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This is a prime example of the links between psychedelic rock and its progressive younger brother. All of the qualities present in the following albums are present and this is no bias towards what is one of my favorite artists. A Place Of My Own and Love Song With A Flute and Where But For A Caravan are typical delightful numbers but listen to Grandma's Lawn or Cecil Rons to realize of progressive this Psychadelia is. The sound is quite different than the next albums but then again this is a different label and producer.

I have always held a certain spot in my heart for the music of CARAVAN and none come so finer as their debut album. Opening Cantebury classic "Place Of My Own" remains to this day one of my most beloved tracks. Tragically CARAVAN's first album is far too oft overlooked in their discography and in most cases forgotten completely. Songs on this album carry an early Cantebury-psychedelic edge to them with some great organ sweeps , guitar, bass and drumming. Richard Sinclair's vocals are choice with some great vocal harmonies and pure sounding voice.

The sound quality of this album absolutely suck! The recording sounds like it was made in a trash can, with bad mixing (where you hear Richard Sinclair's voice in one speaker, and the instruments in the other). Despite the crap sound quality, this an incredible debut from one of the Canterbury greats, full of great psychedelic pop prog goodies such as "A Place of My Own", "Ride", "Love Song with Flute" (in which Jimmy Hastings makes his first appearance, on flute, on a CARAVAN album), and the most progressive number, "Where But For Caravan Would I". Great stuff, would be made even greater if they had better equipment to record on.

Hard to criticize this album much considering it was their important debut. All tracks are strong particularly ' Love song with flue'. the opener ' A Place of my Own' and the brilliant' Where but for Caravan would I be' To think they went on from here from strength to strength and they were already great songwriters.Four stars plus a half :-)

As other reviewers here have noted, this debut album suffers from unorthodox mixing and production techniques (apparently, even the band members themselves were not too keen on seeing this released on CD). However, there are some good tracks, and as a whole it's a very interesting document that hints at the great albums that followed. Try to find a copy for under $15, and you've got a pretty good deal.

Amazingly mature debut from CARAVAN is among the best British psychedelia albums of the era. Sound mixing is bad, with that "primitive" stereo effect division between vocals and instruments, but there is a hell of a good songs on it! Outstanding numbers are "Place of My Own", "Love Song with Flute", "Cecil Rons" and a proto-epic suite "Where But For Caravan Would I Be". There is some wonderful organ playing and one would wonder how David Sinclair is not often mentioned as a great organist. Now, this may sound as sacrilege, but this album is much better and more interesting for my ears than the highly overrated "In the Land of Grey and Pink", despite its weak production. A gem of early Canterbury style!

A definate product of the times. Caravan's first album is pysch all the way, but their whimsical Canterbury sound is just under the surface. The first song, 'Place of My Own' is catchy as hell, and their first single. The following songs are very Pink Floydish, ala Syd Barret, especially 'Cecil Rons' an absolute crazy pysch song. 'Love Song With Flute' has Pye Hastings brother Jimmy playing the flute, it's one of the most beautiful flute solos I've ever heard and to think it was done on the spot without practice! Being a HUGE fan of David Sinclair's keyboards, his playing is the highlight for me. Being sinister sounding, 'Cecil Rons', or whimsical, 'Policeman' or downright ornery, the album closer and epic 'Where But For Caravan Would I?' you hear the seeds planted for the groundbreaking and classic Canterbury albums to follow. But be warned, this is psych/prog. For those looking for that classic Caravan sound you may be disappointed. But if you are adventurous, and want to hear how they sounded way back when, give it a try. BTW, if you buy the re-mastered version, you get both stereo and mono. The mono, to me, sounds better. The stereo versions need to be cranked up a bit. Parts of the songs seemed to get washed out at low volume.

Don't expect anything resembling the classic Caravan sound on this, their debut album. What you get here is much more closely related to Pink Floyd's debut, the legendary "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", than to the monumental second and third albums of the Canterbury band. This is quite evident in the remastered version, which includes the delightful "Hello Hello" from "If I Could Do It All Over Again..." - the differences in style and sound between the latter and the rest of the album couldn't be more obvious. That said, however, Caravan's debut is much more interesting that it is usually credited for. Their take on psychedelia is highly original and entertaining, and the members of the band, in spite of their youth, are more than capable as musicians and songwriters.

