''Rain Dances'' is the fifth 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 ...

. It was released in 1977 on Gama Records/

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, and brought a major change to the band's lineup, by replacing bassist Doug Ferguson with ex-

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 ...

member

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 by adding saxophonist

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 ...

, formerly of

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Track listing

;Side one #"First Light" (

Peter Bardens Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of the British progressive rock group Camel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked al ...

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 ...

) – 4:59 #* Andrew Latimer – 6- and 12-string guitars, pan pipes #* Mel Collins – alto saxophone #* Pete Bardens –

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 ...

, string synthesizer #* Richard Sinclair – bass #* Andy Ward – drums, ocarina, teeth, cheek, Turkish ring #"Metrognome" (Bardens, Latimer) – 4:07 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar #* Mel Collins – tenor saxophone #* Pete Bardens – electric piano, organ, string synthesizer #* Richard Sinclair – bass, lead vocals #* Andy Ward – drums, percussion, money #"Tell Me" (Bardens, Latimer) – 4:04 #* Andrew Latimer – fretless bass, backing vocals, flute #* Mel Collins – soprano and bass clarinets #* Pete Bardens – electric piano, Minimoog #* Richard Sinclair – lead and harmony vocals #* Andy Ward – finger cymbals, glockenspiel #"Highways of the Sun" (Bardens, Latimer) – 4:25 #* Andrew Latimer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals #* Mel Collins – soprano and bass flutes #* Pete Bardens – acoustic and electric pianos, organ, Minimoog, string synthesizer #* Richard Sinclair – bass, wicket keeper #* Andy Ward – drums, percussion, liquid Boo Bams ;Side two #

"Unevensong" (Bardens, Latimer, Andy Ward) – 5:22 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar, second lead vocals #* Pete Bardens – electric piano, clavinet, Minimoog, string synthesizers, car horns #* Richard Sinclair – bass, first lead vocals #* Andy Ward – drums, percussion, Rototoms #"One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night" (Bardens,

, Latimer,

, Ward) – 5:49 #* Andrew Latimer – guitar #* Mel Collins – all saxophones #* Pete Bardens – electric piano #* Richard Sinclair – bass #* Andy Ward – drums, percussion, talking drum, smurd #* Martin Drover – trumpet #* Malcolm Griffiths – trombone #"Elke" (Latimer) – 4:20 #* Andrew Latimer – fuzz guitar, acoustic and electric pianos, Minimoog, string synthesizers, flute #* Brian Eno – acoustic and electric pianos, Minimoog, bells #* Fiona Hibbert – harp #"Skylines" (Bardens, Latimer, Ward) – 4:17 #* Andrew Latimer – feedback, 6- and 12-string, lead and rhythm guitars, bass, sore fingers #* Mel Collins – alto saxophone #* Pete Bardens – electric piano, Minimoog, string synthesizers #* Andy Ward – drums, Tunisian clay drum, swanee #* Martin Drover – flugelhorn #* Malcolm Griffiths – trombone #"Rain Dances" (Bardens, Latimer) – 2:47 #* Andrew Latimer – pizzicato guitar, treated piano, glockenspiel, umbrellas #* Mel Collins – soprano saxophone, umbrellas #* Pete Bardens – Minimoog, string synthesizer, umbrellas Camel - ''Rain Dances'' (1977) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
/ref> ;CD bonus track #

"Highways of the Sun" (Single edit) (Bardens, Latimer) ;2009 Expanded & Remastered Edition #

"Highways of the Sun" (Single version) – 4:00 #"First Light" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 5:01 #"Metrognome" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 4:55 #"Unevensong" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 5:47 #"Skylines" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 5:36 #"Highways to the Sun" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 4:59 #"One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night" (Live; taken from BBC "Sight and Sound" in Concert - Golders Green Hippodrome, 22 September 1977) – 4:12

Personnel

;Camel *

–

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

panpipes A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

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;

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

on "Tell Me";

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and

fuzz guitar Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...

on "Elke";

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 ...

on "Elke" and "Rain Dances";

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and bass on "Skylines";

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

on "Rain Dances"; lead vocals on "Highways of the Sun" and "Unevensong" *

– organ, piano, electric piano,

, synthesizer,

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 ...

* Andy Ward – drums, percussion,

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

, glockenspiel,

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

– bass; lead vocals on "Metrognome", "Tell Me" and "Unevensong" *

–

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 ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

bass flute The bass flute is a member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Despite its name, its playing range makes it the tenor member of the flute family. Because of the length of its tube (approximate ...

, brass arrangements ;Additional personnel * Martin Drover –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

on "One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night",

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

on "Skylines" * Malcolm Griffiths –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

on "One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night" and "Skylines" *

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

–

, electric piano, piano on "Elke" * Fiona Hibbert –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

on "Elke" ;Production *

Dave Hutchins Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

– engineer * Paul Henry – sleeve design * Bob Searles – illustration

Release details

* 1977, UK, Gama/Decca, Release date: September 1977, LP * 1991, UK/GER, Deram, Release date: 26 August, CD (w. bonus track) * 2004, UK, London 8207252, Release date: 2 February 2004, CD (remastered version)

Charts

References

External links

Camel - ''Rain Dances'' (1977) 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 - ''Rain Dances'' (1977) album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

Camel - ''Rain Dances'' (1977) album review by Archibald C. Burke, credits & user reviews
at SputnikMusic.com
Camel - ''Rain Dances'' (1977) album to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rain Dances 1977 albums Camel (band) albums Albums produced by Rhett Davies Deram Records albums