CARAVAN

This really is a great collection and would stand up as a pretty good intro to the band for anyone who felt like dipping their toe in the 'cool water'...but, of course, it definitely also appeals to that hard-core Caravan fan who just loves to see the lads do their magic, despite Pye Hastings' equivalent of a Dad dance with his guitar swaying! Only joking Pye, I love it!

The first two tracks from Nottingham, 1990, are 'For Richard' and 'Nine Feet Underground' and, as another reviewer stated it does sound a bit out of place to hear these epic tracks so early into a set but nevertheless they sound utterly brilliant and not a beat is missed. These tracks really do set up the DVD and put you in the right mood for what you are about to see and hear. That is, some utterly perfect (Ca)nterbury Scene) prog by what I consider to be the very best players of such.

The excitement is amped up as we find ourselves with a front row seat in Trenton, New Jersey, USA for the next part of this medley.(Thanks for that, Easy Livin). A welcome sight to this stage is Geoffrey Richardson and his trusty viola! It doesn't take long until we we are treated to hearing him play. It's one of the reasons I became such an instant fan of Caravan. I did not know what a viola was back then, age 20 and not a fan of progressive Rock either. I was new to it all when a friend put a cassette into his machine and told me to listen. We sat there silently as this fantastic viola sound took me on a journey like no other. With David Sinclair's keyboard solo on 'The Dog The Dog..' well that was enough for me. I realised I had literally never heard such perfectly arranged and presented music in my life and all I wanted to do was hear more and fast!! And so began a life long love for all things 'Canterbury' and especially Caravan and Camel.

Getting back to this video, the next section after the wonderful 'Medley' (which contains some of my favourite tracks, featured from the 'Blind dog At St Dunstan's' album, a much dismissed or overlooked album though not by me as I simply love it!) We are now given the treat of some rather old and classic performances by the fresh faced young lads, and it is worth the DVD just to have these performances to rewatch & archive. Here we are treated to 'Magic man', 'Place of my own' and the great classic that is 'Golf Girl' .

In my opinion this DVD is a worthy addition to any Caravan fans collection and also would be a great first DVD of theirs to own. OK the quality is pretty poor in terms of video compression and all that tech stuff, but, more importantly the audio for the most part sounds good to great and there's no drop outs or hiss or anything.

In conclusion, A Great DVD! If you see it up for sale somewhere, grab it!

Review Nº 908

Caravan was one of the leading acts on the so-called Canterbury scene. But, out of all the Canterbury bands, Caravan was easily the most "accessible" and the best known. Their music almost defiantly neglected the complexity and goes more for a majestic, organ and acoustic based sound drawing on medieval influences as much as lush baroque tricks.

Caravan released their eponymous debut album in 1968, an album influenced by jazz and psychedelia. Their second album, "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You" released in 1970, starts their classic period. The album is influenced by classical and jazz with traditional English influences. Their third album, "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" from 1971, is generally considered their greatest masterpiece. It's probably their most progressive album, which became a prog rock classic. Their fourth album, "Waterloo Lily" released in the following year, marks a clear step towards jazz. Their fifth album of 1973, "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" marks another change, with a more symphonic approach of the band. We can say that with "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" ends their classic era.

"Cunning Stunts" is the sixth studio album of Caravan and was released in 1975. The line up on the album is Pye Hastings (vocals and electric and acoustic guitars), Dave Sinclair (piano, Fender electric piano, organs, Mini Moog and Freeman String Symphonizer), Geoffery Richardson (viola, acoustic and electric guitars, Western concert flute, flute and night-shift whistle), Mike Wedgwood (vocals, bass and fretless bass, congas, Moog brass and string arrangements) and Richard Coughlan (drums and percussion). "Cunning Stunts" also had the participation of Jimmy Hastings (brass arrangement and conduction).

Despite "Cunning Stunts" still remains an impressive work. This is arguably their most uninspired material to date. The effort is certainly far from a total loss, but nowhere nearly is creative as all their five previous studio efforts. However, it shows that Hastings' love towards the most accessible, but well written and well established melodic material has not only increased through the years, but actually transformed him into a first rate composer. Nevertheless, it will be a big mistake to mention Hastings alone. In reality, he isn't even responsible for the majority of the compositions all over the album. The songwriting is more or less equally spread between him, Sinclair and new band member bassist Wedgwood.

