Post by Slinger on Sept 4, 2022 17:40:38 GMT
Andy Latimer
This guy really is one of my favourite guitarists. Andy has an instantly (to me at least) recognisable guitar sound.
In fact, a little while ago I heard a piece of music by an artist who I'd never encountered before, and the first words out of my mouth were "That sounds like Andy Latimer," and when I tracked it down via the interweb, lo and behold, I was correct.
That's the piece by David Minasian I'm going to link to near the end; but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Latimer was born on the 17th of May 1949, in Guildford, Surrey, and by the age of 15 Andy, along with brother Ian Latimer got together with their respective friends Alan Butcher and Richard Over to form The Phantom Four.
Gigging extensively in their UK hometown of Guildford, The Phantom Four quickly achieved local notoriety. Rhythm guitarist, Graham Cooper soon replaced Richard Over and the band's name changed to Strange Brew. The group performed mainly cover tunes until mid-1968 when Ian Latimer quit to get married. Graham Cooper left the band soon after with wedding plans of his own.
Andrew Latimer and Alan Butcher placed an ad in the Surrey Advertiser for a bass player to which Doug Ferguson responded. On 13th November 1968 Ferguson arrived for an audition and promptly impressed the duo with his confidence, a 'fat' bass sound, excellent gear (Fender jazz bass, 2 Vox T-60 cabs with amps) and his own roadie! He was offered the gig on the spot. The new blues orientated trio was called... The Brew.
Shortly after joining The Brew, Ferguson told Latimer about an exciting drummer he knew. Despite having not seen his drums for more than 3 months, the new percussive prospect more than proved his mettle and on the 15th of January 1969, Andy Ward joined The Brew, at the tender age of 14, and the heart of Camel had begun to take shape.
Ferguson rapidly proved himself to be a great asset with his talent for getting the band attention and gigs. He was also very good at coaxing the promised fees out of promoters, who often protested they didn't have the money on hand. As a result, The Brew enjoyed a steady stream of performance dates and recorded their first demo, 'Crossroads' in which DJM Records seemed to show interest but the trio were disappointed to learn that it was only in using them as a backing band for another of their artists, Philip Goodhand-Tait.
In 1971, they recorded an album with Goodhand-Tait, called 'I Think I'll Write A Song', but the success was minimal and the trio were dropped. The experience, however, was enlightening. Phil Tait was a piano player. The three musicians agreed a keyboard player would broaden the sound of the band and they promptly placed an ad in The Melody Maker.
On 20th September 1971, Peter Bardens responded to the ad with an extensive resume (Shotgun Express [Rod Stewart & Beryl Marsden], Them [Van Morrison], Peter B's Looners [Peter Green & Mick Fleetwood] to name but a few) as well as two solo albums under his own name. The four hit it off instantly. Bardens, who had been planning to depart England for what he thought to be "the more promising shores of the USA", had previously arranged a few gigs in Ireland. Thus, on the 8th of October 1971, the group performed their first gig in Belfast under the name of "Peter Bardens On".
Not long after they would collectively agree on a new name... Camel.
Camel have released fourteen studio albums and fourteen singles, plus numerous live albums and DVDs. Without achieving mass popularity, the band gained a cult following in the 1970s with albums such as Mirage (1974) and The Snow Goose (1975), still regarded as their pièce de résistance in many circles.
They moved into a jazzier, more commercial direction in the early 1980s, but then went on an extended hiatus. Since 1991 the band has been independent, releasing albums on their own label.
In the late seventies, of course, Punk, followed by Post-Punk etc. happened, and old (Andy was 30 in 1979. Well past it) Prog bands became "dinosaurs". Latimer, however, did not give up and instead became one of the first true independents, releasing his own records successfully, and even mounting successful tours of Europe. To his credit, he identified and pursued ways to keep his music alive and to keep producing new gems — and to hell with the mainstream, youth-obsessed music world.
