Camel: Moonmadness | Extended Play Lounge (Ep. 83)
Added 2025-01-22 03:41:53 +0000 UTCThis was such a refreshing listen. Y'all never disappoint! I had only heard one of these seven songs previously, and I really enjoyed everything here...some real intelligent, classic prog. I hope you enjoy!
Comments
Doug, what you're referring to at the end of Lunar Sea is called a locking groove, where the groove runoff at the end of an LP side (which is usually silent) still has music in it. The result is that the last few seconds of music will repeat indefinitely until you raise the tonearm. I don't know if this Camel album had a locking groove like this (it's just too long since I've owned a vinyl copy!), but there were a number of albums over the years that did this. Two that come to mind are the song "White Shadow" on Peter Gabriel's second album and "Have You Heard, Part 2" at the end of The Moody Blues' On The Threshold of a Dream. Oh, and of course, one of the Monty Python records, which ends with Michael Palin saying, "Oh sorry squire, I've scratched the record", with "I've scratched the record" repeating in the endless groove.
Mark J Moerman
2025-02-19 02:04:39 +0000 UTCThis album has always been a big favorite of mine, particuarly Another Night, Spirit of the Water, and Lunar Sea, but it's all good! I like verything Camel did, but this one is a top favorite.
Mark J Moerman
2025-02-19 01:11:03 +0000 UTCA bit late to the party but what a great album this is. Camel are severely underrated musicians , pieces like "Song Within A Song" you don't find everyday , very melanchonic and tender. Andy Latimer's voice sounds a lot like Gilmour on this album on pieces like "Air Borne" for example and I totally love that (and what a powerful soaring guitar solo on "Lunar Sea" too!). The best quality about their albums is how cohesive they sound , in this one you can hear the "Lunar Sea" motif being repeated and slightly altered throughout the album (there's also a bit of "Aristillus" in the ending section of "Another Night" which are both side-opening tunes) it really feels like a long symphony instead of just a collection of songs. I'd put it among their best three albums alongside "The Snow Goose" and "Mirage" , thanks for the reaction as always Doug ;) .
Hetfield Ninno Davide
2025-01-30 01:18:34 +0000 UTCAnd justifiably so! Thought you would like the confirmation!
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-28 22:03:03 +0000 UTCMany thanks for this info Adrian. I feel a little bit smug now!🤣
Adie
2025-01-26 18:33:03 +0000 UTC...And a bit more., specific to the vocals on "Spirit of the Water"> Andy said “...Also, Pete wanted to sing it. His voice was a bit like Mick Jagger’s really, not really very proggy, so we thought, ‘Let’s stick his voice through a Leslie,’ which you hoped would disguise the voice, and in the end the effect was like the sound of a river. It was very atmospheric and redolent of water and gave something extra to it, a bit of mystique. It was just a small interlude, but it was so good I said to Pete, ‘Come on, we’ve got to do this!’
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-26 17:45:24 +0000 UTCRegarding the vocals, Andy Latimer explains: "...When it came to Moonmadness, we didn’t have that much confidence about any of our vocals so we had to be really inventive about it. We’d disguise them in lots of ways, putting Leslie speaker effects on vocals and phasers and all those kinds of things, and then also not mixing them too loud. I think that gave the album a certain mood. A lot of people like the treatment we did on the vocals and we only really did it to cover them up!”
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-26 16:04:26 +0000 UTCAlthough I heard the Snow Goose and some of the preceding work in the 1970s, I never heard any of this (or future) albums by Camel. I'm very impressed by the instrumental talents, and the musical work generally. This album reminded me of post-Gabriel Genesis sometimes, and Focus at other times, which reflects very highly on the band IMHO. I always thought the production put this band too close up given the relaxed feel. Sometimes (not always) I would have preferred a little more aural space for some of the instruments. Taking a punt on the vocal effect in Spirit Of The Water, I'm thinking the vocal was split into 2 channels - one with restricted frequencies using "equalisation" to make it close to a telephone voice kind of sound, and the other feeding through a leslie speaker (to get a volume osciilation and small doppler effect) set on a fast speed and less volume than the first channel. Given the rest of the instruments aren't given a lot of aural space, the vocal then takes a huge amount of the space with this effect without increasing the volume of the vocal in the mix too much. I think this would also explain the way the natural sound of the voice has been lost, taking the point that Doug makes later in the video. OK, that's a lot of words for a little techie idea - sorry! I'm interested to know if the technical experts in the community have any thoughts? Anyway, this gave me a better appreciation of the talents of the band, and makes me open to hear more from them, so thanks for this opportunity. A lovely listen.
