IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK

Caravan

Canterbury Scene

4.31 | 2014 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Surprisingly enough this is my first Canterbury Scene album review therefore it feels important to begin with a familiar classic that everyone seems to enjoy.

I knew nothing about Caravan nor the Canterbury music scene before registering my account here on Prog Archives but the streak of praise that The Land Of Grey And Pink has received definitely peaked my interest. Still, being as suspicious as I've always have been about new music I passed this album on quite a few occasions until finally picking it up in 2006.

My attitude was quite skeptical when I listened to the album's first side. After already hearing albums by Matching Mole and Soft Machine I thought that I knew what to expect here but Golf Girl caught me completely off-guard with its English lyrical content and the soft but quirky melody. Winter Wine was an ever softer and beautiful performance but thus far I've been failing to gasp the whole progressive aspect of this music. Unfortunately neither Love To Love You nor the album's title-track did much to reassure me of anything than the fact that this was nothing but very cozy and melodically driven pop music.

It wasn't until the opening section of the album's second side that I began to realize what Caravan were truly capable of. The medley of epic proportion titled Nine Feet Underground completely swept me off my feet the first time I heard it. David Sinclair and the band create a smooth blend of their soft rock music with a clear touch of Canterbury sound that I lacked over the course of the album's first part. This whole 23 minute long journey redeemed this album's questionable prog credentials and pushed them far enough to turn The Land Of Grey And Pink into an essential progressive rock masterpiece well worth checking out. Even the first side has grown on me over the last few years and have become an obligatory introduction before I completely indulge myself into the beauty of Nine Feet Underground.

***** star songs: Nine Feet Underground (22:40)

**** star songs: Golf Girl (5:05) Winter Wine (7:46) Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) (3:06) In The Land Of Grey And Pink (4:51)

Rune2000 | 5/5 | 2010-3-25

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Share this CARAVAN review

Social review comments () BETA

Review related links

Send comments to Rune2000
Report this review (#274071)
Buy CARAVAN music online with PA partners
Show all CARAVAN MP3/Stream
Go to CARAVAN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
Go to In the Land of Grey and Pink page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
Search the Forum for CARAVAN related discussions