【乐评】Camel《Mirage》
【乐评】Camel《Mirage》
Sincerely, I always considered that Camel is an underrated progressive band among the greatest bands of the 70's. Probably it was mainly due to the Andrew Latimer's voice. Latimer is the main vocalist of the band despite that is true that he never was a true vocalist and that he has a very strong and deep voice. Still, Latimer always knew it, and because of that, many of Camel's songs are mainly instrumentals. This was one of the things that made of Camel a truly unique band in the progressive rock scene. On the other hand, he was never considered one of the greatest guitarists of the 70's, which is, in my humble opinion, very unfair. Probably, he isn't one of the most virtuous guitarists, but he is, for sure, a guitarist who knows very well how to create a unique and unmistakable sound with his guitar. His guitar style is still appreciated by many other guitarists, even in our days, like Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth.
真心地说，我总是认为Camel在70年代的伟大前摇乐队中是一支被低估的乐队。也许这主要是由于Andrew Latimer的声音。Latimer是乐队的主唱，但他从来不是一个真正的歌手，他有非常强劲而深沉的嗓音。Latimer一直知道这一点，因为这样，许多Camel的歌都主要是器乐演奏的。这也是让Camel在前卫摇滚中成为一支独一无二的乐队的原因。另一方面，他从未被认为过是70年代最伟大的吉他手之一，这在我看来是很不公平的。也许他不是最有效力的吉他手，但他绝对是知道如何用他的吉他去很好地创作出独一无二和毫无问题的声音的吉他手。他的吉他风格时至今日被许多其他吉他手所赞赏和领会，比如Opeth的Mikael Akerfeldt。
And now, a curious story about Camel and "Mirage". Camel was involved in some controversy with the American brand of Camel cigarettes. We can clearly see the similarities between the album cover of "Mirage" and a pack of Camel cigarettes. As the peak period of the advertisement of the brand cigarettes, that had a picture of a camel smoking, coincided with the peak period of the release of "Mirage", the album was boycotted by some anti- smokers.
现在说一个关于Camel和《Mirage》的有趣故事。Camel曾参与进和美国骆驼牌香烟有关的争议中。我们可以清楚的看到《Mirage》的专辑封面和一盒骆驼牌香烟之间的相似。在这个香烟的广告的高峰投放期，有一副骆驼正在抽烟的画面，而这与《Mirage》发行的时间一致。因此专辑被一些反吸烟者所抵制。
"Mirage" is the Camel's second studio album and was released in 1974. It became as one of the group's most acclaimed albums. "Mirage" is probably the album that best illustrates the main features of the band, already mentioned by me above, which are undoubtedly, quality, simplicity and beauty. This is the album where Camel begins to develop their own distinctive sound with some intricate rhythms and the wonderful and unpredictable instrumental exchanges made by the two mainly songwriters of the band Latimer and Peter Bardens.
《Mirage》是Camel的第二张录音室专辑，发行于1974年。他成为了乐队最受好评的专辑之一。《Mirage》或许是最能说明乐队特点的专辑了，就像我上面已经提及的，它无疑是是高质量的、简朴天真的、优美动听的。从这张专辑开始Camel用复杂的节奏和精彩而不可预测的纯器乐变化发展了他们与众不同的声音，这得依靠乐队的两个主创：Latimer 和 Peter Bardens。
"Mirage" has five tracks. The first track "Freefall" written by Bardens is almost an instrumental song largely dominated by the Latimer's guitar and with nice musical moments performed by Bardens' keyboards, very well supported by an inventive bass and a dynamic drumming work. This song is influenced by diverse styles of music and the melody is excellent. The second track "Supertwister", also written by Bardens, is the nice and most peaceful song on the album. It's a great instrumental track partially dominated by a great flute work of Latimer. With this song, Latimer proved that he is a great flute player too. The third track "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider" written by Latimer is one of the two multi-part epic songs on the album. This song is based on the book "The Lord Of The Rings" written by J. R. R. Tolkien. This is one of the best songs on the album with its frequent time changes and soundscapes, which carries the theme to an exceptional symphonic climax by the band. The fourth track "Earthrise" written by Latimer and Bardens is a very nice instrumental track with a frenetic middle section with Latimer's guitar and Bardens' keyboards. It's the second instrumental track of the album and it's probably one of the best and finest instrumentals ever made by them. The fifth track "Lady Fantasy" is divided into three parts: "Encounter", "Smiles For You" and "Lady Fantasy". It's the only track written by all band members and represents the other multi-part epic song of the album. Usually, this is the most celebrated song on this album and one of the most famous songs released by Camel. This track contains one of the most progressive songs made by them and is a very good example why Camel is one of the best and most respected bands in the progressive rock universe. Here we can clearly see how Camel has influenced Akerfeldt.
