andy Latimer: Electric, Acoustic and Slide Guitars, Flute, Vocals


The Snow Goose is perhaps Camel's most accessible album. Recommended for Camel newcomers, and for everybody - not necessarily for Progressive Rock fans. The Snow Goose is a completely instrumental concept album, an instrumental piece, gathered together from it's 16 "songs"; some of which featuring an orchestra, two with vocal (but without lyrics). Once again Camel play complex time meters, but here the guitar and organ improvisations are held back, in favour of well-structured solos that fit into the album's concept.
The Janus release of The Snow Goose features story notes on the back cover. it also doesn't have the "music inspired by" subtitle. The bands name is printed in pink letters. I believe this the earliest release of the album. It is said there is a double-fold version of the LP but I've never seen one.

Finally, thanks to Mickey Marchello, I'm happy to provide The Original Scenes Descriptions, as they appear on the original Janus release.

- The Snow Goose is based on the novella "The Snow Goose" by Paul Gallico. The story is about a Rhayader, a lonely person who lives in the marshes. One day he finds a wounded Snow Goose, and takes care of her. A little girl, Fritha, is also concerned about the goose, and she and Rhayader become friends. By the season's end the goose heals, and it is sent free. Following this, Rhayader is alone again, as Fritha doesn't come to visit him anymore. Rhayader helps saving people at the battle of Dunkirk, and during the battle the Goose comes back to help. Rhayader is killed in the battle, and the Goose is then named La Princess Perdue. Kids, remember: War is a terrible thing.
- It took Latimer and Bardens two weeks of intense work in a solitude cottage in Devon, to write The Snow Goose.
- Critics were confused by the lack of lyrics, and The Snow Goose didn't earn Camel much popularity in the US.
- While looking up a story for their next album, Bardens had Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" in mind - according to John Gill. On the other hand, according to John Tracy, he was into Steppen Wolf. Ferguson suggested The Snow Goose and both him and Latimer outvoted Bardens.
- It was originally intended to narrate the album, but the idea was dropped.
- Paul Gallico's publishers threatened to put a court injunction on the album, and therefore it was entitled "music inspired by". Paul Gallico, a non-smoking author, got a bad impression from the band, due to its name.
- Camel worked hard on arranging The Snow Goose live, orchestrated performance. Several attempts were not successful, and one of the better ones is available on A Live Album.
- How could anyone play a duffle coat? Doug's duffle coat, mentioned in the credits, was used by Latimer and Ferguson to simulate a flapping of wings (track 13, 00:32) by waving it in the air.
- Another The Snow Goose music and story album was officially released by Ed Welch. It is claimed to be a disastrous album.


Deram CD version includes notes by John Tracy.
Passport PB 9856, Janus JXS 7016, Decca SKL-R 5207. Released in April 1975
The Snow Goose/Mirage is available as a 2 LP set: Decca 15100/1.
Passport PBC 9856
Deram 800 080-2e, Janus 532
Total Playing Time: 43:22
The Snow Goose reached 22 in the UK charts



The Snow Goose Liner Notes

It was The Snow Goose, Camel's third album, which really established the British band as a force to be reckoned with. Following their opening eponymously titled effort for MCA (UK: MUPS 473, February 1973) they'd signed to production company Gama Records, distributed throughout the world except North America and Canada by the mighty Decca/London corporation.

Added to the organisation's offshoot Deram label artists roster, Mirage (UK: SML 1107, March 1974) earned a lot of critical praise. Stateside this appeared under the Janus banner (7009), as would the next three LP's also, and thanks to enthusiastic response on the West Coast particularly, it cracker Billboard's Top 200 chart on November 30th '74. Remaining for very creditable 13 weeks, Mirage peaked at 149.

On the strength of this, Camel picked up a seven week tour of Uncle Sam as show openers for Wishbone Ash. When that itinerary completed its run in Miami during December, it was suggested to our boys by their management that they remain in America and go out on the road alone to maintain momentum. For the next three months they did just that.

Although returning home in the meantime, yet another top-billing pilgrimage reached fruition. Dominating a venue's stage for a week was the norm this time around, with two shows a night playing to packed houses. Repertoire though, dominated by boogie numbers apparently, was a far cry from that which was shortly to follow.

Back on English soil once more the foursome, Peter Bardens (Organ, Mini Moog, Electric Piano, Pipe Organ, Acoustic Piano, ARP Odyssey) Andrew Latimer (Electric, Acoustic and Slide Guitars, Flute, Vocals), Andy Ward (Drums, Vibes, Varispeed Percussion) and Doug Ferguson (Bass), were thinking along the lines of a concept album, an idea they'd been toying with off and on for a couple of years.

