Ichigo Ichie: Camel Live in Japan

My wife and I have every Camel DVD concert they ever released and were anxiously waiting for this to arrive.Every one of them have been magical, but this one... I'm at a loss for words.We've watched it twice to make certain it wasn't a fluke on first viewing(well we've made it about 4 songs in and can't take it anymore)The whole thing seems flat, everyone looks like they're having fun on stage but the overall band performance is missing "glue".The MIX: What can I say other than it's not very good in my opinion. It doesn't sound full like other Camel live performances.Perhaps it's the venue, mixing board, but if raw is what they wanted, then they achieved their goal.I don't know if they added anything in post production, but if they did it's not there.I was really looking forward to the addition of Peter Jones as keyboardist, but his keyboards are mixed really low and it's almost as if they're not even there.What is odd as well he's positioned to the left.... very far left away from the band as if an afterthought. This may be due to the stage setup, none the less it was awkward looking.I could go on and on with negative comments, but why bother... I'm out $25 for a DVD we won't watch again.Do yourself a favor if you want a good Camel concert, buy the Opening Farewell, it's excellent and the overall sound is a joy to listen to.Tom Brislin's keys are balanced in the mix and he adds a lot of energy as well.I've been a Camel fan since the 70's with my first Camel album I was introduced to them was Moonmadness.Sorry Andy, the production on this one ruins it for me and my wife.*Watched on Panasonic Blu Ray player. Audio was through a Realistic STA2000 Receiver@75W per channel and JBL G500 3 way Tower Speakers.After watching it again, and in response to a comment here, I'm updating my review in the hope if someone else reads my first review and feels the same way, please read the update before giving up on the DVD.My wife and I decided to give the DVD another chance and watched it in it's entirety this last Sunday evening, and I must say we both enjoyed it.But let me clarify with a few points as I address some of my comments in the first review.I think part of what was different about this concert DVD was purposely planned by Andy, and that was to approach the material in the catalog of songs in a fresh new way.Many of the songs are played at a faster tempo, and for some the parts are played differently. Not a bad thing, but for a viewer it can throw one off the track for a bit.I also think Andy wanted the production stripped down and went for a bit more raw and less produced sound. Also, the stage was the same throughout the concert, no fancy lighting or images projected on screens behind the band(which I found refreshing).The other DVD's you mentioned, I believe had more post production "sheen" put on the tracks than this DVD did.All in all, once we let go of how the songs "should" sound and enjoyed the fresh approach to playing and performing them, I found myself actually enjoying hearing them interpreted differently.As far as my equipment, I forgot to include I use a Onkyo 7030 cd player which plays back many of my cd's wonderfully, and that is the bar I set when listening to new music.Thanks for your reply, and yes, I'm certainly happy we gave this concert DVD another listen and viewing.It joins our catalog of the other great Camel DVD concerts.

For a long time now I have kept a mental list of guitarists that have such an individual sound, both tone and style, that I can recognize immediately, even if he is playing on someone else's session. And it is a short list. Andrew Latimer has always been on it. If you include his composing and expertise with a variety of flutes, he is absolutely one of the most amazing musicians in modern music. Just watch any of the several Camel DVD's or listen to any of the Camel recordings and you will see. Over the years (decades really) I have turned on so many people (in a variety of ages) to this band, many of whom are musicians, and have enjoyed their drop-jawed expressions as they either viewed a Camel concert DVD or listened to a recording. This performance from Tokyo in 2016 is with the steadfast bassist/vocalist Colin Bass, who has been with Andrew a long time now, and two new guys, Peter Jones on keyboards/vocals and Denis Clement on drums. (he plays recorder on one piece) And of course Mr. Latimer on guitar, vocals flute and recorder. The material is by and large Camel staple compositions which have all been played on other DVD's, and the arrangements are pretty much the same throughout. But here are a few standouts on this DVD: Colin Bass seems to be getting better on bass as time goes on. Lots of subtle but interesting little notes intermingled in his bass lines that weren't there before. The keyboard player Peter Jones has just enough of a different style than past Camel keyboardists to give the overall texture of the material a fresh twist. Denis Clement, the drummer, does a very creditable job playing this complex material. (Drummers, try sitting down and playing to any Camel recording and you'll see the difficulty factor! I have. Whew!) Needless to say, Andrew Latimer hasn't lost his touch through all these years. Simply put, he would have to be considered by any musician or serious music fan to be one of the very best, but sadly not as well known as he should be, guitarists in the history of modern music. Period. I have only one minor criticism and this comes from a drummer who may be a bit picky, but I am not very impressed by the sound of the cymbals Denis Clement is playing at this show. With their trebly sharpness and short sustain, in my opinion they just don't fit in with the sound of this band, (I'll refrain from naming the brand) at least as they come across on this DVD. There are no extras like interviews or extra cuts as most of the past Camel DVD's have, but the great value is to see Andrew Latimer keep on keeping on with his unbelievably incredible musicianship. Setting the couple of little issues I mentioned aside, this is a great addition to the Camel concert DVD collection.