The album's opener, "A Place of My Own", released as a single, attracted quite a lot of attention at the time. It's an endearing ditty, sung by Pye Hastings in a slightly more uncertain voice than usual, with great organ work by Dave Sinclair. The keyboardist is possibly the real star of this album, as his trademark organ makes the overall sound fuller and richer, as well as adding complexity and interest to the compositions. His contribution to the closing track, the 9-minute "Where but for Caravan Would I?", the album's most convincing stab at fully-fledged prog, is outstanding, the sinuous sound of the organ weaving in and out of the vocal interludes sung by Pye Hastings and Richard Sinclair. The latter's presence is more restrained than in the two following albums, which of course is a pity. He sings lead in the Beatles-flavoured "Policeman" and the distinctly Syd Barrett-ish "Grandma's Lawn", backed up by cousin Dave's haunting organ - a slightly disturbing song with weird lyrics, further enhanced by Richard's smooth delivery. His best vocal performance, though, comes towards the end of "Where but for Caravan Would I", where his voice achieves that velvety tone that I find so irresistible.

The sinister, almost discordant "Cecil Rons", another track haunted by the ghost of Syd Barrett (both vocalists, especially the usually soft, mild-mannered Hastings, are utterly unrecognizable!) is probably the most uncharacteristic of the band's output. On the other hand, the romantic "Love Song with Flute" (the latter superbly played by Jimmy Hastings) is almost classic Caravan, beautifully sung by Pye - possibly his best vocal performance on the album.

In spite of the very poor production and sound quality, "Caravan" shows quite clearly that the band had potential in spades. Things could only get better, as they did. The follow-up album was a rather giant leap forward in terms of songwriting and overall sound; but this endearingly homespun album, for all its shortcomings, deserves recognition of its own for being a gem of late '60s psychedelic prog. You could do much worse than add this to your collection.

There's something about the innocence and naive beauty of this album that tells me it couldn't have been made in any other time period. This is the 60's in Britain put into the form of a collection of poppy, mildly jazzy, psychedelic songs. Whenever I listen to it, I feel plain happy. I feel like I can do anything, I want to go be friends with the Policeman, lay in Grandmas Lawn and stare at the sky, make love in the park, or just sit around and waste my time looking at the beauty of the world. Few albums make me feel exactly like this.

All of the songs are about simple subject matter and are not very ambitious. 'A Place of My Own' is about getting a new flat. 'Policeman' is exactly what it's title states. 'Ride' is about finding a place in your mind where your comfortable. The song of the band may not be groundbreaking but it's definitely original. The focus in on the funky wah organ, with undistorted jazzy guitar, walking bass-lines, and powerful rhythmic drumming. There are melodies everywhere and Pye Hastings voice is so innocent and full of glee that you'll want to sing along with him the whole time through.

'Where but for Caravan would I' probably sounds the most like the Caravan of the future which is jazzier and more complex. The instrumental sections of the song definitely forecast the more complex elements of the bands music in the future. There's also some dissonance features in the song, giving it a darker edge in some parts. Another thing to note is that every song on the album features an incredible organ solo. David Sinclair is definetly master at his instrument.

Sure the music on here is outdated, but that's part of what makes it great. It's a celebration of the simplicity of life and all the joys to be seen. It's not a masterpiece. It's not perfect. The production is far from perfect. But all of that thrown aside this album makes me feel great. Therefore it's a great album.

Very similar to the first Soft Machine album, although not quite as experimental. Sort of a groovier "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn"(Pink Floyd). Worth it alone for "Where but for Caravan would I" and "Love Song For Flute". Some fine rustic sounding keyboards familiar to Canterbury bands. With the band Caravan, it all starts here. The "Caravan sound" is firmly in place from the get go. Also, think of an entire album where the pop/psychedelic songs have a Procol Harum "Repent Walpurgis" feel to them. Recommended.

I guess that it won't surprise anybody if I say that the debut album of Caravan sounds psychedelic. Don't forget that this album was released in 68, a year during which most of the prominent bands were playng this type of music (even if it started already in 66- 67 with Airplane, Floyd, The Beatles, The Who, The Doors, Vanilla Fudge, etc.).

One will think of "Piper" while listening to this work. But a more softer one. More "Caravan". Don't expect any wild or disjoined songs; this album is a collection of tranquil psyche but not only. One of my fave is the sweet and melodic "Love Song With Flute". You can imagine that the flute sounds outstanding. Really brilliant.

Several songs are on the mellowish side and not really appealing like "Magic Man" for instance. Of course "Grandma's Lawn" is more upbeat. It features great organ sounds ("The Doors" have been listened to). Another highlight of this album.

This debut album has this typical sound of the mid late sixties. At times childish, innocent. It is a snapshot of an era. And Where But For Caravan Would I is another great example. It is my absolute fave of this recording. Switching between peaceful and rockier passages. Vocal harmonies are excellent and again David Sinclair's work on the keys is superb.

This album sells for very cheap (just over 4 ?+shipment on Amazon Marketplace for the remastered version). So it wouldn't hurt too much your wallet to get it.

