Nude

Excellent remastered masterpiece with additional songs , truly Camel must for fans and Progressive rockers.

Released in 1981, this is a nice album from the group that shows them exploring a concept and using a softer, earthier sound. While fairly interesting musically, there are still attempts at a pop hit here and there. Fortunately, these moments are far and few between and Nude is certainly one of the finest Camel albums from the 1980s. Unfortunately, the follow-up albums The Single Factor (1982) and Stationary Traveler (1984) saw them adopting an even more commercial approach.Of the original lineup, only Andy Latimer (guitars) and Andy Ward (drums and percussion) remained; in fact, Andy Ward would leave after this album/tour. On Nude, they are joined by a large cast of studio musicians and bassist Colin Bass, who had played on I Can See Your House from Here (1979). Unfortunately, I really missed the excellent keyboard playing of Kit Watkins and he is replaced on Nude by Duncan Mackay; Duncan seems to prefer texture and atmosphere over rapid arpeggios. He also seems to favor the softer, more polite synthesizer tone colors.The concept of Nude (a soldier who does not realize the war is over) unfolds through a series of tunes that are loosely connected. While largely instrumental, the few tunes with vocals are actually quite nice. In terms of the tracks themselves, they range from highly atmospheric mood pieces with soft synthesizer washes, acoustic guitar and flute, to vigorous "proggy" workouts with some sizzling drumming from Andy Ward. Overall, there is a high standard of musicianship and attention to detail throughout.All in all, this is a pretty good album by the group and one of the best Camel albums from the 1980s; the live version of Nude from On the Road (1981) is also very good and a lot more energetic. For those folks new to the group, start with The Snow Goose (1975). Come to think of it, Rain Dances (1977) is also quite good.

Progressive rock fans are used to their favorite bands abandoning their great, artistic, original musical styles of the 70s to put out less original and interesting pop-rock in the 80s. So, when I got into Camel, I started with their wonderful 70s music - melodic, often instrumentally focused, frequently mellow and lovely, but with some more energetic jams. And, I took my time checking out their 80s stuff, assuming they abandoned their classic style like most other 70s prog bands. Well, they started to go for a more mainstream rock sound in late 70s albums like "I Can See Your House From Here", but I decided to give "Nude" a chance, as it's a concept album (usually a sign of prog/artsy music). And I was rewarded - although the beginning and end of the album are OK pop-rock songs, the middle half (or so) of the album is made up of melodic, mostly instrumental, music that is very much an 80s take on classic Camel. So, if you want to check out what the band is all about, definitely start with their 70s classics "Mirage", "The Snow Goose", and "Moonmadness", but if you have and like those albums, or if you want to check out the band but are more into 80s pop and want something more in your familiar taste, this one is definitely worth getting.

Wow, I remember I bought this LP when it first came out back in the day. Nice to see it remastered and expanded.Camel is truly a band that you either like them or not! They were a band that was not afraid to change and expand their creativity. Nude, IMHO, is the pinnacle of that creativity. Yes, I too fall victim to popular music as it has a way of capturing my senses and making me feel all tingly inside. However, in standing the test of time much of what is popular falls victim to not sounding the same after 20 plus years. With that thought in mind Nude is somewhat timeless as it does not try to present itself in a specific time frame even though the story line is that of a solider whom was not aware the Big One (WWII) was over. And, being a concept album you get a sense of the time era.In keeping things short, music is about painting a landscape, much like an artist. Camel succeeded in spades with Nude. It's dream like atmosphere is very tranquil. While there is little dialogue the music created lets you use your own mind to ponder and wonder how things are perceived. You, the listener, are allowed the opportunity to create you own dialogue within your mind! What a novel idea indeed.

Excellent release that recalls Snow Goose in some ways. Camel's concept albums weren't a musical retelling of the stories for which they were named, but rather they are a collection of songs inspired by sections or excerps of the stories themselves. You won't get a sense of the story or plot the way you would from a rock opera per se, but the depth of emotion on these Camel albums were still very palpable. Nude is one of those albums. After courting radio airplay in the late '70s with efforts like Rain Dances, Breathless and I Can See Your House From Here, Camel ceased attempting a Caravan or 10cc album and gives us their first and best effort of the '80s, doing what the band did best, writing and performing emotive pieces. I highly recommend the reissue, as it does justice to this album's plush production.

