''The Snow Goose'' is the third studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the 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 1975. The critical success
of "The White Rider" suite (based on
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
's ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' and appearing on the band's previous 1974 album, ''
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
'') inspired the group to write more novel-inspired conceptual suites.
Recording
The band considered several novels on which to base their next album. For a time they settled on ''
Siddhartha'', by
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...
, and some songs were written before the idea was abandoned in favour of
Paul Gallico
Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...
's novella ''
The Snow Goose''. The album's name, originally ''The Snow Goose'', was altered to ''Music Inspired by The Snow Goose'' to accommodate legal protests by
Paul Gallico
Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...
.
[Camel - ''The Snow Goose'' (1975) album review at Magenta.co.il]
/ref> The album was originally due to feature lyrics based on Gallico's text, but this was abandoned due to the copyright objections. The music was mostly written over a fortnight in a cottage in Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, England.Island Studios
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in London with producer David Hitchcock and engineer Rhett Davies
Rhett Davies (born 1949 in London) is an English record producer and engineer.
Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies (no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks). Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, a ...
. Later overdubs were recorded at Decca Studios
Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. The building was once West Hampstead Town Hall, and had been converted to a recording studio b ...
and engineered by John Burns
John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...
. The London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orche ...
participated in the recording, with David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...
supplying the arrangements.
The 'duffle coat
A duffel coat (also duffle coat) is a coat made from duffel cloth, designed with toggle-and-rope fastenings, patched pockets and a large hood. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the manufacturing pro ...
' on the album's credits was used by 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, La ...
and Doug Ferguson on "Epitaph" to simulate a flapping of wings by waving it in the air.
The album was released in April 1975, eventually reaching number 22 in UK album chart that summer.
2013 version
''The Snow Goose'' was re-recorded in May 2013 and released that November (dropping the "Music Inspired By" from the title) as a tribute to the original line-up by founder 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, La ...
, remaining close to the original arrangement.
Live performances
The album's success led to a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
, London, with the London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
in October 1975, which was later released as part of the live double album '' A Live Record'' (1978). The ''Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' magazine to declare Camel to be Britain's "Brightest Hope", leading to an appearance on BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' on 21 June 1975, (where the band performed with a woodwind section a medley of "Snow Goose" themes) and
''In Concert'' programme (22 April 1975). To promote the album Decca decided to release an edited version of "Flight of the Snow Goose/Rhayader" as a single in May.
Camel embarked on a brief tour in autumn 2013, performing ''The Snow Goose'' for the first time since the
show in 1975.
and Jason Hart for the tour, which marked the first time the band had played since their farewell tour.
A statement from the band for the initial show said: "The evening pays tribute to former band member
, who died of cancer at the same time as frontman Latimer was battling a terminal illness. Ten years later, Latimer has regained health and is willing to celebrate a career that spans over four decades. This two-set show will also embrace compositions recorded throughout those years in a personal covenant of appreciation for a deeply rewarding life of music."