That the inspirational basis for this forthcoming endeavour would probably be an acclaimed literary piece was not a bone of contention. Which item it should be was. Steppen Wolf was favoured by Bardens, while Latimer and Ferguson registered a vote for Paul Gallico's Snow Goose.

The group's co-scribes, Andy and Peter, therefore retired to the solitude of a cottage in Devon to finalise plans. Our guitarists stated in 1981 that in fact it wasn't until a week into their sabbatical that the decision to make album number three of the concept variety was definitely agreed between them. Once bartering and bantering ceased through, the pair worked furiously, completing the bulk of writing within a fortnight. Andy Latimer takes up the story: "It was a strange album in as much as we wrote the whole thing and practised each piece, but never ever played it all the way through, so we had no real idea what the overall result would be. But when we heard the finished result we were chuffed".

It was originally intended that a narrative thread through this instrumental pleasantry, and Gama's powers-that-be Geoff Jukes, Max Hole and Richard Thomas attempted negotiations with Mr. Gallico's book publishers in the hope of obtaining official blessing for their project, ideally having the author pen a sleeve note and possibly arrange a tie-in between the album and tome. Unfortunately for Camel, their overtures were declined, a similar deal being struck for use of composer/musician Ed Welch's handiwork featuring comedian/man-of-many-talents Spike Milligan in a storytelling role. To minimise conflict therefore, this tribute to our feathered friends had its title prefaced 'Music Inspired By' and remained wholly wordless.

The Island recording studios were booked, Mirage's producer, David Hitchcock prepared to reprise his role, and The Snow Goose was in the can by early 1975 following a few overdubs at 'The Supreme Record Company's' miked-up complex in West Hampstead. The band were transferred from Deram to the main Decca label, and SKL-R 5207 was unveiled for the public in April. May 24th happily saw it breach Britain's Top 50 long-playing best-sellers listing for the first of its 13 weeks on show, 22 becoming the uppermost ascent. The band's faithful and growing following across the pond ensured that Janus 7016 announced its arrival come July 19th, after which it pulled up at 162 during a 35 day stop over. Events were similar elsewhere, and the quartet's name became known to a considerably wider audience. They could certainly be said to have arrived.

Press reviews were not particularly kind to Fritha and Rhayader overally however, and radio play was hard to obtain - an unsyllabled concept album being viewed with apparent suspicion by writers and seemingly confounding programme controllers. Clearly strong, steady sales indicated eager listeners were not excessively influenced by the media's thumbs down attitude, but sensibly Decca culled a 45 on May 16th to support their investment. F-R 13581 coupled the commercial Flight of the Snow Goose with Rhayader. The group's inaugural single, it would be one of only four they would issue during their existence. It didn't trouble chart compilers, but served as the taster it was intended to be.

Next on the agenda came a promotional road crusade, and Camel decided Holland should be first to witness their new show. The assembled a two part concert programme, the latest epic occupying the entire first half. As it turned out, only part two really received a seal of approval from the fans, so wisely they returned home to examine possible reasons for the disinclination towards applause in Act One.

The concensus of opinion was that since Snow Goose utilized an orchestra on disc which was absent live, and thus amended arrangements of the work had been necessary, certain re-scoring would have to be effected to improve compensation of sound further than had thus far been achieved. Eventually satisfied with alterations, they scheduled a brief tour to try out this latest audio incarnation. It worked beautifully, and the welcome sounds of clapping hands returned to ring round auditoriums throughout the entire programme once more.

One ray of sunshine from the music press around this time found Britain's long-established weekly, the 'Melody Maker', awarding Camel their 1975 accolade for 'Brightest Hope', but a crowning achievement was just around the corner.

With David Bedford wielding a conductor's baton, The Snow Goose was performed on stage by the band to an accompaniment from The London Symphony Orchestra at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall in October. It was an enormous success, and a terrific exercise in advertising which did much to further Camel's high profile amongst consumers. Another back-up tour followed, drawing yet more converts into the fold.

Not content to rest on their laurels, and eager to expand in yet another harmonic direction, guidelines were sketched for a follow-up twelve incher. That this new endeavour would feature throat emissions prominently was clearly paramount; Andy Latimer again recollects events of the period: "We decided to steer clear of conceptual albums and start to put more emphasis on the vocals. There was also outside pressure from the record companies, particularly in the US. I recall a meeting in New York where they were horrified to find that Snow Goose had no vocals. They freaked!"