Latimer, along with his partner Susan Hoover, in fact, eventuially relocated to America where they established a music production company named Camel Productions to release Camel's new studio albums: Dust and Dreams (1991), Harbour of Tears (1996), Rajaz (1999) and A Nod and a Wink (2002) as well as a host of "Official Bootlegs" on CD. The band went on the road in 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2003. They released their first full concert DVD in 1997 titled Coming of Age which began a series of subsequent DVD releases.
In mid-2006, Latimer and Hoover returned to the UK and established Camel Productions UK Ltd.
In May 2007, Hoover announced through the Camel Productions website and newsletter that Latimer had suffered from a progressive blood disorder polycythaemia vera since 1992, which had unexpectedly progressed to myelofibrosis. In November 2007, he underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and began a long road to full recovery.
This is from 2012, and an interesting guest spot with the likes of Robert Wyatt and ex-Caravan / Matching Mole / Camel keyboard player, Dave Sinclair. whose album "Fields" this is taken from. Andy's first contribution clocks in at around 3:01, and he also plays the outro. I've got this album, and Annie Haslam (Renaissance), Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin (Stewart & Gaskin) and Jimmy Hastings among others also guest on it.
In October 2013, Latimer returned Camel to centre stage. To celebrate the occasion, Camel played The Snow Goose in its entirety for the first set and dedicated it to the co-founding band members Andy Ward, The late Peter Bardens Poor old Peter didn't have much luck at the end. After being diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2001, he died of lung cancer in 2002.) and Doug Ferguson.
Additionally, Camel had re-recorded the album earlier in the year. For what it's worth, I still prefer the original.
The re-recording remains remarkably faithful to the original but includes some minor rearrangements and some extended sections. A live DVD, titled In From The Cold, was recorded at the Barbican Centre London.
In 2014, Latimer won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Prog Rock Awards.
The Snow Goose tour had been a complete sellout and the band was asked to continue in early 2014. However, the second half of the tour featured Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak) as keyboardist Guy Leblanc had become seriously ill, subsequently passing away on 27 April 2015.
What distinguishes Camel’s music is really Latimer’s musical personality, at least since he’s taken to running the band on his own. There’s an important idea that such intellectual luminaries as Camus and Orwell have tried to present in their works, which is decency.
By this, I mean the basic need that people have at their best to be good to each other, whether in times of duress or in their small daily interactions, thus providing meaning in a world that often seems depressingly meaningless. It may be weird to associate this concept with rock music, but it’s true in this case. While Latimer’s music is tuneful and well-composed and definitely of interest to people I'd describe as "discerning listeners", there’s just a sense of quiet decency and compassion in his songs, his playing and his voice that makes this music for true grown-ups, not in the easy listening sense, but in that there is a lot of wisdom to be found here. A reassuring tranquillity and an interest in human betterment, I’d say.
Hence, Latimer’s music is amongst my favourites. This is not music for people looking for anything like the latest trend, or something exciting in an edgy way. It’s curl up by the fire or radiator, throw on the album, and take a relaxing, intelligent journey kind of stuff.
Despite being troubled by arthritis in his hands and knees, Latimer took Camel back on the road in 2015. In 2016 they toured Japan with new keyboardist Pete Jones and in 2018 Camel toured extensively featuring their most popular recording Moonmadness.
The 2018 tour culminated with the band's return to The Royal Albert Hall to a sellout crowd. The performance was video recorded for anticipated release on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt has this to say about Andy: "He’s never worried about showcasing his skills – he’s nowhere near as restless as all those metal players like Yngwie. Instead, his phrasing is very strong. He’s got a big jazz influence but can play great blues guitar as well. His solos are the kind that you can sing along to…
“We’ve emailed a couple of times. And even before then, I even wrote him a few letters… he actually replied! He said, ‘Thank you very much for your kind words and good luck with your band, then in brackets, Opeth.’ I always have to mention him as one of my biggest influences. He’s very underrated, most people don’t even know who the fuck he is.”
Personally, I just describe his playing as melodic.
In 2022 Camel keyboardist Peter Jones teamed up with Andy on "Tiger Moth Tales'" new single, "Light". It's the closing track on A Song Of Spring, which is out now via Robert Reed's White Knight label.
