Progressive Camels

Every year I go North with Dustin and my buddy John. Each year, John makes an old school mix for the trip. In 2019 he included a song titled “Lady Fantasy” by the prog rock band Camel. It was the perfect song for the trip. It had a little bit of something for everybody. The song kicks in a with a rather rad keyboard intro. After a brief prog-y interlude, the band breaks into some melodic jamming followed by a nearly perfect impersonation of Iron Butterfly (Dustin’s jam). At about 3:45, Camel rips into a faster paced, guitar heavy noodle session for just over a minute. This is followed up by some really awesome synthesizer work reminiscent of something you’d find on the classic Steve Hackett album Voyage of the Acolyte (John’s jam). Then the vocals kick back in for a little down tempo respite thick with classic prog rock lyrics. This is just the setup for one of the most amazing finishes to a song you’ll likely ever hear (Kevin’s jam).

After listening to this song on infinite repeat for roughly three days straight, I ended up coming across a list of the 100 greatest prog rock albums. Naturally, I decided to listen to all of them. I haven’t gotten all that far into it, but I’ve enjoyed discovering some new music while also listening to a few albums that made me want to rip my ears off.

I was shocked to find Radiohead’s OK Computer on the list as I’ve never considered Radiohead a prog rock group. But who am I to argue with the list? I listened to album for the thousandth time and decided to write down my thoughts about each track. I was shocked at how much I ended up writing and thought it might be a nice thing to share on this blog. Because, as Dustin said in the last post, we’re likely going to be writing about music a whole hell of a lot on this thing.

The songs with the asterisk are the ones that stick out to me as the classic songs of the album, those I will never not listen to.

Airbag - I love how off the bass and drums are with each other. It’s just enough of a difference in tempo and beat that it’s interesting but not so far off that it sounds bad.

Paranoid Android* - I love that it’s really multiple songs wrapped up in one. There are, I think, three distinct themes in it and I love every one of them. And the bass line. My god, the bass line. It’s just awesome. It has just enough aggression. And then the come down part. This part gives me chills. It’s just so melancholy sounding. And some of the singing in the back is reminiscent of a cello, which I think is one of the saddest sounding instruments ever. I love cello music. And then it comes back in with that aggressive business for just a little bit. This song is tops.

Subterranean Homesick Alien - The subject matter of this one is just so bizarre. Thom Yorke is a real weirdo. But it’s just such a dreamy song. But the drums ground it in the same way that the rest of the music just lets your mind float off into the stratosphere. I almost want to take a nap just listening to it.

Exit Music (For a Film)* - This song is interesting because it sounds sad but the lyrics are actually kind of hopeful. That distorted bass line though. Nothing beats that. That’s possibly the best moment on the album when that comes in.

Let Down – At about 3:45 this song just kicks right in for me. I love the double and triple tracked vocals.

Karma Police – While I do like this song a lot, I think it was overplayed and isn’t as dynamic as I want it to be. There’s a reason it was a radio hit.

Fitter Happier – I don’t hate this one because I quote it all the time when I’m talking about my exercise and diet. Fitter, happier, more productive. I think I’ve only listened to that one all the way through like 4 or 5 times.

Electioneering – This is just a good rocker of a song.

Climbing Up the Walls – I forgot about this one. It’s just okay. There’s probably a reason I forgot about it.

No Surprises* – This is an absolutely lovely song. Until you listen closely to the lyrics. It’s about a guy who’s just given up. He’s so unhappy in his life circumstances that it seems like there’s only one way out of it. “A handshake with carbon monoxide…” It’s a song of resignation that life will just never be what you want it to be and it’s not worth it.

Lucky – This song contrasts so starkly with the one before it. There’s hope here. But the music doesn’t seem that way. It’s like coming out of the haze of acceptance that it’s time to end things and realizing that maybe you don’t want to end it all. But it’s a bittersweet realization because nothing is really all that different. You just have a new appreciation for life even with all of its warts and awfulness.

The Tourist – This one’s a bit slow. But a good way to end the album.