Their wish was the boys command, as the saying goes. That fourth extravaganza would be Moonmadness, another chapter in the history of Camel, but no better finale to this episode could be imagined than that which subsequently occurred. The Snow Goose earned a silver replica of itself for sales in 1981, and has continued to wing skywards towards greater heights ever since. Who say's only Magpies and Jackdaws collect shiny metal objects to adorn their nests?...

c John Tracy London, 1988






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

The Snow Goose (1975)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quintessential Camel. An amazingly great work of musical art. No one who I have played this album for has disliked it. Inspired by the novella of the same name by Paul Gallico, this is a purely instrumental work; there are no lyrics. There is incredible richness here, from sad to haunting to uplifting to driving. This is a concept album truly deserving of the appellation.
The picture on the left is the original lp cover. The one on the right is the CD cover. I know that Mr. Gallico alleged breach of copyright against Camel, so that probably explains the addition of the "music inspired by", but why they changed the Camel logo is beyond me; the old one was much prettier.

The song list below includes the short descriptions of most of the songs that is on the original lp. These are sadly missing from the CD version.

Personnel:
Peter Bardens: Organ, Mini Moog, Electric Piano, Pipe Organ, Acoustic Piano, ARP Odyssey
Andrew Latimer: Electric, Acoustic and Slide Guitars, Flute and vocalist.
Andy Ward: Drums, Vibes, Varispeed Percussion
Doug Ferguson: Bass and Duffle Coat
Produced by David Hitchcock

Songs:
The Great Marsh - Just before dawn till sunrise.

Rhayader - He lives in an old lighthouse on the Essex marshes, caring for the wild birds.

Rhayader Goes to Town - The townsfolk react coldly towards Rhayader because of his odd appearance. But their fear is mixed with curiosity for he has a nobel bearing.

Sanctuary - The Snow Goose swept off course by a sea storm just reaches the Essex coast. Fritha finds her exhausted and wounded on the beach and gently cradles her, for she has heard that nearby lives a man who is a great healer of birds.

Fritha - When she meets Rhayader she too is frightened, but her concern for the Snow Goose overcomes her fear.

The Snow Goose -

Friendship - While the Snow Goose gradually gains strength, tended to by Rhayader and visited by Fritha, a strong bond of affection grows between the three of them.

Migration

Rhayader Alone - With the departure of the Snow Goose, Fritha no longer visits the lighthouse and Rhayader is once more alone with the melancholy sounds of the marshes.

The Flight of the Snoow Goose - One day high above the horizon appears the familiar shape of the great white bird. Rhayader in his joy sends for Fritha.

Preparation - Rhayader gets ready to sail, together with the small Armada of other boats to help in the desperate rescue operation at Dunkirk.

Dunkirk - As Rhayader departs, leaving Fritha behind he cannot prevent the Snow Goose following him out across the channel and right into the heart of battle.

Epitaph - Rhayader ferries many stranded soldiers to safety until at last he is hit, and the Snow Goose is seen circling low over the spot where the little boat has gone down.

Fritha Alone

La Princesse Perdue - Fritha realizing somehow that Rhayader will not return is still looking out to sea when she spies the Snow Goose. She is filled with a sweet sadness as she follows her princess home in as if to land only to fly away, out of sight lost forever.

The Great Marsh



AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Camel's classic period started with The Snow Goose, an instrumental concept album based on a novella by Paul Gallico. Although there are no lyrics on the album - two songs feature wordless vocals - the music follows the emotional arc of the novella's story, which is about a lonely man named Rhayader who helps nurse a wounded snow goose back to health with the help of a young girl called Fritha he recently befriended. Once the goose is healed, it is set free, but Fritha no longer visits the man because the goose is gone. Later, Rhayader is killed during a battle as he defends his village from intruders. The goose returned during the battle, and it is then named La Princesse Perdue, symbolizing the hopes that can still survive even during the evils of war. With such a complex fable to tell, it is no surprise that Camel keeps their improvisational tendencies reigned in, deciding to concentrate on surging, intricate soundscapes that telegraph the emotion of the piece without a single word. And even though The Snow Goose is an instrumental album, it is far more accessible than some of Camel's later work, since it relies on beautiful sonic textures instead of musical experimentation. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine




Camel - "The Snow Goose" (1975)
An album that is quite different from the previous ones. The music is more relaxed, symphonic, atmospheric and it's also totally instrumental (with the exception of some word-less vocal harmonies). It's also a concept-album based on the book of the same name by an author called Paul Gallico. I haven't read the book, so I have no idea what it's about. The album is very good anyway, and this seems to be many people's favourite by Camel. There's lot of excellent and beautifully melodious themes here like "Rhayader"(next to "Supertwister, this is the best example of Latimer's relaxed flute playing) and "The Snow Goose". There's also some very relaxed and atmospheric tracks here like "Rhayader Alone", "Fritha" and "Fritha Alone". "Migration" is a good example of the typical Camel vocal-harmonies. Just like Yes, Camel had their own style when it came to vocal-harmonies. "Preparation" is a rather loose track, while "Dunkirk" is grandiose symphonic progressive rock. This is a superb album, just like anything else Camel did around the mid-70's.




Camel - The Snow Goose


When in the early seventies Progressive Rock really started to rise on the wings of its most successful advocates, among which were Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and Emerson Lake & Palmer, it was only natural for other, new bands to try to make a name for themselves in the wake of their big time contemporaries. One of those bands, formed in 1972 in Surrey in England, had released two albums by 1974, which hadn't attracted a lot of attention. Not giving up, they sat down to create their third album and it was this album that propelled them into international fame. The band was Camel and the album was The Snow Goose.

When Andrew Latimer, Peter Bardens, Andy Ward and Doug Ferguson retired to Devon to start working on the new album, they had not yet decided on what concept to use. Indeed, up until the last moment Peter Bardens wanted to adapt Hesse's Steppenwolf while Ferguson and Ward favoured The Snow Goose, a book written by American author Paul Gallico. Latimer, who didn't have a clear favourite, finally managed to convince Bardens that Gallico's work was best suited to write music for.

Camel's previous two albums showed that they leaned heavily towards the instrumental side of music and a lot less towards the lyrical side. Some of their songs were fully instrumental and some longer songs had long instrumental sections and sparse lyrics. With The Snow Goose they would take this instrumental approach a step further: all sixteen songs on the album were completely instrumental, which made it an incredible challenge to get the message of the book that inspired the music across. Although Ward and Ferguson were credited on a few songs from the previous albums, Bardens and Latimer formed the creative nucleus of the group, and they were completely responsible for all the music on The Snow Goose. From the very beginning of Camel, they had had musical ideas that were quite different from each other and they frequently had musical differences. But when they could get their ideas pointing in the same direction, they could write fantastic music, as evidenced on The Snow Goose and its follow up Rain Dances. Unfortunately, the musical rift between the two just became wider and wider with time, until Bardens saw no other option than to leave the group after the recording of Breathless in 1978.

As said before, the music on the album The Snow Goose tells the story of the book. As such, it van be viewed as a soundtrack, and there are passages on the album that really have the feel of a soundtrack. But it is much more than that, because a soundtrack accompanies spoken text (a radio play) or an audio-visual presentation, while The Snow Goose album tries to do both in one package, that is, be soundtrack and storyline at the same time.

Before going into a track by track discussion of the album, I will first give you a brief outline of the story: One day Rhayader, a lonely person who lives in the marshes, finds a wounded Snow Goose, and takes care of her. A little girl, Fritha, is also concerned about the goose, and she and Rhayader become friends. By the season's end the goose heals, and it is set free. Following this, Rhayader is alone again, as Fritha doesn't come to visit him anymore. Rhayader helps saving people at the battle of Dunkirk, and during the battle the Goose comes back to help. Rhayader is killed in the battle, and the Goose is then named La Princesse Perdue.

The opening track, The Great Marsh, slowly fades in. Among the sounds of waking birds and frogs a lamenting voice can be heard. Barden's organ and Latimer's guitar beautifully describe the desolation and loneliness of the marsh. After one minute into the song Bardens' keyboards introduce the rest of the band as Ward's drums kick in with Ferguson's subdued bass in support. This second part of the song is much more uplifting: morning has arrived and with it a new day!

The next song, Rhayader, is one of the best known from the album, and probably one of the best known songs from Camel's entire catalogue. Camel still play it to this day, and the song is often covered by other bands, most recently by Polish band Quidam. It introduces Rhayader, who lives in an old lighthouse on the Essex marshes and cares for the wild birds. The first few seconds sound just like the March of Death (Sorry! Don't know the official English name for this famous classical piece!), but this sense of doom is quickly replaced with joy when Latimer's flute starts a happy tune. A keyboard solo follows, before the flute part is repeated.

