by Markus #2

"Skymonters with Hamid Hamilton Camp" 1973






















An Elektra artist both as part of a duo with Bob Gibson and as a solo artist in the first half of the 1960s, Camp got back onto the label as a singer on this 1973 album. It's genial but unimportant singer/songwriter pop, produced with more taste and restraint than much such material of the time, but lacking in outstanding songs. Camp sometimes sounds a little like a folkier Sal Valentino ("Long River" and "Shadows on the Wall" don't sound too dissimilar to the late-'60s Beau Brummels), though he lacks the depth and rock inclinations of the Beau Brummels' vocalist. A strong country-rock feel asserts itself at times, somewhat in the mold of the early Eagles, in particular, in the harmony vocals on "Gypsy," but less polished. "Kings," on the other hand, has some brass and orchestration that sounds like a faint leftover from the folk-pop moods on his 1967 album for Warner Bros., Here's to You. "Disaster" gets almost into a pure country barroom mood that nearly falls into parody, though that's redeemed by the strong storytelling feel and pleasing chorus of the best cut, "Steal Away." ~ Richie Unterberger


I think all of the songs is very enjoyable and Shadows on the Wall is with no doubt an outsatnding song.