I've been seeing this band's name thrown around when the subject of 70's prog-rock comes up. I'm still in virgin territiory when it comes to this genre of music, but I'm really digging what I'm hearing on YouTube. Nice music to mellow-out to.

So where's a good place to start with Camel? I'm thinking Mirage, but is there any album in particular that I should start with? A compilation album perhaps? Or is there any that I should outright avoid like the plague? I think I'm more in tune with their 70's stuff as opposed to their 80's output, but I could be mistaken.

I would grab 'Snow Goose' which is a great great album and I believe their most popular album

I've been meaning to look into Camel for a while myself.

I remember seeing Moonmadness for 5.00 euros when I was in Germany in 2008. Kind of wish I'd have picked it up, as it gets pretty high ratings over at Progarchives.com

In order of "need".

1. Mirage
2. Moonmadness
3. The Snow Goose
4. Camel (s/t)

See how those float your boat. The remasters have TONS of bonus BBC live tracks...this band was phenomenal in concert, so ANY live recordings are highly recommended.

Mirage, I Can See Your House From Here, Moonmadness, Snow Goose and the S/T are all good picks to start off with.

I think you might enjoy Moonmadness alot as you're a Floyd fan as well.

Posted the same thing at the Domain.

Start off with Moonmadness(it was my first: Another Night, Airborne, Song Within A Song Awesome... The whole album is AWESOME!!!!). Then Mirage, Camel and then Snow Goose(it's a GREAT album but it is all an instrumental concept album that is basically two long songs: side A and Side B with various themes.). After Moonmadness the bass player left classic line-up was over.

Rain Dances and Breathless(Echoes is an EXCELLENT tune) are pretty good but more in a jazzy vein. I Can See Your House From Here has Ice, Hymn To Her and Who We Are. Nude has the great song Lies on it.

When he reformed Camel in the 90s he started out with concept albums: Dust And Dreams(about the depression era Dust Bowl times like the Grapes Of Wrath), Harbour Of Tears(about Irish immigrants), Rajaz(where the songs were written based on a camels walking pace like on a caravan) and A Nod And A Wink(about his childhood and dedicated to former member Pete Bardens)

My wife and I were lucky enough to see them at The Great American Music Hall during the Rajaz Tour before he relocated back to England.

The mint flavored ones are nice...

oh, wait......

Hmmmmm, I might be holding off on Camel for a spell.

I've been playing their stuff on YouTube to check out and I'm hearing allot of flute. ALLOT of flute. No offense to all the Jethro Tull loyalists out there, but I can only take the flute in really, really small doses in my rock music. There is a time and place for flute and I'm not saying that it's all bad. It can work in some songs. But the Camel stuff I've heard is really testing my tolerance for that certain wind instrument.