Rhayader Goes To Town opens very threatening. Rhayader finds a cold welcome in town because the townspeople fear his odd appearance. At the same time they are curious because he has a noble bearing. This track is much more guitar oriented than the previous one, which had almost no guitar! Completely in style the track features a guitar solo by Latimer.

Sanctuary is a short guitar only piece: acoustic guitar overlaid with gentle electric guitar. The Snow Goose is swept off course by a sea storm and is just able to reach the Essex coast. Fritha finds her exhausted and wounded on the beach and gently cradles her, for she has heard that nearby lives a man who is a great healer of birds.

Fritha is also a very gentle song. It features acoustic guitar and sweet Moog sounds. When Fritha meets Rhayader she is also frightened of him, but her concern for the snow goose overcomes her fear.

Some great organ playing by Bardens carries the first part of The Snow Goose. In the second part of the song the organ plays a more supportive role and Latimer's evocative guitar has the leading role.

If Sanctuary was guitar-only, Friendship is entirely keyboards! It has a very filmic feel to it, something that could have been used for a comedy play. While the Snow Goose gradually gains strength, tended to by Rhayader and visited by Fritha, a strong bond of affection grows between the three of them.

The last track on the first side of the album, Migration, tells of the Snow Goose being set free after it has been completely healed from its injuries. This track features vocals by Latimer. One can clearly hear the Snow Goose's elation at being able to fly again. The music slowly fades out and is replaced by the same depressing classical piece that opens Rhayader and is also the start of the next track.

Rhayader Alone is a sad piece. With the departure of the Snow Goose, Fritha no longer visits the lighthouse and Rhayader is once more alone with the melancholy sounds of the marshes. Rhayader's despair is beautifully painted by Latimer's guitar.

But one day high above the horizon appears the familiar shape of the great white bird. Rhayader in his joy sends for Fritha. Flight Of The Snow Goose opens with a fast keyboard sequence fading in and high speed guitar on top of it. The rest of the song is a duel between guitar and keyboard.

In Preparation, Rhayader gets ready to sail, together with the small Armada of other boats to help in the desperate rescue operation at Dunkirk. This is again a very filmic piece, with a repeating guitar melody line in the background, a staccato rhythm and very atmospheric flute on top of it. The second part of the song is very ill foreboding.

The organ is once again the foundation of the music in Dunkirk. This song slowly builds up in volume and instrumentation with each repeat of the musical theme. Not altogether coincidentally an orchestra was used for the recording of this song and several brass instruments can be heard at various stages. The end of the song is quite explosive and even a bit chaotic, depicting the battle that Rhayader finds himself in the middle of.

Epitaph breathes doom. It starts with the same ill foreboding music that ended Preparation and has some very dark keyboard sounds. Rhayader ferries many stranded soldiers to safety until at last he is hit, and the Snow Goose is seen circling low over the spot where the little boat has gone down. A tolling church bell ends the song, as if lamenting the dead.

Fritha Alone is a nice piano version of Fritha.

La Princesse Perdue is another orchestral piece. It opens with frantic violin playing and a blistering Moog solo. It is in essence the same as the opening of Flight Of The Snow Goose, with different instrumentation. Fritha realizing somehow that Rhayader will not return is still looking out to sea when she spies the Snow Goose. She is filled with a sweet sadness as she follows her princess home in as if to land only to fly away, out of sight lost forever. The final part repeats the theme from The Snow Goose

The album ends just like it started, with the melancholy sounds of The Great Marsh.

The Snow Goose proved to be Camel's breakthrough album. Although critics had difficulties with the fact that it was an all-instrumental album, it reached a respectable 22nd position in the UK charts. Paul Gallico threatened to sue Camel for the use of the The Snow Goose title and subsequent releases of the album therefore had the title 'Music inspired by The Snow Goose' instead of just 'The Snow Goose' as in the first edition. It seems Gallico, who was a non-smoker, wasn't too happy with the implications a band name like Camel's could have for his image!

The Snow Goose defined Camel's style in two ways: musically and conceptually. Musically, in that on subsequent albums, Camel wrote shorter songs in the vein of the ones on The Snow Goose, with a very strong sense of melody, with solos that supported the melody instead of the other way round. Conceptually, in that the mostly instrumental concept album format would be used again several times in later years, in albums like Nude, Dust and Dreams and Harbour of Tears.

