Pete, recheck. I get output:
C:\Temp>cscript //nologo foo_allmusic.vbs "Camel" "Nude" review
A new, larger version of Camel debuted on Nude, a concept album about a Japanese soldier stranded on a deserted island d
uring World War II and staying there, oblivious to the outside world, for 29 years. More ambitious than the preceding I
Can See Your House from Here, Nude is in many ways just as impressive. Although it's a less accessible effort, it has a
number of quite intriguing passages, particularly since it boasts heavier improvisation, orchestration, and even some wo
rldbeat influences. It's not as spacy as Camel's earlier progressive rock records, yet it is quite atmospheric, creating
its own entrancing world. [A remastered version of Nude was released in 2009, including ten bonus tracks recorded live
at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1981 for the BBC Radio 1 program In Concert.]
Review by Daevid Jehnzen
C:\Temp>cscript //nologo foo_allmusic.vbs "Camel" "Nude" bio
Camel never achieved the mass popularity of fellow British progressive rock bands like the Alan Parsons Project, but the
y cultivated a dedicated cult following. Over the course of their career, Camel experienced numerous changes, but throug
hout the years, Andrew Latimer remained the leader of the band.
Formed in 1972 in Surrey, Camel originally consisted of Latimer (guitar, flute, vocals), Andy Ward (drums), Doug Ferguso
n (bass), and keyboardist Peter Bardens, previously of Them. By the end of 1973, the group signed with MCA and released
their eponymous debut. In 1974, the band switched record labels, signing with Decca's Gama subsidiary, and released Mira
ge. In 1975, Camel released their breakthrough album The Snow Goose, which climbed into the British Top 30. The band's E
nglish audience declined with 1976's Moonmadness, but the album was more successful in America, reaching number 118 -- t
he highest chart position the band ever attained in the U.S. Following the release of Moonmadness, Ferguson left the ban
d and was replaced by Richard Sinclair (ex-Caravan); at the same time, the group added saxophonist Mel Collins. Latimer
and Bardens conflicted during the recording of 1977's Rain Dances and those tensions would come to a head during the mak
ing of 1978's Breathless. After Breathless was completed, Bardens left the band. Before recording their next album, Came
l replaced Bardens with two keyboardists -- Kit Watkins (Happy the Man) and Jim Schelhaas (Caravan) -- and replaced Sinc
lair with Colin Bass.
By the time Camel released their 1979 album, I Can See Your House From Here, rock & roll had been changed by the emergen
ce of punk rock, which resulted in less press coverage for progressive rock, as well as decreased record sales. Camel su
ffered from this shift in popular taste -- I Can See Your House From Here received less attention than any of the band's
releases since their debut. Latimer returned to writing concept albums with 1981's Nude. In 1982, drummer Andy Ward was
forced to leave the band after suffering a severe hand injury. Camel's 1982 album, The Single Factor, was a slicker, mo
re accessible affair than previous Camel records, but it failed to chart. Stationary Traveller (1984) was another concep
t album.
After the release of the 1984 live album, Pressure Points, Camel entered a long period of hibernation that lasted until
the early '90s. In 1985, Decca dropped Camel from its roster. Latimer wasn't able to find a new label because he was emb
roiled in a difficult legal battle with Camel's former manager Geoff Jukes; Camel eventually won the lawsuit in the late
'80s. Throughout this period, Camel produced no new music. In 1988, Latimer sold his home in England and moved to Calif
ornia, where he founded the independent label Camel Productions. By the time Camel recorded their follow-up to Stationar
y Traveller in the early '90s, the band was, for most intents and purposes, simply Andrew Latimer and a handful of sessi
on musicians. Dust and Dreams (1991) was the first release on Camel Productions. In 1993, PolyGram released a double-dis
c Camel retrospective, Echoes. In early 1996, Camel released Harbour of Tears.
Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine