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AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS
Colin Bass has been a member of Camel since 1979 and I believe this is his first solo album. He is joined on this cd by fellow members Andrew Latimer and Dave Stewart, as well as an array of other musicans from
the bands Collage and Quidam. Bass himself is credited with all the song writing and handles all the lead vocals, bass guitar and some of the keyboards too. As you may expect this album sounds very much
like Camel and will certainly appeal to fans of their recent works in particular. There are also shades of early Marillion, especially in the keyboard and guitar departments, and Pendragon fans will probably
like this too.
On a first listen this album sounded pretty dull to me, but after a few plays I got well into it and it's now one of my favourites of the year. Also, don't be put off by the rather unattractive cover - there is
a good variety of instrumental work outs, and some fine songs here too.
The opening track 'Macassar' is a brilliant jazz tinged piece with excellent playing from Latimer. Drummer Dave Stewart really gets into the groove and there's lots of interplay with keyboardists Wojtek Karolak, Zbyszek Florek and Marcin Blaszczyk. Other songs like 'As Far As I Can See' and 'Goodbye To Albion' are very melodic with Bass's very pleasant voice shining through. 'Straits of Malacca' is another guitar led piece of upbeat rock with Latimer playing quite aggressively, reminding me somewhat of Joe Satriani. 'Aissa' is three beautiful minutes of fretless bass playing complimented by keyboards and e bow guitar. There are also a couple of string quartet pieces by members of The Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra which provide yet more light and shade.
Of all the song based pieces 'No Way Back' is probably my favourite with really incredible lead guitar playing from Szymon Brzezinski and a marvellous bass solo from Colin himself. 'Holding Out My Hand' is a
more gentle song with strong melodies, a beautiful keyboard solo and a marvellous instrumental ending with Latimer firing on all cylinders.
The penultimate song 'Reap What You Sew' is more in the singer/songwriter vein; again, great melodies and superb female backing vocals.
This is an excellent album, which I actually prefer to Camel's recent 'Rajaz' album, and I can't help thinking that if Colin was able to make more of a contribution, with his obvious writing skills, the band would be
all the better for it.
Steve Smith 4th December 1999.
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