Camel: The Snow Goose

The band Camel are well known for their prolific output of progressive rock compositions during the 1970's. 'The Snow Goose' continues their trend at the time of creating concept albums, albums which express a story through its music. In this case, the album tells the story of 'The Snow Goose' by Paul Gallico, having previously found success of their material based on Tolkien's 'Lord Of The Rings.'

Camel: The Snow Goose

The album begins with the sombre and highly brooding musical illustration of 'The Great Marsh.' This lasts little over two minutes and uses repetitive synth dissonances to create its dark mood. Coming next is  the more upbeat exposition of the main character, Rhyader. The track 'Rhyader' goes to town is unashamedly typical of progressive rock in its style and features a very interesting second section.

The later track 'Sanctuary' echoes the brooding mood seen earlier in 'The Great Marsh,' the alternative harmonic setting and use of an acoustic guitar however give it a sense of optimism as 'Fritha' opens. One of the album's notable characteristics is the expression which is achieved through purely instrumental music. One could go as far as to draw links between this and output from Tangerine Dream due to the instrumentation and instrumental nature of composition.

This album is not short on accomplished composition. One of the highlights is 'Dunkirk,' which evolves into a frantic illustration of progressive rock at one of its finest moments. To its credit, this album is one of Camel's most accessible works which fans of many musical styles will enjoy and the composers' skill at illustrating the story of the snow goose is admirable. Such a wide varieties of character and moods are rarely seen in albums today and that is just one reason why this reviewer is proud to have this album in their musical library.

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