Adie
2025-01-25 00:28:19 +0000 UTCThis album has always been intriguing for me, especially for the brightness that you had stated Doug. My favorites songs on there are Another Night, Spirit Of The Water, and Lunar Sea.
Daniel Ray Lyons
2025-01-23 04:40:36 +0000 UTCFunny you mentioned the vocal massaging, Doug. I just realized that, after a couple of hundred listens, I had no idea whatsoever what the lyrics were. As Adrian pointed out, vocals were (are?) definitely not their strong suit. This (And Snow Goose) are definitely peak-Camel, though I still love their self-titled debut and Mirage, the follow-up. Not as impeccably produced, but possibly more alive for it.
Tom (the soggy one)
2025-01-23 03:16:03 +0000 UTCAn album I've had on several different forms of media. I still have my LP copy and if you have a manual turntable Lunar Sea will run to the exit groove. There were a few albums that did that trick then.
BrianTheJeepGuy
2025-01-23 02:01:47 +0000 UTCRain Dances runs Moodmadness and Mirage very close too, IMO. I always get "Metrognome" and "A Song within a Song" mixed up!
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-22 21:54:34 +0000 UTCCamel has been a favorite band of mine for decades, and Moonmadness is one of their masterpieces in my book. If you continue on the Camel route, either "Mirage" or "Rain Dances" would be good choices. Cheers!
Bill Coonley
2025-01-22 21:03:58 +0000 UTCFor those put off by my longer post, check out this extensive and fascinating interview with Andy Latimer all about this album: https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-camels-moonmadness
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-22 13:20:56 +0000 UTCLoved this! Always SO educational hearing Doug’s thoughts, especially on an album you know well and absolutely love! I submitted “Lunar Sea” live (Mel Collins on alto sax) for “The Twelve Songs of Dougmas”, so I’m chuffed that Doug enjoyed that one enough to want to review the entire album. And to hear Andy Latimer REALLY showing his sublime guitar skills on Lunar Sea. Yes, the vocals were Camel’s Achilles heel – none were great singers, on their own admission. Hence the vocal messings and, many Camel fans feel, a main reason why they never enjoyed the same mega-success as some of their peers? The “song for each band member concept” per Wikipedia is 100% correct. Check out this great interview with Andy Latimer, which explains LOADS all about the album – including exactly about the vocals issues. EDIT: and the words in Aristillus! And especially about how each song relates to each band member, most especially IMO why Andy Ward is “Lunar Sea!” https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-camels-moonmadness Mirage next, Doug? Although its not on the Master List (yet) Although I really urge you to check out “A Live Record” sometime, which includes the complete Snow Goose performed with David Bedford and the London Symphony Orchestra. I think you may be absolutely blown away!
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-22 12:47:15 +0000 UTCI thought he would have got it, after all he's a smart cookie our Doug.
Ralph Darvill
2025-01-22 12:36:53 +0000 UTCThanks for getting to this one, Doug. Both this and The Snow Goose are my favs from Camel. Andrew's flute playing and guitar playing is always so beautiful. Ditto for Peter's keyboards. Andy's drumming is solid. Now you should listen to the live version of Song Within a Song from "A Live Record" that's sung by Richard Sinclair. It always gets me. Thanks for another enjoyable analysis!
Ford H. Cotton III
2025-01-22 12:00:01 +0000 UTCYup, he knows! Check out his first listen to Lunar Sea (which was my submission), on The Twelve Days of Dougmas.
Adrian Goodrich
2025-01-22 11:38:15 +0000 UTCTremendously enjoyable album and commentary, Doug! My friend told me back in the 70s that I should get this album and I never did. Wow, what a doofus I was! Thanks as always, Doug!
Bill Brinkmoeller
2025-01-22 08:58:54 +0000 UTCHi Doug, I really enjoyed your run through. This is pretty much my favourite Camel album, it has a completeness that some of their others don't possess. The musicianship is top-notch, but here they are playing so well as a "Group". Did you get the joke in the titles? Lunar Sea = Lunacy = Moon Madness? Looking forward to the next time.
Ralph Darvill
2025-01-22 08:31:27 +0000 UTCLots of great songs on this album. They kept several of these for their live tours, with Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield and the North) and Mel Collins (King Crimson) joining the band and, essentially, creating a supergroup. Peter Bardens on previous albums took a 'less is more' approach with synthesizers; however, he changed that and went much heavier on synths here with positive results, imo.
Guitar Channel
2025-01-22 06:23:41 +0000 UTCOne of my favorites from Camel. Thanks for this one! Music heels.
Jean-Michel LaFontaine
2025-01-22 04:52:56 +0000 UTCBeen enjoying this album since it came out - nice to listen to it again with Doug!
TreeN6TR
2025-01-22 04:29:46 +0000 UTC
