from the LP Camel, MCA Records, 1973Though they would later be outfitted with hordes of synthesizers and take to recording side-long suites along with most other prog rock acts of their day, this song and much of their debut album finds Camel sounding more like post-Woodstock-era Santana than Styx. While many prog rockers were prone to showing off their musical aptitude with jarring time signature shifts and flashy ornamentation, Camel managed to sound prodigious without being big-headed about it here; they knew they were talented, but they focused more on the tightness than the pizzazz. When they shift time in the midst of this song, it doesn’t feel harsh or forced at all, it just sounds like a logical evolution to the piece they’re creating, a smoky-jazzy suggestion to take it easy.