《Mirage》有五首歌。第一首歌"Freefall"是Bardens写的，几乎是纯器乐作品，主要由Latimer的吉他主导，伴随美妙的Bardens的键盘演出，别出心裁的贝司和充满动力的鼓声很好地支持了歌曲。歌曲是被不同风格的音乐所影响的，旋律很棒。第二首歌"Supertwister"也是Bardens写的，是专辑中优美和最平静的歌曲。它是伟大的纯器乐作品，部分由Latimer大师级的长笛所主导。通过这首歌，Latimer证明了他也是伟大的长笛演奏家。第三首歌"Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider"是Latimer写的，是专辑中的两首多部分史诗之一。歌曲基于托尔金的《The Lord Of The Rings》（指环王）所创作。这是专辑中最好的歌曲之一，有着频繁的节拍变化和悦耳的音景，它将专辑带向了超乎寻常的交响乐般的高潮。第四首歌"Earthrise"是Latimer和Bardens写的，非常美妙的纯器乐作品，中段的狂热的部分来自Latimer的吉他和Bardens的键盘。这是专辑的第二首纯器乐，或许也是他们做过的最出色的纯器乐作品。第五首歌"Lady Fantasy"分为三部分："Encounter", "Smiles For You" 和 "Lady Fantasy"。这是专辑中唯一一首由所有成员创作的歌曲，代表着专辑的另一首多部分史诗。通常，也是专辑中最著名的歌曲，也是Camel乐队最著名的歌曲之一。它是他们做过的最前卫的歌曲，也是个很好的例子可以说明为什么Camel在前摇宇宙中是最出色的也是最受人尊敬的乐队。从这里我们可以清楚的看到Camel是如何影响到Akerfeldt的。
Conclusion: In my humble opinion, "Mirage" is with "The Snow Goose" and "Moonmadness" the three greatest masterpieces from the group. But, despite I choose in the first place "Moonmadness" followed by "The Snow Goose", I consider "Mirage" the most simple, pure, naïve and unpretentious of all Camel's studio albums. It might be even its best work. Every moment of every song on "Mirage" is to be treasured and every musical note is perfectly placed. The album is composed of two epics, but the seamless track flow, unifying theme, and harmonious sound, all make the album feel like a real masterpiece. The album showcases an uncanny ability for melody, in which the songs with no lyrics or words to them will have you creating stories in your own mind to fit the real mood. "Mirage" is an essential progressive rock classic album. With also the releases of "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" of Genesis, "Relayer" of Yes, "Red" of King Crimson and "The Power And The Glory" of Gentle Giant, only to mention some of the most important progressive musical releases in 1974, this was undoubtedly an amazing year for the progressive rock music. With "Mirage", Camel becomes one of the greatest and most respected progressive rock groups. If you really like of good progressive music and you don't have this album yet, do yourself a favour and get "Mirage" as soon as possible.
结论：在我看来，《Mirage》、《The Snow Goose》和《Moonmadness》是乐队最伟大的杰作。尽管我选择《Moonmadness》作为最佳，而《The Snow Goose》紧随其后，但我认为《Mirage》在Camel的录音室专辑中是最简单、单纯、天真和含蓄的。它甚至可能是最好的作品。《Mirage》中每一首歌的每一个片段都是令人珍爱的，每一个音符都是被完美放置的。专辑有两个史诗，但歌曲都无缝衔接，主题统一，声音和谐，这都使得专辑感觉像是一个真正的杰作。专辑展示了不可思议的做旋律的能力，在旋律中歌曲尽管没有歌词和语言但却会在你的脑海中给你创造出故事，并且符合你的心情。《Mirage》是重要的前卫摇滚古典专辑。1974年毋庸置疑是前卫摇滚令人吃惊的一年，只需提及如Genesis的《The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway》、Yes的《Relayer》、King Crimson的《Red》和Gentle Giant的《The Power And The Glory》这些重要的前卫作品即可证明。随着《Mirage》的诞生，Camel成为了最伟大和最受人尊敬的前摇乐队。如果你真爱好的前摇音乐，并且还没有这张专辑，帮自己一个忙，尽快拥有它吧！
Sincerely, I always considered that Camel is an underrated progressive band among the greatest bands of the 70's. Probably it was mainly due to the Andrew Latimer's voice. Latimer is the main vocalist of the band despite that is true that he never was a true vocalist and that he has a very strong and deep voice. Still, Latimer always knew it, and because of that, many of Camel's songs are mainly instrumentals. This was one of the things that made of Camel a truly unique band in the progressive rock scene. On the other hand, he was never considered one of the greatest guitarists of the 70's, which is, in my humble opinion, very unfair. Probably, he isn't one of the most virtuous guitarists, but he is, for sure, a guitarist who knows very well how to create a unique and unmistakable sound with his guitar. His guitar style is still appreciated by many other guitarists, even in our days, like Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth.
