Andrew Latimer/Camel....

fitness1 · #1 02-01-2023, 09:18 AM

Listened to the band a lot back in the day - had several of their early albums.

This show is 10 years old, and done after a 10 year layoff because of Andrew's pretty severe health problems.

He's the only original member of the band here, but Colin Bass (bass player) has been with them since '79.

Dynamic, progressive, and melodic. Andrew's playing and tone fit somewhere between Knopfler and Gilmour to my ear.

Gordon Currie · #2 02-01-2023, 12:51 PM

Good memories of Camel. I had a band in high school (1974) that did 'Lady Fantasy' and then a band in 1979 that did their song 'Skylines.'

Latimer always had a gorgeous sound - full of sustain and very vocal. At the time, I could not figure out how to get such a singing tone on a Strat.

I was fortunate to see Camel open for Wishbone Ash in 1975.

UKPhil · #3 02-01-2023, 12:56 PM

I'm a big Camel fan of the 70/80's and was lucky enough to see them on the last UK tours few years ago. They are still very good.

fitness1 · #4 02-01-2023, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKPhil

They are still very good.

No question - I was a bit mesmerized by the concert I posted. Watched it yesterday while on the Stairmaster.

I noticed they did a DVD of the performance a few years after this one at Royal Albert Hall. I'd like to see that one too!

Bob Womack · #5 02-01-2023, 02:13 PM

The RAH BluRay is fantastic. The new band line-up is great! I've followed Andrew and the gang since the mid-70s. His playing is one of those sine qua nons for melodic electric guitar.

Bob

fitness1 · #6 02-01-2023, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

. His playing is one of those sine qua nons for melodic electric guitar.

Bob

I bet all you guys were Soft Machine fans too....I sure was!

Bob Womack · #7 02-01-2023, 05:33 PM

Okay, so I pre-ordered the Camel BluRay before it came out like a fanboy. Here is a preview:

Their last keyboardist, Guy LeBlanc, died before the 2019 tour so they brought on Pete Jones as keys and vocals. Yes, he is blind.

Andrew's main guitar on this outing is a '70s Les Paul Deluxe that he had played since the '70s (and on Pressure Points) but had to set aside when he literally wore it down. Around 2000 he had it rebuilt. From tech]Bill Richardson:

I have told most all the gear back storys in a bunch of posts. No probs answering stuff but my time with Andy was only from 99 to 2002. The RAH LP was his old cherry burst color LP Deluxe he had his old pal Roger Giffin put a whole new maple flame top on it and re-profile the neck depth like he did on Jimmy Pages #1 to a 1960 depth and also cut the 72 head-stock down to a 59 size and re-cut new tuner holes. When I met Andy as the Dust CD was about to go out we rebuilt the guts and we called in a favor from Seymour Duncan (Huge fan of Andy's!) to pot and install new/old pickup covers on a early 60s set of PAT# Gibson's post 63 made Andy had in his collection. It seems those are still in the RAH vid LP. That LP has the fender TBX tone control in it also. The Burny I sold him has one installed also. That guitar was 8 and 1/2 LBs and had a Duncan JB in the bridge and a Duncan 59 in the neck. The white knob is from one of my old fender amps. He liked the feel and a .01 treble bleed cap on the pots. We put that red Strat together in one day in my garage but that's another story.

If you looked carefully you'll see a new fingerboard with new inlays as well. The first time I saw the guitar I was wondering what the heck I was looking at. It had the sandwich body of a '70s LP but the smaller headstock '70s LPs didn't have and a gorgeous maple cap and unique inlays including the bird (snow goose?) on the headstock. It took a couple of years to track down the info.

Bob

fitness1 · #8 02-01-2023, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Okay, so I pre-ordered the Camel BluRay before it came out like a fanboy.

I was watching that video earlier today. Great stuff - Pete has a great voice.

Cool story about the Paul. He done wore that one out!

boombox · #9 02-01-2023, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Their last keyboardist, Guy LeBlanc, died before the 2019 tour so they brought on Pete Jones as keys and vocals. Yes, he is blind.

I saw them on the second night of the tour from which the DVD fitness posted at the start of this thread is taken. What is a shame is that by the time that tour reached London, they had dropped songs from the set, including Mystic Queen, The White Rider and a new song, a beautiful tribute to the late Pete Bardens, which I hope will see the light of day at some point. By 2014, Guy had had to drop out and was replaced by erstwhile Camel member Ton Scherpenzeel, also of Kayak fame. The next two tours were much rockier - Lady Fantasy with Ton was especially amazing. However, with Pete Jones onboard, they have probably reached a peak not attained since the days with Pete Bardens and Mel Collins. The 2016 Japan DVD is also amazing, though I had to wait until 2018 to see Pete with them live. It's just so sad that the next tour, Camel are only playing larger venues with obscene ticket prices to get a half decent seat and none near me.

I have to confess to being a huge Pete Jones fanboy: the guy is a musical tour de force, who can play keyboards, guitar, bass, sax, clarinet and recorders and sings as well. As well as with Camel, I have seen him doing solo sets, guesting with Magenta, as well as being a member of Rob Reed's offshoot, Cyan, fronting his own Tiger Moth Tales and with luck it's only a matter of time until I get to see him with Red Bazar and The Bardic Depths. (Yes, he plays in a lot of bands, as well as moonlighting round working men's clubs.) I strongly suggest you check out his bandcamp page just to see how good he is. He is also one of the nicest, most humble blokes you could ever meet.

upsidedown · #10 02-01-2023, 11:26 PM

Pretty sure I had Rain Dances. But always liked the song Golf Girl.

boombox · #11 02-02-2023, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upsidedown

Pretty sure I had Rain Dances. But always liked the song Golf Girl.

Golf Girl was actually by Caravan, another of the main bands of the so-called Canterbury scene, the others being Gong, Hatfield & The North and Soft Machine, with a few others. Camel/Caravan confusion is justifiably common: oddly enough , for a short time in the late 70s, Camel was nicknamed Caramel as there were three Caravan members in the line-up.

For anyone wanting to disappear down the Canterbury rabbit hole, this site is a fantastic resource: http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/index.html

And yes, Golf Girl is great, especially when they medley it with In The Land Of Grey & Pink, with the extended solo featuring Geoffrey on spoons and Mark on washboard.

upsidedown · #12 02-02-2023, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boombox

Golf Girl was actually by Caravan, another of the main bands of the so-called Canterbury scene, the others being Gong, Hatfield & The North and Soft Machine, with a few others. Camel/Caravan confusion is justifiably common: oddly enough , for a short time in the late 70s, Camel was nicknamed Caramel as there were three Caravan members in the line-up.

For anyone wanting to disappear down the Canterbury rabbit hole, this site is a fantastic resource: http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/index.html

And yes, Golf Girl is great, especially when they medley it with In The Land Of Grey & Pink, with the extended solo featuring Geoffrey on spoons and Mark on washboard.

Right!! Thank you. No wonder I couldn't find it.

Loved all the Canterbury bands. Traveled by bus to The House Of Guitars to get the albums. They had a great import section.

(PS..thanks for the link. Looks fun.)