"I wanted to finish the album with something big and anthemic," says Jones of the song. "Light was originally about letting out the darkness of winter, and letting in the light of spring, but I had already done that with the opening track Spring Fever. Enter John and Elizabeth Holden, who penned the lyric about getting over the death of a partner, which is always sadly relevant to somebody, somewhere. Then we mixed that with the original theme, and it all came together as an emotional belter."
He adds, "Andy had been up for playing on one of my songs for a while, but we'd somehow never got it together. I knew Light would be the ideal track for Andy, so I just gave him plenty of bars of the chorus chords to jam over and do his own thing. The result was breathtaking, and it really felt like a 'sun coming up' moment, and the perfect way to end the album. Andy's a lovely guy, and what he brings to the album in just one solo is incredible and I’m so very grateful for his contribution."
Progressive rock guitarists Steve Rothery (Marillion), Bryan Josh (Mostly Autumn) and Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) all cite Latimer as one of their primary influences. Musician and producer Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is a known fan of Camel and has stated, "Andy Latimer means very much for me.
Andy's guitar kicks in for the first time at around 3:58
And to close, I suppose we ought to hear some actual music from Camel. As related earlier, the band returned to the Royal Albert Hall on the 17th of September 2018 for a sell-out performance. The show was video recorded for release on DVD and Blu-ray. This clip is from the line cut (mixed on the night during the show). "End of the Line" comes from their 1991 album, "Dust and Dreams".
I'll just give this a quick run-through, and rewrite if it needs it, I thought. That was about two-and-a-half hours ago, during which time it's more than doubled in size and gained 3 more videos.
This guy really is one of my favourite guitarists. Andy has an instantly (to me at least) recognisable guitar sound.
In fact, a little while ago I heard a piece of music by an artist who I'd never encountered before, and the first words out of my mouth were "That sounds like Andy Latimer," and when I tracked it down via the interweb, lo and behold, I was correct.
That's the piece by David Minasian I'm going to link to near the end; but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Latimer was born on the 17th of May 1949, in Guildford, Surrey, and by the age of 15 Andy, along with brother Ian Latimer got together with their respective friends Alan Butcher and Richard Over to form The Phantom Four.
Gigging extensively in their UK hometown of Guildford, The Phantom Four quickly achieved local notoriety. Rhythm guitarist, Graham Cooper soon replaced Richard Over and the band's name changed to Strange Brew. The group performed mainly cover tunes until mid-1968 when Ian Latimer quit to get married. Graham Cooper left the band soon after with wedding plans of his own.
Andrew Latimer and Alan Butcher placed an ad in the Surrey Advertiser for a bass player to which Doug Ferguson responded. On 13th November 1968 Ferguson arrived for an audition and promptly impressed the duo with his confidence, a 'fat' bass sound, excellent gear (Fender jazz bass, 2 Vox T-60 cabs with amps) and his own roadie! He was offered the gig on the spot. The new blues orientated trio was called... The Brew.
Shortly after joining The Brew, Ferguson told Latimer about an exciting drummer he knew. Despite having not seen his drums for more than 3 months, the new percussive prospect more than proved his mettle and on the 15th of January 1969, Andy Ward joined The Brew, at the tender age of 14, and the heart of Camel had begun to take shape.
Ferguson rapidly proved himself to be a great asset with his talent for getting the band attention and gigs. He was also very good at coaxing the promised fees out of promoters, who often protested they didn't have the money on hand. As a result, The Brew enjoyed a steady stream of performance dates and recorded their first demo, 'Crossroads' in which DJM Records seemed to show interest but the trio were disappointed to learn that it was only in using them as a backing band for another of their artists, Philip Goodhand-Tait.
In 1971, they recorded an album with Goodhand-Tait, called 'I Think I'll Write A Song', but the success was minimal and the trio were dropped. The experience, however, was enlightening. Phil Tait was a piano player. The three musicians agreed a keyboard player would broaden the sound of the band and they promptly placed an ad in The Melody Maker.
