Nude
A concept album about a Japanese soldier who kept fighting long after the war, and the last with Andy Ward.
Camel, 1981
- Released
- 23 January 1981
- Recorded
- September 1980
- Studio
- Abbey Road Studio 3, London
- Label
- Gama/Decca
- Producer
- Camel, Tony Clark and Haydn Bendall
- Length
- 44:45
Latimer wanted to return to a concept album after The Snow Goose, and Susan Hoover proposed the story of Hiroo Onoda, the soldier who held out in the Philippines until 1974, unaware that the war had ended. The title is drawn from his family name. Hoover devised the concept and wrote the lyrics, except for Please Come Home, and Latimer said the story went through about twelve drafts as they turned it into a more universal tale. His tours of Japan were a strong influence. At Abbey Road, he recalled, Kate Bush made the band tea.
It was the last album with Andy Ward and the last with more than one original member. It reached 34 in Britain, Camel's last Top 40 album there, and charted higher in the Netherlands and Norway. Classic Rock gave it eight out of ten, and Steven Wilson included it in a 2008 list of overlooked concept albums. Stephen W. Tayler remixed it for the Air Born box in 2023.
Track listing
- City Life4:41
- Nude0:22
- Drafted4:20
- Docks3:50
- Beached3:34
- Landscapes2:39
- Changing Places4:11
- Pomp & Circumstance2:05
- Please Come Home1:12
- Reflections2:39
- Captured3:12
- The Homecoming2:49
- Lies4:59
- The Last Farewell: The Birthday Cake0:30
- The Last Farewell: Nude's Return3:42
Personnel
- Andrew Latimer guitars, vocals, flute, koto, keyboards
- Colin Bass bass, vocals; lead on City Life and Drafted
- Andy Ward drums, percussion
- Mel Collins flute, piccolo, saxophones
- Duncan Mackay keyboards
- Jan Schelhaas piano on The Last Farewell
- Chris Green cello on Drafted
- Gasper Lawal percussion on Changing Places
- Herbie Flowers tuba on The Homecoming
More from Camel
Mirage (1974), The Snow Goose (1975), Moonmadness (1976), Breathless (1978)
Sources
- Nude (Camel album), Wikipedia
- Nude: Camel remember Hiroo Onoda, uDiscover Music (2026-01-31)
- Ten Years On, part two, Skylines (1981)
- Camel: Nude, Discogs