Although less well known and less commercially successful than some of their contemporaries, Camel have over the years become a standard for comparison. Many bands have blended something of Camel's unique style into their own and some are very clearly influenced by them, like Dutch band Maryson. Camel in the mean time are still going strong, with a new album poised for a 2000 release. So, smoke 'em if you got 'em!

by: Derk van Mourik







Camel
The Snow Goose
1975
Janus

This is not an album I listen to often, but I'm always pleasantly surprised when I do.

The Snow Goose is an all instrumental concept album of beautiful, melodic progressive rock that comes from a different angle than many of the work of many of Camel's more bombastic, technical counterparts. The music on this album is very much in the symphonic vein. It relies heavilly on emotion-filled melodies and features several themes that occur in various form throughout the album. What is great about this album is the cohesiveness that it exhibits. It is one of the most successful concept albums that I have ever heard. There are several different song titles listed, but most of the songs flow together in a seamless fashion that gives the album a sense of being a true suite in the classical sense.

Camel's musical style is is rather mellow and subdued, with a very pastoral feel to it. Most of the melodies are carried by the guitar of Andy Latimer, whose simple style combined with a lack of effects or distortion, places him in a similar school of guitar playing with the great Steve Hackett. There are also a few moments of interesting, slightly experimental Moog manipulation here and there for analog synth enthusiasts.

This album also features an orchestra backing the usual four-piece band, but it is far from the typical "orchestral" album abomination such as has been typified by recent albums like The Synphonic Music of Yes. The orchestra's pressence here is very unobtrusive and at times could actually be mistaken for a mellotron. Other times it helps to lift the music beyond typical rock music by adding clever contrapunctal arrangements for bassoon and a small group of other wind instruments.

The concept for this album is set against a backdrop of either World War I or World War II England and revolves around two characters, Fritha and Rhayader, who care for a wounded snow goose. I am not sure whether this story is original to Camel or comes from a book or other work. Like many concept albums, especially instrumental ones, the concept is not really necessary to the appreciation of the music, but the story and the music mesh to form a nice, convincing atmosphere. I think that is about the highest praise an instrumrntal concept album can reasonably be expected to get on that point.

If you're a fan of lighter symphonic prog rock or you'd like a break from all the heavy stuff, check this album out.





Camel - The Snow Goose

Release Date: 1975

Member: Thekouderwunz 6/09/03

Often one of the most maligned concept albums from the progressive rock genre, Camel's third album, The Snow Goose, was not well received by critics of the time, also the author of the "Snow Goose", Paul Galieco, a non smoker, had originally sued the band when he figured that the band's name was synonymous with with promoting the cigarette brand. A lot of legal battles would follow, and the band had to eventually relinquish part of their royalties as part of the settlement.

Originally released in 1975, this album was a mature work written exclusively by Peter Bardens and Andrew Latimer, which musically was light shades better than the band's first two releases, but in hindsight, The Snow Goose a lush and passive affair, devoid of any lyrics, focused on the band's strong suite, which was the band's long Jazz-rock instrumental passages, which was similar to what bands like Caravan and Focus were doing, but Camel just seemed to have a style of their own, like Andrew Latimer's virtuostic guitar passages equalled by his phenomenal flute playing.

Arguably the most influential keyboardist of his time, the late Peter Bardens, provides a elegant soundscape, even finding time to solo here and there. The band's rythym section, Doug Ferguson on bass and the severely underated Andy Ward on Drums are pretty much subdued here as for no band member actually steals the spotlight form each other, working cohesively within also adding The London Symphony Orchestra to further augment most of the songs on the album.

Eventually, The Snow Goose, was financial disaster, due to the law suit, and was also extremely hard to be reproduce live as the band could not afford to have the Orchestra with them at each performance, so the band on a hand full of occasions, played The Snow Goose live in its entirety, as documented on the band's A Live Record, which adds a bit of more "spunk" to each song in comparison to the lush affair of the studio version of The Snow Goose.

In comparison to what rawness of Camel's first two albums, and the complicated albums that would follow, The Snow Goose is a strange, but great album, that except for on a number of occassions, rarely "rocked" like the band was know for and although the album was 100% instrumental, the album's tightness, rarely lent itself for the fiery instrumental breaks the band was know for, which is why most fans of the band felt this album was a dissapointment, but I feel the total opposite when I listen to The Snow Goose, I think that it is the greatest album the band ever did, I often place it in the same class as many of the greats of it time.

Charles