On 20th September 1971, Peter Bardens responded to the ad with an extensive resume (Shotgun Express [Rod Stewart & Beryl Marsden], Them [Van Morrison], Peter B's Looners [Peter Green & Mick Fleetwood] to name but a few) as well as two solo albums under his own name. The four hit it off instantly. Bardens, who had been planning to depart England for what he thought to be "the more promising shores of the USA", had previously arranged a few gigs in Ireland. Thus, on the 8th of October 1971, the group performed their first gig in Belfast under the name of "Peter Bardens On".
Not long after they would collectively agree on a new name... Camel.
Camel have released fourteen studio albums and fourteen singles, plus numerous live albums and DVDs. Without achieving mass popularity, the band gained a cult following in the 1970s with albums such as Mirage (1974) and The Snow Goose (1975), still regarded as their pièce de résistance in many circles.
**Totally pointkess piece of nerdiness**
When Camel were recording The Snow Goose, they needed to recreate the sound of beating wings, and despite delving into field recordings and the like they could not find the sound they wanted. The problem was eventually solved by having Doug Ferguson "flapping" an old duffle coat in front of a microphone. In fact on the sleeve credits it actually says "Bass, Other [Duffle Coat] – Doug Ferguson". and now you know why.
There. How could you have existed a moment longer without me telling you that?
When Camel were recording The Snow Goose, they needed to recreate the sound of beating wings, and despite delving into field recordings and the like they could not find the sound they wanted. The problem was eventually solved by having Doug Ferguson "flapping" an old duffle coat in front of a microphone. In fact on the sleeve credits it actually says "Bass, Other [Duffle Coat] – Doug Ferguson". and now you know why.
There. How could you have existed a moment longer without me telling you that?
In the late seventies, of course, Punk, followed by Post-Punk etc. happened, and old (Andy was 30 in 1979. Well past it) Prog bands became "dinosaurs". Latimer, however, did not give up and instead became one of the first true independents, releasing his own records successfully, and even mounting successful tours of Europe. To his credit, he identified and pursued ways to keep his music alive and to keep producing new gems — and to hell with the mainstream, youth-obsessed music world.
Latimer, along with his partner Susan Hoover, in fact, eventuially relocated to America where they established a music production company named Camel Productions to release Camel's new studio albums: Dust and Dreams (1991), Harbour of Tears (1996), Rajaz (1999) and A Nod and a Wink (2002) as well as a host of "Official Bootlegs" on CD. The band went on the road in 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2003. They released their first full concert DVD in 1997 titled Coming of Age which began a series of subsequent DVD releases.
In mid-2006, Latimer and Hoover returned to the UK and established Camel Productions UK Ltd.
In May 2007, Hoover announced through the Camel Productions website and newsletter that Latimer had suffered from a progressive blood disorder polycythaemia vera since 1992, which had unexpectedly progressed to myelofibrosis. In November 2007, he underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and began a long road to full recovery.
This is from 2012, and an interesting guest spot with the likes of Robert Wyatt and ex-Caravan / Matching Mole / Camel keyboard player, Dave Sinclair. whose album "Fields" this is taken from. Andy's first contribution clocks in at around 3:01, and he also plays the outro. I've got this album, and Annie Haslam (Renaissance), Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin (Stewart & Gaskin) and Jimmy Hastings among others also guest on it.
In October 2013, Latimer returned Camel to centre stage. To celebrate the occasion, Camel played The Snow Goose in its entirety for the first set and dedicated it to the co-founding band members Andy Ward, The late Peter Bardens Poor old Peter didn't have much luck at the end. After being diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2001, he died of lung cancer in 2002.) and Doug Ferguson.
Additionally, Camel had re-recorded the album earlier in the year. For what it's worth, I still prefer the original.
The re-recording remains remarkably faithful to the original but includes some minor rearrangements and some extended sections. A live DVD, titled In From The Cold, was recorded at the Barbican Centre London.
In 2014, Latimer won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Prog Rock Awards.
