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Ian Gothe / Fernando Perdomo — Never Let Go: A Tribute to Camel
(Bandcamp Think Like a Key TLAK1183, 2024, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2024-11-23

Never Let Go: A Tribute to Camel Cover art

Never Let Go: A Tribute to Camel is a hit-or-miss album. If you are familiar with Camel’s discography like me, then you will find some decent covers and others that just grate on your ears. Nothing negative to say about Gothe and Perdomo — they are skilled musicians — but it is always a challenge to cover and try reimagine music familiar to fans. And I find some of their song choices and track order odd. They chose songs to cover from Camel’s 1973 debut album (“Never Let Go” and “Slow Yourself Down”), 1975’s Snow Goose (“Preparation,” “Rhayader,” “Sanctuary,” and “Fritha”), Moonmadness from 1976 (“Another Night,” “Spirit of the Water,” and “Air Born”), “City Life” from Nude (1981), and “Refugee” from Stationary Traveller (1984). But the track order defies understanding, and they chose to ignore some of Camel’s best albums Mirage, Rain Dances, and Breathless. By the 80s, Camel was past their prime and what they produced was typical 80s rock. Why would you choose to cover two mediocre Camel songs of this era when there is a lot of excellent music on the albums they chose to overlook? When Gothe and Perdomo stick to playing instruments, they excel, but when they introduce vocals, it just doesn’t work. They fail to capture the subtleties of Andrew Latimer’s, Peter Bardens’, and Doug Ferguson’s vocals and harmonies. That British accent that lent the charm to Camel’s songs is missing. The cover tracks that are worthy of attention are “Preparation,” “Air Born,” “Rhayader,” “Slow Yourself Down,” and “Sanctuary.” But all in all, you would be better served to seek out Camel’s albums and bypass this tribute.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Camel, Dave Kerzner, Fernando Perdomo, Ian Gothe

More info
http://fernandoperdomo.bandcamp.com/album/never-let-go-a-tribute-to-camel

 

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