IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK

In The Land Of Pink And Grey is my first entry into, not only Caravan, but also into the so called Cantebury Sound. I missed it all for a long time since those imported records were far too expensive in the 70´s, specially if you were a teen student with very little income. There was so much going on at the time that I couldn´t afford to hear it all, much less buy everything. So only recently I was able to and decided to listen to that band. And I was quite surprised: thsi CD sounded very simple and even silly at first. But after a few spins I discover their subtle intrincacies and beauty and found myself enjoying it more and more. Their blend of prog, folk, jazz and even traditional english pop is very unique. Their whimsical tunes seems to annoy some people, but you can´t deny they have sense of humor and that´s a good thing.

For my part I think In The Land Of Pink And Grey is an excellent prog album. Not a masterpiece, really, but still excellent. It stood well the test of time. Some songs are, of course, better than the others. The highlights for me are the title Track, Winter Wine and the long suite Six Feet Under. Golf Girl and Love To Love are quite funny and well done, too, but not as good as the others. Sometimes I hear a hint of Camel here and there. On the other hand, the extra tracks are all very fine and fit perfectly on the record´s overall sound. The production is good for the time and the musicians are all very skilled and creative. There are no symphonic prog here, but that was never their goal anyway. Progressive music is much more than that.

Conclusion: all in all, an excellent, very enjoyable work by Caravan. Nothing groundbreaking here, but still unique and good to hear. I´m glad I got this CD and I recommend it to anyone who likes good music in general and don´t expect anything too bombastic. 4 solid stars