By this time we really think of Camel as a creature who resists to die and keeps on walking no matter how hard the road and the years have been to it. Indeed, after Andy Latimer serious illness, the passing of funding keyboard player Pete Bardens, and a couple more of them (Ranibow, and Guy Le Blanc), no label support of any kind, needless to say radio play, this "animal" still lives on. Simply amazing. The show and the set is a perfect selection of old and newer songs and this time Andy is accompanied apart from the longtimer Colin Bass (on bass of course), and Denis Clement on drums, by Peter Jones on keyboards and vocals. This man plays and sings beautifully apart from the fact he lost his sight being just 18 month old. Seeing and listening to a band of survivors like Camel makes you humble and think no thing is impossible when you love what you do and Latimer himself shows it every night.Please don't let this one pass you and prepare yourselves form the Royal Albert Hall Bluray, a celebration of Camel music and triumphant comeback to their homeland. Ichigo Ichie means: "treasure every encounter for it may not reocurr".What a beautiful sentence and what a huge truth.

I couldn't find any recently released CD's but was aware that Camel had been to Japan so I bought this DVD, yes it would have been better in BluRay and there is a scrappy sheet inside the case with a few photos on it (and that's it) but it's obvious the budget didn't stretch to producing a BluRay version or a booklet. I was pleased to find anything recent tbh. It was great being able to watch a recent Camel concert and after a few songs someone either turned down the cymbals in the live mix during the concert or did so during the post concert mixing, the cymbals were just too harsh for the first few songs. Peter Jones (who lost his sight at 15 months old) is a very talented musician but he and the others clearly decided on a more modern version of the keyboard element with a lot of Doctor Who beepy noises at times, I thought the Daleks were about to make an appearance. Andy Latimer's guitar work and Colin Bass's bass playing were wonderful, I had slightly mixed views about some of the drumming (only a personal view, not a criticism of the drummer's skills).

Superb Camel concert, made all the better by the incredible Pete Jones. A once X factor finalist that now is a stalwart in the world of Prog Rock. You only see him on keyboards and recorder here but he plays almost everything despite having lost his sight. It’s freat to see Andy back in commanding form and the back line of Colin and Denis are superb. All in all a fabulous set list. Buy it, sit back and revel in these fabulous musicians.!

It may be two years on from the In from the Cold DVD but Camel and Andrew Latimer doesn't disappoint. A new face on the Keyboards following the death of Guy LeBlanc is full of talent on the Keys and also Vocals. I would recommend this to anybody interested in Music played to its ultimate best!

Wow!

I Camel hanno avuto la grandissima capacità ed intuizione di coniugare mirabilmente le due grandi anime del Prog britannico, la scuola di Canterbury ( VDGG, Soft Machine ) sperimentale e maggiormente influenzata dal jazz e quella neo-classica ( Genesis, Yes, ELP ) barocca e che appunto prende maggiore ispirazione dalla musica classica, anche i King Crimson hanno fatto qualcosa di simile ma mentre i Re Cremisi hanno puntato maggiormente sull’aspetto sperimentale e sulla “esasperazione” di certe sonorità, esplorando anche orizzonti più “distanti” dal Prog, i Camel hanno “attutito” la complessità del Progressive, inserendo una forte componente melodica e lineare alla struttura della canzone, dando fluidità allo scorrere della musica, pur mantenendo molteplici e variegati elementi nella partitura e l’elaborazione e l’articolazione nella costruzione e nell’esecuzione dei brani, in questo probabilmente ha molto aiutato lo stile particolarissimo di Andy Latimer, chitarrista del gruppo e di Peter Bardens, tastierista, entrambi ottimi strumentisti ma la cui musica fondamentalmente poco predilige il “virtuosismo” esasperato e fine a se stesso, in favore della costruzione melodica anche quando si tratta di lunghi assoli, certo non facendo mancare completamente l’aspetto virtuoso ma inserendolo con molta intelligenza all’interno di una costruzione dell’assolo più armonica e lineare.