The Single Factor is Camel’s most pop-oriented album — effectively an Andrew Latimer solo record, made with session players under pressure from the record label for a hit. Released in 1982, it trades the band’s long-form progressive suites for concise, radio-friendly songs, but its instrumentals and Latimer’s guitar still offer plenty for long-time fans.

The short version

The Single Factor (1982) is the ninth studio album by Camel. By this point Andrew Latimer was the only original member left — the source of the album’s title — and he recorded it at Abbey Road with a cast of session musicians, several drawn from the Alan Parsons Project. The result is the band’s most commercial, pop-oriented album, made under pressure from Decca for a hit single, though it still features fine instrumentals and guest appearances by ex-Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips and returning co-founder Peter Bardens.

Latimer alone

By 1982, Camel had effectively dissolved around Andrew Latimer, leaving him as the last remaining member of the original band — the ‘single factor’ of the title, which also nods to Decca’s demand for a hit single. With no band and a contract to fulfil, Latimer turned to session musicians, many of them met during a period sharing Abbey Road Studios with the Alan Parsons Project. From that circle came singer Chris Rainbow and bassist David Paton, while ex-Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips guested on several tracks and a range of top session drummers filled in. In a welcome touch for long-time fans, original Camel keyboardist Peter Bardens made a guest return on the instrumental ‘Sasquatch.’

The sound

The Single Factor is unmistakably a product of the early 1980s, and Camel’s most overtly commercial album. The long, exploratory pieces of old give way to concise, three- and four-minute pop-rock songs, many with a polished, radio-ready sheen. The heavy involvement of Alan Parsons Project members gives parts of the record an APP-like flavour, and some tracks chase the mainstream more openly than committed prog fans might like. But Latimer’s warm, Gilmour-esque guitar remains a constant pleasure, and the album’s instrumentals in particular keep a clear link to the band’s more atmospheric past.

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The songs

The album opens with the poppy ‘No Easy Answer’ and ‘You Are the One,’ catchy, radio-minded songs that, surprisingly, never became the hits Decca hoped for. Its highlights, though, lie elsewhere: the lovely, APP-style ballad ‘Heroes,’ and above all the instrumentals. ‘Selva’ pairs Latimer’s Gilmour-like lead with Anthony Phillips’s classical guitar, while ‘Sasquatch’ — opening side two, and featuring both Phillips and a returning Peter Bardens — became a genuine Camel classic and a live favourite. The gentle ‘Lullabye’ and the closing ‘End Peace’ add further moments of quiet beauty.

Reception and legacy

The Single Factor divided fans and critics, many of whom saw it as Camel diluting their sound to chase commercial success in a difficult time for progressive rock — and, ironically, it produced no UK hit despite its title and intentions, though it charted respectably in the Netherlands, Spain and Norway. Over the years, however, it has undergone a gentle reappraisal, with its melodic hooks, tasteful production and fine instrumentals winning it a measure of cult affection. It paved the way for the more fully realised, concept-driven Stationary Traveller two years later, and even at its most commercial, ‘Sasquatch’ endures as a beloved part of the Camel canon.

The verdict

The Single Factor is far from the place to begin with Camel — newcomers should start with Mirage, The Snow Goose or Moonmadness — but it’s a more rewarding album than its reputation sometimes suggests, especially for those who enjoy melodic, well-crafted early-1980s pop-rock. Approach it as an Andrew Latimer album rather than a classic Camel one, and there’s real pleasure to be found, above all in the instrumentals. Come for the enduring ‘Sasquatch’ and Latimer’s gorgeous guitar, and enjoy an interesting, much-debated chapter in the band’s long story.

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