The Snow Goose is the third of 14 studio albums album by the progressive rock band Camel, released in 1975. It is one of those albums that I was aware of for many years and even heard snatches of somehow somewhere but didn't actually buy until 10 years on or whatever. As a teenager I was very poor, very honest and not much given to borrowing albums. Apparently it was their The White Rider suite (based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings on the band's previous album, Mirage that inspired them to write more novel-inspired conceptual suites.
The band considered several novels on which to base their third album before settling on Paul Gallico's novella The Snow Goose which I have still never read. The official title Music Inspired by The Snow Goose was designed to accommodate legal protests by Gallico. His protests were not, as often stated, due to a disapproval of smoking, Camel being also a cigarette brand (he was in fact a keen smoker!) but simply on the grounds of copyright infringement. The album is chiefly instrumental due to Gallico's objections, which is a real plus as far as I am concerned.
The music was apparently mostly written during an intensive fortnight in a cottage in Devon. The London Symphony Orchestra participated in the recording and composer and Conductor David Bedford was enlisted to write the highly evocative orchestral arrangements for Latimer and Bardens´ creation.
The album eventually reached number 22 in UK album chart and was certified Silver.
The album is considered a masterpieces of symphonic rock and in 2014 was voted no.31 in the Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time by readers of 'Prog' magazine.