"Cunning Stunts" has seven tracks. "The Show Of Our Lives" is a nice, mellow and pleasant opener. The bass guitar is strong and melodic, the vocals and harmonies are accomplished and the guitar adds just the right amount of beautiful playing over the top with some nice guitar soloing by Richardson. "Stuck In A Hole" is one of the most fun, energetic, and moderate tracks in the band's catalog. It's a fun, happy song that sticks in your brain while also featuring great playing and that semi-boogie rhythm. "Lover" is a gentle ballad with a nice guitar work that does finish off with some very lovely violin. It's less enjoyable than the previous two songs, just sounding like a standard mid 70's ballad without much distinction. "No Backstage Pass" is a pretty contemplative medievalist number with introspective and painful lyrics. This is a great song with its catchy upbeat chorus. It eventually ventures into a bit of jazz odyssey with some great soloing paired with a flux vocal. "Welcome The Day" is a great song with a funky Floydian groove. It sounds like its right out of the mid 70's Floyd songbook, with some nice and simple lyrics. Following the two slow previous songs it picks up the pace of the album, which is most welcome. "Dabsong Conshirto" is divided into: "The Mad Dabsong", "Ben Karratt Rides Again", "Pro's And Con's", "Wraiks And Ladders", "Sneaking Out The Bare Quare" and "All Sorts Of Unmentionable Things". This is the main piece on the album that was written by Sinclair. Whilst quite different of his previous opus "For Richard" from the "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You", it does allow to confirm that Caravan is a very much underrated band. This is clearly the best track on the album, a real tour the force of the band, carrying many of the trademarks of them. It's at the same level of the suites performed on their previous albums. "The Fear And Loathing In Tollington Park" is a jaunty little acoustic folk guitar exercise that closes the album gently.

Conclusion: "Cunning Stunts" is another great Canterbury progressive release from Caravan mixing all the right elements throughout. Its songs range from more pop orientated (side A) to the side long epic "Dabsong Conshirto" which shows the more progressive side of Caravan, which is the main reason why I rate this album with 4 stars. Vocals are picture perfect with great harmonies and thoughtful backing vocals. The reason why I like "Cunning Stunts" is that it still carries all the main trademarks of classic Caravan. It's true that it isn't as good as the five previous studio works, and despite not belonging to Caravan's classic era, it's still worth purchasing. So, in summary, "Cunning Stunts" isn't Caravan at their very best but this is still a very beautiful album that is worth to be part of your prog rock collection.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

One hazy Sunday in May 1980, myself and some friends went to a pub in Herne Bay (about 10 miles from Canterbury) for Sunday lunch and a beer. With the 'strange' licensing laws back then we were finishing up and about to leave at 2pm but the landlady said 'have another if you want boys am locking the doors'. Now I have asked my bestie who was with me and we cannot remember if the name above the door was Mrs Hastings or Mrs Sinclair but her offspring and another Caravaner were sat in the corner and when we cottoned on we went over and had a wonderful hours chat (mostly about how punk had finished them off and they couldn't get arrested now) and it is nice to meet your 'heros' sometimes!

I of course have the full studio output (I didn't back then!)...and the contrarian in me has as his 3 fav. albums the 3 with the lowest, or at least 2 of them, ratings...so I thought it best to go with one of my all time, across my whole collection, live recordings. It goes without saying then that I see/hear this as a band at their peak. About this time I believe they were touted by parts of the musical press as 'probably the next big thing'....but 'critics' bands always had/have a habit of not hitting the spot with enough of the public/music listeners ...and of course they remained strictly second division...but not for those of us in the know! The tracks should be familiar to most who read this. The slight melancholia of the vocal/s, if not an acquired taste, will never bring a joyous celebratory mood out in you but that was not who they were. The arrangements of songs had that 'matured and improved on the road' from the studio versions that the best bands developed. The audience, assuming no messing in the studio, were polite yet enthusiastic. And I will ignore the aforementioned besties view that 'Caravan were the ultimate Grammar School boys band'....for those non UK readers it translates as nice/middle class young gentlemen (he actually likes them!). So it was never going to be rock n roll! I have tried self edits as it is way too long for my purpose...but this version of 'For Richard' I would have wanted played at my funeral. It has that profound effect every time I hear it as in stirs the emotions. Unfortunately, in the bands time line, they came up with Cunning Stunts and Blind Dog At St Dunstans as their next 2 studio efforts...both of which I really rate but most here do not and neither did the record buying public in 1975 and '76 which underscores that this is indeed their peak.

