I Can See Your House from Here
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| I Can See Your House from Here | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Studio | Farmyard Studios, Little Chalfont, England | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 46:04 | |||
| Label | Gama/Decca | |||
| Producer | Rupert Hine | |||
| Camel chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Classic Rock |   [2] |
I Can See Your House from Here is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members Andrew Latimer (guitar) and Andy Ward (drums) joined by bassist Colin Bass (to replace Richard Sinclair) and keyboardists Jan Schelhaas (who joined in 1978 for the Breathless tour) and Kit Watkins (ex-Happy The Man) who both replaced founding member Peter Bardens. At one point, the album was going to be called Endangered Species.[3][4]
Recording
[edit]Work started on the album in summer 1979, collaborating with producer Rupert Hine, at the Farmyard Studios in Little Chalfont. 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. Mel Collins (who also worked with Caravan) 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 containing an edited version of Andy Latimer and Kit Watkins "Remote Romance" was backed with "Rainbow's End" from Breathless (1978) and a Camel / Mick Glossop production of "Tell Me", first released on Rain Dances (1977). It did not reach the charts. The single "Your Love is Stranger than Mine" / "Neon Magic" followed in February 1980.
Cover artwork
[edit]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."[5]
It also pays homage to the 1951 painting Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí.
Tour
[edit]The world tour began on 8 October at The Dome, Brighton, England, following France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and ended on 29 January 1980 in Koseinenkin Hall of Tokyo, Japan.
Track listing
[edit]All credits adapted from the original releases.[6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Notes[7] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wait" | Andrew Latimer, John McBurnie | Personnel:
| 5:02 |
| 2. | "Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine" | Colin Bass, Latimer, Jan Schelhaas, Andy Ward | 3:26 | |
| 3. | "Eye of the Storm" ([a]) | Kit Watkins | Personnel:
| 3:52 |
| 4. | "Who We Are" | Latimer | 7:52 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Notes[7] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Survival" | Latimer | Personnel:
| 1:12 |
| 2. | "Hymn to Her" | Latimer, Schelhaas | Personnel:
| 5:37 |
| 3. | "Neon Magic" | Latimer, Vivienne McAuliffe, Schelhaas | Personnel:
| 4:39 |
| 4. | "Remote Romance" | Latimer, Watkins | Personnel:
| 4:07 |
| 5. | "Ice" | Latimer | Personnel:
| 10:17 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Remote Romance" (Single version) | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Ice" (Live 1981) | 7:15 |
Personnel
[edit]- Camel
- Andrew Latimer – guitars, flute, backing vocals; autoharp on "Who We Are"; lead vocals on "Who We Are", "Hymn to Her" and "Neon Magic"
- Colin Bass – bass, backing vocals; lead vocals on "Wait" and "Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine"
- Kit Watkins – Hammond C3 organ, Solina synthesizer, Yamaha electric grand piano, Rhodes electric piano, Moog synthesizer, Minimoog, Hohner Clavinet, Prophet-5, Yamaha CS-80, EMS Sequencer, flute
- Jan Schelhaas – Yamaha CS-80, Yamaha electric grand piano, grand piano, Prophet-5, Moog synthesizer, Minimoog, EMS Sequencer
- Andy Ward – drums, percussion
- Additional musicians
- Mel Collins – alto saxophone on "Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine"
- Phil Collins – percussion
- Rupert Hine – backing vocals
- Simon Jeffes – orchestral arrangements on "Who We Are" and "Survival"
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8] | 18 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] | 36 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[10] | 45 |
References
[edit]- ^ Plichta, Matthew. "Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album review at AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- ^ Lawson, Dom (March 2010). "Camel – Reissues". Classic Rock. No. 142. p. 94.
- ^ John Tracy's liner notes on I Can See Your House from Here album's Decca 1989 CD edition
- ^ Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album review at www.rajaz.co.uk Archived 18 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Camel Discography and FAQ – in Jokes".
- ^ Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
- ^ a b Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Camel – I Can See Your House from Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Camel – I Can See Your House from Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
Notes
[edit]- ^ This was an updated version of a track that Watkins had played with his previous band Happy the Man.
External links
[edit]- Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album review by Matthew Plichta, credits & releases at AllMusic
- "Camel – I Can See Your House from Here (1979) album releases & credits at Discogs.com". Discogs. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- 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
