Audio CD review:
Camel - Stationary Traveller

Camel - Stationary Traveller

Band: Camel Title: Stationary Traveller Rating: Release Date: 08 May, 1989 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Pressure Points 2: Refugee 3: Vopos 4: Cloak And Dagger Man 5: Stationary Traveller 6: West Berlin 7: Fingertips 8: Missing 9: After Words 10: Long Goodbyes

Customer Reviews Details of Camel Productions reissue here At that time it was perceived as too pop and not prog enough, but it has aged well, both as a musical statement and in how fans recall it. Camel-heads seem less divided about this album now than when it came out in the mid-80s. Certainly it was a stronger effort than its very commercial predecessor The Single Factor, and strikes me now as a sort of sequel to the earlier Nude, in its balance of prog and pop elements and its underlying concept. Ably assisted by an entirely new band, including Chris Rainbow on vocals, Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak), and Paul Burgess and Davy Paton (Pilot, Alan Parsons Project), with only Mel Collins guesting from any earlier line-up, main man Andy Latimer told a loose story of Cold War Peril in divided Berlin, balancing Gilmour-esque instrumental passages like Missing or the title track with well-crafted songs such as Cloak & Dagger Man, the catchy Fingertips, and the gorgeous Long Goodbyes -- which sounds rather like Anthony Phillips, so I wonder if it have been mooted for The Single Factor originally. That said, it's not the album for Camel novices (Snow Goose or Moonmadness should have that honor, I think) but is an underrated and satisfying achievement whose stock has risen since its first issue. Let me just add a few details on the new version as it compares to the original Metronome CD, which is the one shown on this page. Latimer has acquired the rights and re-released Stationary Traveler in slightly improved form, restoring it to how he had intended it before the record company got involved. The packaging's virtually identical, except with a couple more booklet images similar to the familiar cover art - I'd guess they were on the LP inner sleeve. The page coloring's now yellow instead of white, and the cover lettering is now uniformly white (no more red Camel). No additional credits or liner notes. The CD label borrows the style of the Decca releases, with the band name and title in Gothic lettering. Music: two new tracks appear, though I understand they exist already as live versions in the concert recordings from that era. The album now opens with In The Arms of Waltzing Frauleins, which isn't prog at all but lyrically tied to, and musically clearly derivative of (deliberately so), the world that the story evokes. Thus it sets the mood quite well, being a melancholy folksong, replete with accordion, that one might hear while drinking in a cabaret in Weimar Berlin. It anticipates in certain ways the brief instrumental After Words, I think. The real plus is the extended Pressure Points, which now closes the record. Calling it an extended mix clouds the issue; it should really be labeled 'complete version,' of which the old version that used to open the album is just the first movement. Where it originally ended, it now moves on a rumbling synth bed into a guitar mid-section that recalls elements of Nude before returning to the opening theme. It's better, certainly, as is the record overall in its new, fuller edition. Lattimer does Alan Parsons It is the second one that is truly a solo project by Andy Lattimer. This is Camel's tenth studio album. It is 42 minutes long. This CD sounds just like an Alan Parsons album. It has the same feel, structure, quality and style. With Chris Rainbow on vocals on Cloak and Dagger, this song could have easily been on Parsons' Eye In the Sky. If you like everything that Alan Parsons has done, then you will love this album. I like many of Alan Parsons' CD's but did not care for the more commercial ones like Eye In the Sky or Turn of A Friendly Card. Stationary Traveler is like Parsons at his commercial worst, looking for a hit. This isn't a horrible album like Camel's previous album, Single Factor. It doesn't have any really bad tracks on it. And like all Camel albums, there are some really nice guitar parts from Lattimer. It just doesn't have any that really stands out. I would rate it around three stars. If I lost it, I wouldn't bother to replace it. This is really a solo effort from Lattimer. He plays most of the instruments on most of the songs. Mel Collins does add in some nice sax parts. . The Camel isn't lost in the desert Prog purists won't like it, but I am sinner, so I enjoy every minutes on this album. Don't expect another "Lady fantasy" song on this album as it is something else more like Alan Parson's style. There is only one song that I find very average on this album and it is "Cloak and dagger man". Camel should always end up their shows with song "Long goodbyes" as it is a great exit song: <>. . You can see a complete list of all Camel discography, or go back to the Camel tabs