FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT

This recording, the reissued CD with bonus tracks, represents only the second of my exposures to Caravan's 1970s material. The previous recording I reviewed, In the Land of the Grey and Pink, was a lovely piece of early progressive rock with vestigial psychedelic elements. The current recording under discussion, however, is dramatically different in many respects: It is far more progressive than the earlier statement, drawing on many influences including folk, classical music and a limited amount of jazz. The rhythmic underpinnings of Memory Lain, Hugh interestingly and strangely seem to predict the future development of the disco movement without actually being disco. Despite this aberration, the track is actually quite a rocker. The flute and viola add very nice touches. Pye Hastings' guitar is far more prominent on this cut and on the entire record and it is superb. The songwriting is terrific and the vocal arrangements are excellent although the singing demonstrates thinness and a rather limited range. The presence of the strings, reeds, brass and woodwinds all add a lushness to the sound on the album. There is a decidedly American feel on Headloss as well as on Hoedown. Keyboard work by David Sinclair, is in general, less prominent on the recording but with moments of subdued brilliance. The first few tracks on the recording are decidedly positive, upbeat, feelgood music. C'thlu thlu opens with a somewhat bizarre and atmospheric (but very effective) section that is simply addictive. The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again is a funny, albeit dated off-color song with somewhat sexist lyrics about fellatio. Be Alright/Chance of a Lifetime contains some warm viola colorings by Richardson. The L'Auberge du Sanglier epic contains a positively lush and rich orchestral arrangement that serves as a fitting conclusion to the original album. The tracks following this are primarily the earlier pieces of the record in various stages of embryonic development. It is interesting to hear how many of the tracks changed in terms of orchestration and embellishments overtime. Ordinarily, I don't particularly care for outtakes and demos but in this case, I actually feel it adds something to the record to have an insight into the development of this excellent album. This recording rates 4.5/5 stars, with the only major detraction being the quality of the voice singing the excellent arrangements.