One of the most beautiful progressive albums from Camel, 1981's "Nude" is a "concept album" telling a complete story of the titular character from war time experiences through homecoming. The work is dynamic and lush with equal time for keys, guitars, and winds. While the remastering applied here would not lead me to repurchase this over some prior clean releases, this version does include a special treat - a nearly complete version of the album recorded live from the same tour, including guest keyboard player Kit Watkins, an incredible keyboard legend. The work is performed with great zeal and the sound is very high quality. Only gripe is the exclusion of "Lies" played live, arguably the best track from this masterwork.

My word, how did I ever miss this one? I have loved Camel for decades. Building on early material on the sublime 'A Live Record' I was very unconvinced by the bands changes in direction in the late seventies. I never even bothered to listen to this album at the time. Fast forward nearly 40 years and my only connection to the album is the off song on Anthologies etc. I tried it once or twice and the drum sound on opening track City Life sounded like the worst 70s drum machine ever. I never got past it. BUT, my ears have been opened and I sat oneday last month and played properly for the first time ever and I cannot stop listening. Even City Life emerges into a great pop arrangement. Instrumentals galore and all great. Tweak the drum sound (though later tracks have some great drum work) and this would be 5 stars for me. Better late then never indeed. My loss.

After three disappointing albums and numerous high impact lineup changes, Nude represents yet another facelift for Camel. However, this time the results are better, and this album is arguably Camel's best since 1974's 'Mirage'.If you can imagine Pink Floyd, Vangelis and Supertramp collaborating together on a movie soundtrack, you're pretty close to what Andrew Latimer and co. have pulled off here. In fact, I would go as far to say that Nude is the album that 'The Snow Goose' should have been back in 1975.A highly conceptual work, for the most part, Nude is instrumental, but the addition of selected vocals/lyrics, dotted throughout the material compliments the overall collection of tracks on offer. The atmospheric 'Docks' and the swashbuckling 'Captured' are the best instrumental efforts, with 'Drafted' and 'Lies' being the best vocal led numbers. Andrew Latimer's guitar work is effortlessly good, and the atmospheres, moods and pastel shadings he creates raise the musical standard of the album to a very high level, which is quite incredible considering the predominantly keyboard based sound on the record. Some of the sounds he manages to bleed from the instrument are quite amazing. He also contributes some outstanding flute work.The only downsides on Nude are the amount of short 30 to 60 second tracks that link the longer songs. Also the lack of a real top quality drummer causes the rhythmn section to lack any real punch. Although the usually excellent Andy Ward plays on the album, it seems that the personal problems he was suffering at this stage of his Camel career were spilling over into his work.However, these are minor complaints, and I would say that any fans of post Roger Waters Floyd will find lots to enjoy here. Nude is a great chillout album, best enjoyed with the lights dimmed and a good bottle of red opened.

'Nude' is an interesting concept album - the majority of the music is penned by Andy Latimer with Susan Hoover supplying most of the lyrical passages. Although the emphasis tends to be on classy instrumental pieces ( the pacy 'Captured' , for instance, is quite superb), the vocal passages are generally pretty good as well with 'Drafted' and 'Lies' standing out. As other reviewers have noted, the Pink Floyd influences are quite noticeable at times although this is no bad thing to be honest. Even so, I still prefer Camel's mid-1970's output, particularly 'Mirage', 'The Snow Goose' and 'Moonmadness', where the combined brilliance of Andrew Latimer and Peter Bardens took the band to their absolute peak.

This was a CD to replace vinyl buy.Keen fan since Snow Goose, this is one of the great albums. Live this was amazing, superb musicians in every line up.Recently introduce Camel to a 20 year old music fan, she was so impressed with the quality of the musicians.Hard to categorise Camel as they were always "branded" PROG' but their music is more than that, much more there are strong jazz influences in much of their work.Sadly, to my point of view some of their later work tried too hard to fit to "concepts" and sadly they failed for me, obviously others found the albums excellent according to other reviews.But whatever the album give these guys a listen if you appreciate top class music.

I give this album five gold stars As I am playing it as I write, I think the music & melodies are great.. truly worth buying to listen tooA good album from CAMEL. Has some good stuff on this showing musicianship . Plenty of guitar solos, good melodies and good lyrics.As for the CD cover very inspirational with a sense of humour I think...Music that one can chill out to with no problem ...