The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon, Remastered 2006
I first reissued this work in 2001 and it successfully sold out. The only master that Warner Bros. had in its vault turned out to be a safety copy recorded during the vinyl mastering 30 years before. In this age of digital processing, it became the long awaited CD converted from tape. But this year, producer Erik Jacobsen, discovered a box of reels from San Francisco's Wally Heider Studios in his basement... Ah, the Master! We could not resist and so here it is again. Some would say this version is more faithful to the original vinyl recording of 1973.
Formed in 1966, the Sopwith Camel was the second San Francisco band to be signed by a major record company - Buddha/Kama Sutra - right after Jefferson Airplane and before the Grateful Dead. The Camel was the first San Francisco pyschedelic group in the '60s to have a "wildly commercial" hit on a national level called "Hello-Hello." It made the Billboard Top 10 in 1967. The group was originally produced by Erik Jacobsen. One of the earliest bands in San Francisco they first appeared in public on February 12, 1966. The Sopwith Camel played the Fillmore, the Avalon, the Matrix, Long Shoremans Hall, and are billed on a dozen or more of the collectible psychedelic posters of 1966 thru 1967. The Camel toured the country, appearing with the Rolling Stones, the Rascals, the Doors, the Turtles, the Who, the Velvet Undergroud, the Beach Boys and, of course, the Lovin' Spoonful, who were produced by Jacobsen as well. In San Francisco, they played with Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother, The Dead, Quicksilver, The Great Society, and so many others.
The group reformed in 1971 and recorded one more album to great reviews and signing with Mo Ostin of Warner Bros. Sitting in the Warner Bros. vaults for 30 years, the Camel's long-awaited early '70s album, "The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon," finally became a CD in 2001. It was called, "The Millennium Edition." Now this year, the 2nd CD release of the Miraculous Hump is called "Remastered 2006." Enjoy!...
Rumour has it, the Camel is back together, online, writing a new album.
Norman Mayell of Generic Type Records has re-issued the Miraculous Hump for CD. He played with the Sopwith Camel from 1966-1973 producing two albums: "Hello-Hello" and "The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon." Other studio work and collaboration includes the following discography: 1971, "Spirit in the Sky" with Norman Greenbaum; 1969-1971, three albums with Blue Cheer; 1963-64, "Essential Blues" with Michael Bloomfield; 2000, guest artist on "Alchemy Through Dreams" with Mortal Loom.
STEREO REVIEW (1973)- "... In my dreams, 'The Miraculous Hump' sells about 750,000 copies... [It is a] holiday from... overproduction, and noisy nonsense... All other music ceases for a month, during which we are all refreshed and enlightened. This album is a musical backrub. Were it for nothing else I would love it for the lines in Coke, Suede and Waterbeds:
Now they've all got money down
House in the country, store in town
Baby looks fine in her platform shoes
Daddy's got a harp, tryin' to learn the blues
...I record that Sopwith Camel are all Californians and that their marvelous music would not have been possible without that life style.
I go further: I hope Sopwith Camel will be around for years this time. They are intelligent, gentle, funny, and a little mad." -JV
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