CD Details

THE SINGLE FACTOR

CAMEL
1982 , UK , EAN CODE 5013929725621 - EURO 13.00

Label: ESOTERIC RECORDINGS

ALBUM REVIEW
Proof that Camel fell a little less far than most of the 70's prog rock giants in the shifting musical climate of the early-80's. The Single Factor is undoubtedly the weakest and least characteristic entry in the Camel discography, but it's far from being a bad record. The songs here are quite a bit removed from the laid-back symph prog of The Snow Goose or Moonmadness, and at times the synth-heavy arrangements sound closer to the Alan Parsons Project than to classic Camel, but The Single Factor still delivers more than enough good moments to warrant an "average" rating of 2.5 stars. Progressive rock purists will undoubtedly be drawn to "Heroes" and "Camelogue", even if both are fairly straightforward by Camel standards. "Selva" and "End Peace" are a couple of decent laid-back instrumentals in the spirit of The Snow Gooose, while "You Are the One" demonstrates that Mr. Latimer is capable of delivering an undeniably catchy progressive pop tune. I could live without the rest of the tracks here, and the record's simply doesn't fit together all that well. Yet apart from "Today's Goodbye" (those awful vocal harmonies!), nothing here really rubs me the wrong way. (Walter 12 - Rate Your Music)