Latimer, Andrew: War Stories

This album really flew under the radar for me, and I imagine for many other people. It appeared in early October last year, but I heard about it just last week, despite Camel being one of my favorite bands. There are several possible reasons for this. Just to name a few, it wasn’t given a physical release and it doesn’t appear to be on any major streaming platform. For another, while Andy Latimer is one of the greatest guitar players from what many think of as the classic era of prog, the 1970s, he doesn’t have the name recognition of a Robert Fripp, David Gilmour, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, or even the underappreciated Martin Barre.

According to the album’s Bandcamp page, it consists of 14 tracks, but can be played only as a single long one of more than 48 minutes. That makes sense in a way because while the album is almost entirely instrumental, it has the feel of a unified piece. That said, you can tell where the various tracks transition from one to another. “Feel� is an important word to bring up in the case of this album and with Latimer’s work generally. While he may not be as technically proficient as some of his contemporaries listed before, he, like Gilmour, is a master of feel, of bending notes to evoke emotion like few others. That is on display throughout the album.

Latimer is joined by Pete Jones of Tiger Moth Tales, who provides lyrics, vocals, and sax on two tracks, and Guy LeBlanc, who plays bass and drums on one. LeBlanc was a member of Camel for its last original release, 2002’s A Nod and a Wink, and played on the 2013 re-recording of The Snow Goose. Why Latimer didn’t make this War Stories a Camel release is unclear. Perhaps he doesn’t have the rights to the band name. Or maybe he wanted to finally release a solo album. Regardless, it’s very welcome new music from him. He’s also put out several singles in the last year, I’ve discovered. Here’s to hoping for more new music from a true prog legend.

Track Listing
1. War Stories (48:34)

Added: January 18th 2026
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
Hits: 14
Language: english

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