I raise another 'lock in' glass to the 3 I met, what 6 years after this, and thank them.

For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night is the fifth studio album released by Caravan. The album features

Pye Hastings - guitars and lead vocals

Geoff Richardson - viola

David Sinclair - Organs, keyboards, piano and synthesizers

John G Perry - Bass

Richard Coughlan - Drums

and many additional musicians...

I really enjoyed this album. There are many memorable songs. The first three songs (Memory Lain, Hugh, Headloss and Hoedown) flow well into one another and Pye Hastings vocals on "Memory Lain Hugh" are awesome. The riff for "Memory lain Hugh" was stuck in my head for days its very catchy. I love the fuzzy guitar tone found throughout the album especially on "C'thlu Thlu". That is definitely a standout track. My favorite song on the album by far is "The Dog, the Dog, He's at It Again". I can't really explain why it's my favorite it's just a fun song to listen to and captivating. Side A evokes fun canterbury moments with more standard rock-oriented songs with many delightful progressive moments. While side 2 is definitely more progressive in sound. The album really starts to become spectacular from C'thlu Thlu until the end of the album in my opinion. That stretch of tracks is perfect. Song after song it was magical. Overall, I enjoyed this album very much. It is a great addition to any prog collection and a great Canterbury Scene record by a great Canterbury Band.

I give them album 4/5 stars. It's an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

With a compositional sophistication on full display and an array of compelling tunes, right after being signed by a new label, Caravan released their second studio album 'If I Could Do It All Over Again...' in September of 1970, with the record becoming one of the all-time classics of the Canterbury scene. Following up on the band's playful psychedelic-pop debut, this release seems much more like an ode to innocence and boyhood perhaps, yet it exhibits a much more progressive approach to the various pieces of music on here, ranging from minute-long interludes to long and winding jazz-rock instrumental bonanzas. Of course, there is an eclecticism and an ingenuity to this album, as it all seems quite experimental, daring and somewhat provisional, with the music here paving the way for future recordings like 'Nine Feet Underground' or 'L'Auberge du Sanglier'. Narrowing down the psychedelic elements and expanding their musical vocabulary with jazzy tropes, Caravan had delivered a promising and expansive work very early on in their career.

The lineup featured here is the same as on the band's debut album, yet the musicianship and the chemistry between the band members seems ameliorated by far, as one could tell while inhabiting the headspace of the gorgeous arrangements here, always sufficiently elaborate but never really technically pretentious or overindulgent. There are also several catchier tunes, the "remnants" of that brilliant debut album - just breathe in the laid-back euphemisms of the opening title track. An interesting song lulls gently for eight good minutes in the face of 'And I Wish I Were Stoned', while the organ-heavy 'As I Feel I Die' works excellently and still sounds quite cerebral, as opposed to the outdated soundscapes of the preceding song. A 10-minute mini-suite closes off side one, this one is a less successful patchwork of sounds. 'Hello Hello' by Richard Sinclair is a fairly good pop number, while the centerpiece here is the gargantuan 14-minute jazz-rock suite 'Can't Be Long Now', simply capturing the band at their most extravagant and forward-thinking. Needless to say, 'Limits' is a lovely little closing piece, on an album that sounds impressive and adventurous for 1970, with its jazzy swindles and carefree pop tunes, just a fantastic LP.

A vastly mature psychedelic pop-prog graces the two sides of the self-titled debut album by English band Caravan, with the Canterbury scene innovators releasing their very first work as early as September of 1968, which is rather incredible to think about, as this timing is right around the dawn of the progressive movement and the steady, gentle fade of the psychedelic rock craze. With a strong, ostensible inspiration coming from Pink Floyd's 'Piper' without a doubt, as well as throwing in a couple of references to The Doors, 'Caravan' is a delightful treasure of an album and a great precursor to the excellent fusion-y music the band would go on to explore during the 70s, and while this rather short (and imperfect) studio recording only gives us frail traits of the mighty Canterbury scene, it remains an interesting glimpse into that transitional period of the late 60s, for its proto-progressive blueprints.