真心地说，我总是认为Camel在70年代的伟大前摇乐队中是一支被低估的乐队。也许这主要是由于Andrew Latimer的声音。Latimer是乐队的主唱，但他从来不是一个真正的歌手，他有非常强劲而深沉的嗓音。Latimer一直知道这一点，因为这样，许多Camel的歌都主要是器乐演奏的。这也是让Camel在前卫摇滚中成为一支独一无二的乐队的原因。另一方面，他从未被认为过是70年代最伟大的吉他手之一，这在我看来是很不公平的。也许他不是最有效力的吉他手，但他绝对是知道如何用他的吉他去很好地创作出独一无二和毫无问题的声音的吉他手。他的吉他风格时至今日被许多其他吉他手所赞赏和领会，比如Opeth的Mikael Akerfeldt。
And now, a curious story about Camel and "Mirage". Camel was involved in some controversy with the American brand of Camel cigarettes. We can clearly see the similarities between the album cover of "Mirage" and a pack of Camel cigarettes. As the peak period of the advertisement of the brand cigarettes, that had a picture of a camel smoking, coincided with the peak period of the release of "Mirage", the album was boycotted by some anti- smokers.
现在说一个关于Camel和《Mirage》的有趣故事。Camel曾参与进和美国骆驼牌香烟有关的争议中。我们可以清楚的看到《Mirage》的专辑封面和一盒骆驼牌香烟之间的相似。在这个香烟的广告的高峰投放期，有一副骆驼正在抽烟的画面，而这与《Mirage》发行的时间一致。因此专辑被一些反吸烟者所抵制。
"Mirage" is the Camel's second studio album and was released in 1974. It became as one of the group's most acclaimed albums. "Mirage" is probably the album that best illustrates the main features of the band, already mentioned by me above, which are undoubtedly, quality, simplicity and beauty. This is the album where Camel begins to develop their own distinctive sound with some intricate rhythms and the wonderful and unpredictable instrumental exchanges made by the two mainly songwriters of the band Latimer and Peter Bardens.
《Mirage》是Camel的第二张录音室专辑，发行于1974年。他成为了乐队最受好评的专辑之一。《Mirage》或许是最能说明乐队特点的专辑了，就像我上面已经提及的，它无疑是是高质量的、简朴天真的、优美动听的。从这张专辑开始Camel用复杂的节奏和精彩而不可预测的纯器乐变化发展了他们与众不同的声音，这得依靠乐队的两个主创：Latimer 和 Peter Bardens。
"Mirage" has five tracks. The first track "Freefall" written by Bardens is almost an instrumental song largely dominated by the Latimer's guitar and with nice musical moments performed by Bardens' keyboards, very well supported by an inventive bass and a dynamic drumming work. This song is influenced by diverse styles of music and the melody is excellent. The second track "Supertwister", also written by Bardens, is the nice and most peaceful song on the album. It's a great instrumental track partially dominated by a great flute work of Latimer. With this song, Latimer proved that he is a great flute player too. The third track "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider" written by Latimer is one of the two multi-part epic songs on the album. This song is based on the book "The Lord Of The Rings" written by J. R. R. Tolkien. This is one of the best songs on the album with its frequent time changes and soundscapes, which carries the theme to an exceptional symphonic climax by the band. The fourth track "Earthrise" written by Latimer and Bardens is a very nice instrumental track with a frenetic middle section with Latimer's guitar and Bardens' keyboards. It's the second instrumental track of the album and it's probably one of the best and finest instrumentals ever made by them. The fifth track "Lady Fantasy" is divided into three parts: "Encounter", "Smiles For You" and "Lady Fantasy". It's the only track written by all band members and represents the other multi-part epic song of the album. Usually, this is the most celebrated song on this album and one of the most famous songs released by Camel. This track contains one of the most progressive songs made by them and is a very good example why Camel is one of the best and most respected bands in the progressive rock universe. Here we can clearly see how Camel has influenced Akerfeldt.
