Tear Jerker / Camel

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• Their entirely instrumental 1975 album Music Inspired by the Snow Goose (from the Paul Gallico short story), is revered by Camel fans for its emotional portrayal of a French soldier as the Germans invade.
  • "Rhayader" and "Rhayader Goes to Town" are the first big pieces on record, coloring the protagonist as a naive, disrespected loner in his hometown.
  • "Dunkirk" and "La Princesse Perdue" end the album, detailing Rhayader's being killed in action and the Snow Goose's release back into the wild.
• Their 1981 album Nude So much of it, especially the vocal pieces with sublime harmonies from Andrew Latimer and Colin Bass.
  • The album is about a Japanese soldier living through World War II who's shipwrecked and stranded on a desert island for over 30 years. He never realizes the war was over until his rescue, where he suffers culture shock and returns to the island.
  • The first song, "City Life", sets the stage incredibly as an upbeat pop number illustrating Nude's dissatisfaction with his social life.
  • A brief interlude bridges "City Life" with "Drafted", where Nude signs up for duty.
    "So, I take this vow of loyalty
    Fight for the right you have said to be free."
  • After a series of great instrumentals a la Pink Floyd's mid-80s material,"Lies" sees Nude, exhausted and distrustful of the war being over.
  • The most poignant part about Nude's concept is its basis in reality: soldiers like Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura in particular had actually held out until the 1970s. Onoda even had a squad with him that were so distrustful of the war being over they took potshots at Filipino fishermen and police. By 1972, Onoda's comrades were all dead.
• "Ice" is a beautifully somber piece dominated by Andrew Latimer's bluesy guitar playing. It serves the finest introduction to how emotional Latimer's playing can be.

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