With the songs centered around the protruding Hammond organ sounds as well as the strong melodies and vocal harmonies, 'Caravan' is a record that is much in the style of the early Soft Machine 'Volumes' as well as some of those Cream and Floyd-ish exploratory pop tunes. The band's very own debut album already positions Caravan as a band aware of their fine songwriting capabilities, as they explore them quite interestingly and present a lush collection of moods and tones, with some songs being whimsical and uplifting, while others are being more pensive and even gloomy. Album opener 'Place of My Own' is melancholic and distantly menacing, a great song, while 'Ride' might turn out to be too trippy for some tastes. A string of three absolutely excellent numbers follow on side one, and the already impression of the album is of a very consistent, well-organized work. Just three songs on side two, among which the 9-minute closing suite 'Where but for Caravan Would I?' stands out as the first really impressive piece with more complex, challenging arrangements from Caravan. And as poor as the mixing is, and as distracting as this can be, 'Caravan' is a worthy anticipator of the Canterbury scene and a fine late 60s work that still echoes the tastes of The Wilde Flowers and the entire psychedelic rock ooze.

I wonder why I like this class album so much. Maybe it's because all the tracks sound like 1 track as a whole, like a concept album. Or because it's simply a lovely progressive effort: very cleverly structured, elegant "Canterbury", performed in a loose, groovy manner. Delicate vocals, perfectly timed guitar, swirling organ throughout and exactly there we have THE Caravan characteristic: the organ weaves it into a woolen hip(pie) sweater, worn on a moisturized early morning walk through an ancient British forest in midsummer...then, all of a sudden, you stumble upon 4 lads, not quite sure whether it's the '60 or the '70 they're living in. You are grasped by music reaching your ears and rolling along with David, Pye, Richard & Richard within the timeless Caravan capsule. They would then roll all the way to the Land of Grey and Pink.

4.0

While this album offers moments of undeniable charm, it struggles to fully commit to a cohesive identity. The album starts strong with Waterloo Lily?catchy guitar riffs and bright melodies prove it's a solid opener. The second track isn't bad either: it takes a sharp turn into jazz-rock territory with bold experimental shifts. The issue begins later: from the third track onward, the band retreats to their comfort zone. The melodies grow repetitive, the rhythms turn predictable, and while their playful charm remains, it lacks freshness. Yet amidst these inconsistencies shines "The Love in Your Eye," a sprawling epic whose emotional resonance arguably ranks among Caravan's finest compositions. All in all, this isn't a disappointing album. In fact, its bold fusion-jazz experimentation?ironically?even overshadows the remaining tracks, which, while still pleasant, feel comparatively ordinary. Its high standard overall, along with the fragmented brilliance still justifies a solid four-star rating. For listeners open to jazz, this remains to be a album that's worth a listen.

Pure 1970s gold for anyone who loves rock that's smart but never stuffy. Caravan mixes jazzy basslines, trippy guitar riffs, and flutes that sound like they're dancing (Hello Hello is a straight-up joyride). As I Feel I Die shows their magic?crazy sax solos crash into gentle melodies without missing a beat, like a garage band that accidentally wrote a symphony. The whole album feels raw in the best way: fuzzy recordings, loose jams, and playful lyrics. Sure, it's "prog-rock," but forget the fancy labels?this is just great music that's aged like a weird vintage wine. Fifty years later, it's still the kind of album you'll want to play "all over again". 4.5 rounding up to 5.

Definitely one of the best albums of Caravan. Mostly constituted by instrumental pieces, this album lays less stress on vocal parts, which may be the reason why it is sometimes eclipsed by former albums like "the land...". But it's still an indeed masterpiece that may even reach new heights in the essence of being a Canterbury Scene with all the superb performances made mainly by keyboard or drum. In particular, "memory lain"features truly uplifting passages and "surprise, surprise"is a real surprise as well. The combination of viola and strings also add a distinctive texture to this album, which can be highlighted the most in "a hunting...".