《Mirage》有五首歌。第一首歌"Freefall"是Bardens写的，几乎是纯器乐作品，主要由Latimer的吉他主导，伴随美妙的Bardens的键盘演出，别出心裁的贝司和充满动力的鼓声很好地支持了歌曲。歌曲是被不同风格的音乐所影响的，旋律很棒。第二首歌"Supertwister"也是Bardens写的，是专辑中优美和最平静的歌曲。它是伟大的纯器乐作品，部分由Latimer大师级的长笛所主导。通过这首歌，Latimer证明了他也是伟大的长笛演奏家。第三首歌"Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider"是Latimer写的，是专辑中的两首多部分史诗之一。歌曲基于托尔金的《The Lord Of The Rings》（指环王）所创作。这是专辑中最好的歌曲之一，有着频繁的节拍变化和悦耳的音景，它将专辑带向了超乎寻常的交响乐般的高潮。第四首歌"Earthrise"是Latimer和Bardens写的，非常美妙的纯器乐作品，中段的狂热的部分来自Latimer的吉他和Bardens的键盘。这是专辑的第二首纯器乐，或许也是他们做过的最出色的纯器乐作品。第五首歌"Lady Fantasy"分为三部分："Encounter", "Smiles For You" 和 "Lady Fantasy"。这是专辑中唯一一首由所有成员创作的歌曲，代表着专辑的另一首多部分史诗。通常，也是专辑中最著名的歌曲，也是Camel乐队最著名的歌曲之一。它是他们做过的最前卫的歌曲，也是个很好的例子可以说明为什么Camel在前摇宇宙中是最出色的也是最受人尊敬的乐队。从这里我们可以清楚的看到Camel是如何影响到Akerfeldt的。
Conclusion: In my humble opinion, "Mirage" is with "The Snow Goose" and "Moonmadness" the three greatest masterpieces from the group. But, despite I choose in the first place "Moonmadness" followed by "The Snow Goose", I consider "Mirage" the most simple, pure, naïve and unpretentious of all Camel's studio albums. It might be even its best work. Every moment of every song on "Mirage" is to be treasured and every musical note is perfectly placed. The album is composed of two epics, but the seamless track flow, unifying theme, and harmonious sound, all make the album feel like a real masterpiece. The album showcases an uncanny ability for melody, in which the songs with no lyrics or words to them will have you creating stories in your own mind to fit the real mood. "Mirage" is an essential progressive rock classic album. With also the releases of "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" of Genesis, "Relayer" of Yes, "Red" of King Crimson and "The Power And The Glory" of Gentle Giant, only to mention some of the most important progressive musical releases in 1974, this was undoubtedly an amazing year for the progressive rock music. With "Mirage", Camel becomes one of the greatest and most respected progressive rock groups. If you really like of good progressive music and you don't have this album yet, do yourself a favour and get "Mirage" as soon as possible.
结论：在我看来，《Mirage》、《The Snow Goose》和《Moonmadness》是乐队最伟大的杰作。尽管我选择《Moonmadness》作为最佳，而《The Snow Goose》紧随其后，但我认为《Mirage》在Camel的录音室专辑中是最简单、单纯、天真和含蓄的。它甚至可能是最好的作品。《Mirage》中每一首歌的每一个片段都是令人珍爱的，每一个音符都是被完美放置的。专辑有两个史诗，但歌曲都无缝衔接，主题统一，声音和谐，这都使得专辑感觉像是一个真正的杰作。专辑展示了不可思议的做旋律的能力，在旋律中歌曲尽管没有歌词和语言但却会在你的脑海中给你创造出故事，并且符合你的心情。《Mirage》是重要的前卫摇滚古典专辑。1974年毋庸置疑是前卫摇滚令人吃惊的一年，只需提及如Genesis的《The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway》、Yes的《Relayer》、King Crimson的《Red》和Gentle Giant的《The Power And The Glory》这些重要的前卫作品即可证明。随着《Mirage》的诞生，Camel成为了最伟大和最受人尊敬的前摇乐队。如果你真爱好的前摇音乐，并且还没有这张专辑，帮自己一个忙，尽快拥有它吧！
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