''I Can See Your House from Here'' is the seventh studio album by English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members

Andrew Latimer Andrew Latimer (born 17 May 1949) is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Best known as a guitarist and singer, L ...

(guitar) and Andy Ward (drums) joined by bassist

Colin Bass Colin Bass (born 4 May 1951) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 1979, he has been a member of the British progressive rock band Camel, who, after a ten-year hiatus due to the ill health of bandleader Andrew L ...

(to replace

Richard Sinclair Richard Stephen Sinclair (born 6 June 1948) is an English progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene. Biography Born in Canterbury, England, both his father (Dick Sinclair) ...

) and keyboardists

Jan Schelhaas Jan Russell Schelhaas (born 11 March 1948) is an English musician, mostly known as the keyboard player from the bands Caravan and Camel. Biography Schelhaas was born in Liverpool, where he started his career playing bass for several bands and ...

(who joined in 1978 for the '' Breathless'' tour) and Kit Watkins (ex-

Happy The Man Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single. History Early days (1973–76) The group formed in 1973 in Harr ...

) who replaced

Dave Sinclair David Sinclair (born 24 November 1947) is a British keyboardist (organ, piano, harpsichord, electric piano, Mellotron, Davolisint, etc.) associated with the psychedelia/progressive rock Canterbury Scene since the late 1960s. He became famous ...

. At one point, the album was going to be called ''Endangered Species''.John Tracy's liner notes on ''I Can See Your House from Here'' album's Decca 1989 CD edition
/ref>

Recording

Work started on the album in summer 1979, collaborating with producer

Rupert Hine Rupert Neville Hine (21 September 1947 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins ...

, at the Farmyard Studios in

Little Chalfont Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is one of a group of villages known collectively as The Chalfonts, which also comprises Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. Little Chalfont is located ...

. The process also took place in an Elizabethan country house, a residential recording studio that suited the band well. The orchestral overdubs were added at London's

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...

(who also worked with

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

) contributed to the band's sound on the saxophone, while Phil Collins was chosen to play percussion. Andy Latimer was pleased with the end product, saying Hine "was great fun to work with, he was really up and zappy. I enjoyed making that record. We did it rather quickly and it wasn't a lengthy production." The album was released in October 1979. It spent three weeks in the chart in late October and early November, reaching No. 45. An accompanying single was planned, but shelved. Instead a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

containing an edited version of Andy Latimer and Kit Watkins "Remote Romance" was backed with "Rainbow's End" from '' Breathless'' (1978) and a

Mick Glossop Mick Glossop is an English record producer and recording engineer. In 2009, he was awarded a Visiting Professorship at Leeds College of Music. Glossop was initially known for recording and producing for New wave music, new wave and Punk rock, pu ...

production of "Tell Me", first released on ''

Rain Dances ''Rain Dances'' is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in 1977 on Gama Records/Decca Records, and brought a major change to the band's lineup, by replacing bassist Doug Ferguson with ex-Caravan member ...

'' (1977). It did not reach the charts. The single "Your Love is Stranger than Mine" / "Neon Magic" followed in February 1980.

Cover artwork

The cover image is based on a joke that was somewhat popular at the time, in which Jesus, while hanging up on the Cross dying, calls out for his disciple Peter to come to him, who does so with great difficulty. The punchline is that Jesus merely wants to tell Peter, "I can see your house from here."

Tour

The world tour began on 8 October at The Dome,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England, following France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and ended on 29 January 1980 in Koseinenkin Hall of Tokyo, Japan.

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original releases.Camel - ''I Can See Your House from Here'' (1979) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
/ref> ;Side one #"Wait" (

, John McBurnie) – 5:02 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, backing vocals #* Kit Watkins – Yamaha electric grand and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

electric pianos, Hammond C3 organ, Solina and Moog synthesizers #* Jan Schelhaas – Yamaha electric grand piano,

Yamaha CS-80 The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice set ...

Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...

and Moog synthesizers #* Colin Bass – bass, lead vocals #* Andy Ward – drums #"Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine" (

, Latimer,

, Andy Ward) – 3:26 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, backing vocals #* Kit Watkins –

synthesizer #* Jan Schelhaas – Yamaha electric grand piano,

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

#* Colin Bass – bass, lead vocals #* Andy Ward – drums #* Mel Collins – alto saxophone #"Eye of the Storm" ( Kit Watkins) – 3:52 – this was an updated version of a track that Watkins had played with his previous band

Happy the Man Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single. History Early days (1973–76) The group formed in 1973 in Harr ...

#* Andrew Latimer – guitar #* Kit Watkins –

Hohner Clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

, flute, Solina and Moog synthesizers #* Colin Bass – fretless Wal bass #* Andy Ward – drums, massed marching military snares #"Who We Are" (Latimer) – 7:52 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, lead vocals, flute, autoharp #* Kit Watkins – Solina and Moog synthesizers #* Jan Schelhaas – grand piano #* Colin Bass – bass, backing vocals #* Andy Ward – drums #* Simon Jeffes – orchestral arrangements ;Side two #

"Survival" (Latimer) – 1:12 #* Simon Jeffes – orchestral arrangements #* Gavin Wright – leader of the orchestra #"Hymn to Her" (Latimer, Schelhaas) – 5:37 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, lead vocals, flute, autoharp #* Kit Watkins –

, Hammond C3 organ, Solina and Moog synthesizers #* Jan Schelhaas – grand piano #* Colin Bass – bass, backing vocals #* Andy Ward – drums #"Neon Magic" (Latimer,

Vivienne McAuliffe Vivienne Jill McAuliffe (19 July 1948 – 21 October 1998) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of English jazz-rock fusion band Affinity and as a founding member of Principal Edwards Magic Theatre while at University of ...

, Schelhaas) – 4:39 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, lead vocals #* Kit Watkins – Hammond C3 organ,

and Solina synthesizers #* Jan Schelhaas – Yamaha electric grand piano, Solina,

and Moog synthesizers #* Colin Bass – bass #* Andy Ward – drums #"Remote Romance" (Latimer, Watkins) – 4:07 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar #* Kit Watkins –

and Moog synthesizers, EMS sequencer #* Jan Schelhaas – EMS sequencer #* Andy Ward – drums, percussion, loops #"Ice" (Latimer) – 10:17 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar #* Kit Watkins – Yamaha electric grand and

electric pianos, Hammond C3 organ, Solina and Moog synthesizers #* Jan Schelhaas – grand piano #* Colin Bass – bass #* Andy Ward – drums ;2009 Expanded & Remastered Edition #

"Remote Romance" (Single version) #"Ice" (Live 1981) – 7:15

Personnel

;Camel *

– guitars,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, backing vocals;

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

on "Who We Are"; lead vocals on "Who We Are", "Hymn to Her" and "Neon Magic" *

– bass, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Wait" and "Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine" * Kit Watkins – Hammond C3 organ, Solina synthesizer,

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

electric grand piano,

Rhodes electric piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

, EMS Sequencer,

–

, Yamaha electric grand piano,

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, Prophet-5, Moog synthesizer, Minimoog, EMS Sequencer * Andy Ward – drums, percussion ;Additional musicians *

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

on "Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine" * Phil Collins – percussion *

– backing vocals *

Simon Jeffes Simon Harry Piers Jeffes (19 February 1949 – 11 December 1997) was an English classically trained guitarist, composer and arranger. He formed, and was the primary performer of, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He was the composer of the ballet ''Sti ...

– orchestral arrangements on "Who We Are" and "Survival"

Charts

References

External links

Camel - ''I Can See Your House from Here'' (1979) album review by Matthew Plichta, credits & releases
at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*
Camel - ''I Can See Your House from Here'' (1979) album review by Shachar Sagui, credits & user reviews
at SputnikMusic.com
Camel - ''I Can See Your House from Here'' (1979) album to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com {{Authority control 1979 albums Camel (band) albums Decca Records albums Albums produced by Rupert Hine