A good debut album. Three stars.

Beginnings are hard, is what I would like to begin this review by saying. Caravan who with their second and especially their third album made some of the best Canterbury prog rock albums ever, started out a bit more humbly. Not to say that this debut album isn´t good, but it´s not excellent by any means.

First of all the production is really bad, even for the time. The drums are noisy and I can´t make out what´s happening all the time. Fortunately the charm in Caravan´s music makes up for this. Songs like Place of My Own, Policeman and Love Song with Flute are good examples of the early Caravan sound. Caravan don´t master the long songs yet as I feel WHERE BUT FOR CARAVAN WOULD I BE isn´t that well composed.

Caravan are great musicians and of course it shows even under these not optimal circumstanses. Listen to David Sinclair´s organ play in Place of My own and there should be no doubt that this band can play.

All in all this is an ok start to a brilliant career, but to be honest I only think this is for the fans really, therefore only 2 stars.

It may be only a Caravan, but it's a place of my own

As with the remastered version of Hawkwind's first album, the remastered CD of Caravan's first album includes the whole album twice on a single disc. Both the mono and stereo mixes are included in full, the actual original recordings used for both being identical.

Formed in the mid-late 1960's from the Canterbury scene band The Wilde Flowers (which also included Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers in its ever changing line up), Caravan recorded this self titled debut in late 1968. Most of the songs here had been rehearsed and performed live by the band for some time before they got around to recording them and indeed some of them had been instrumental in helping to secure a recording contract. As was customary at the time, the band were forbidden from being involved in the mixing of the album, which focused primarily on the more lucrative mono version, (since stereo was still in its infancy at the time, and stereo albums were actually dearer!). The band were not entirely satisfied with the results, as they felt producer Tony Cox had not captured their sound well.

The album starts with a song which even today is a Caravan favourite. The balance between the band's whimsical interludes, strong melodies and progressive inclinations is captured perfectly in "Place of my own". The distinctive keyboards of David Sinclair, which for many represent the band's signature, are a feature of this wonderful song. The track was subsequently released as the band's first single.

In general, while many of the tracks here fall short of the standards attained by Caravan on subsequent albums, especially those recorded during their period with Decca records, they show the promising glimpses of what was to come. Tracks such as "Policeman" and "Cecil Rons" are rooted in the psychedelic sounds of the period, with strong nods to the Barrett era Pink Floyd and the likes. Tony Cox's production emphasises such leanings more strongly than perhaps was necessary.

"Love song with flute" is interesting, as it features future band member Jimmy Hastings playing the wonderful flute solo. The song is a soft reflective piece with decent vocal harmonies, which develops into a faster more pop orientated number. The latter part of this track indicates far more clearly how the band would mature.

The focus of most of the attention for prog fans is the 9 minute closing song "Where but for Caravan would I?". This mid-paced organ based number may pre-date many of the Caravan classics, but it is an early product of the same mould. In the context of the greats such as "For Richard" and "Nine foot underground" it is a little clumsy and naive, but when we bear in mind that this is a 1968 recording, it shines brightly.

In all, a fine first album from Caravan. It may sound a bit of its time now, largely due to the production; but the quality of the songs, the proficiency of the performances, and most of all the promise of what is to come, is clear for all to see.

In general, the sound quality of the mono recordings, even in remastered form, is at best adequate. The stereo mixes have brushed up far better though, and are the ones to head for on the 2002 CD. That release includes a single version of "Hello hello", a track on the following "If I could do it all over again.." album. It was originally intended that the single version be added to the remaster of that album, but the master tapes were only located after it had been released. As the remastering of the debut album was carried out later, the opportunity was taken to include it here.

Like Soft Machine, Caravan came about as the result of the split of Canterbury band The Wilde Flowers, the band that spawned the so called Canterbury scene, a scene which most of the musicians playing in that area at the time deny even existed.

Caravan's eponymous debut while showing promise doesn't bear much resemblance to the quirky progressive style they would become better known for in the near future. It's an album of the time, that being 1968 and the blend of psychedelic pop/rock like many albums of the era does sound somewhat dated. Nevertheless it's enjoyable enough the 2 best tracks book ending the album at start and finish. Place Of My Own is an instantly accessible and melodic organ driven rock song but it's closing track Where But For Caravan Would I? that shows promise of what was to come. Starting off somewhat restrained it develops over its 9 minutes into a psychedelic fuelled mini epic with David Sinclair's organ taking centre stage.

Overall then Caravan debut is far from essential but a pleasant enough way to pass 40 minutes and an album that anyone who's already investigated their better known work will want to come too eventually.