The Snow Goose tour had been a complete sellout and the band was asked to continue in early 2014. However, the second half of the tour featured Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak) as keyboardist Guy Leblanc had become seriously ill, subsequently passing away on 27 April 2015.
What distinguishes Camel’s music is really Latimer’s musical personality, at least since he’s taken to running the band on his own. There’s an important idea that such intellectual luminaries as Camus and Orwell have tried to present in their works, which is decency.
By this, I mean the basic need that people have at their best to be good to each other, whether in times of duress or in their small daily interactions, thus providing meaning in a world that often seems depressingly meaningless. It may be weird to associate this concept with rock music, but it’s true in this case. While Latimer’s music is tuneful and well-composed and definitely of interest to people I'd describe as "discerning listeners", there’s just a sense of quiet decency and compassion in his songs, his playing and his voice that makes this music for true grown-ups, not in the easy listening sense, but in that there is a lot of wisdom to be found here. A reassuring tranquillity and an interest in human betterment, I’d say.
Hence, Latimer’s music is amongst my favourites. This is not music for people looking for anything like the latest trend, or something exciting in an edgy way. It’s curl up by the fire or radiator, throw on the album, and take a relaxing, intelligent journey kind of stuff.
Despite being troubled by arthritis in his hands and knees, Latimer took Camel back on the road in 2015. In 2016 they toured Japan with new keyboardist Pete Jones and in 2018 Camel toured extensively featuring their most popular recording Moonmadness.
The 2018 tour culminated with the band's return to The Royal Albert Hall to a sellout crowd. The performance was video recorded for anticipated release on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt has this to say about Andy: "He’s never worried about showcasing his skills – he’s nowhere near as restless as all those metal players like Yngwie. Instead, his phrasing is very strong. He’s got a big jazz influence but can play great blues guitar as well. His solos are the kind that you can sing along to…
“We’ve emailed a couple of times. And even before then, I even wrote him a few letters… he actually replied! He said, ‘Thank you very much for your kind words and good luck with your band, then in brackets, Opeth.’ I always have to mention him as one of my biggest influences. He’s very underrated, most people don’t even know who the fuck he is.”
Personally, I just describe his playing as melodic.
In 2022 Camel keyboardist Peter Jones teamed up with Andy on "Tiger Moth Tales'" new single, "Light". It's the closing track on A Song Of Spring, which is out now via Robert Reed's White Knight label.
"I wanted to finish the album with something big and anthemic," says Jones of the song. "Light was originally about letting out the darkness of winter, and letting in the light of spring, but I had already done that with the opening track Spring Fever. Enter John and Elizabeth Holden, who penned the lyric about getting over the death of a partner, which is always sadly relevant to somebody, somewhere. Then we mixed that with the original theme, and it all came together as an emotional belter."
He adds, "Andy had been up for playing on one of my songs for a while, but we'd somehow never got it together. I knew Light would be the ideal track for Andy, so I just gave him plenty of bars of the chorus chords to jam over and do his own thing. The result was breathtaking, and it really felt like a 'sun coming up' moment, and the perfect way to end the album. Andy's a lovely guy, and what he brings to the album in just one solo is incredible and I’m so very grateful for his contribution."
Progressive rock guitarists Steve Rothery (Marillion), Bryan Josh (Mostly Autumn) and Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) all cite Latimer as one of their primary influences. Musician and producer Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is a known fan of Camel and has stated, "Andy Latimer means very much for me.
Andy's guitar kicks in for the first time at around 3:58
And to close, I suppose we ought to hear some actual music from Camel. As related earlier, the band returned to the Royal Albert Hall on the 17th of September 2018 for a sell-out performance. The show was video recorded for release on DVD and Blu-ray. This clip is from the line cut (mixed on the night during the show). "End of the Line" comes from their 1991 album, "Dust and Dreams".
I'll just give this a quick run-through, and rewrite if it needs it, I thought. That was about two-and-a-half hours ago, during which time it's more than doubled in size and gained 3 more videos.
