Guybrush

Another couple of good reviews In the Land of Grey and Pink is a brilliantly charming little record, I think. I probably have more love for Golf Girl than you do. I even love it's use of the trumpet. The real stars for me are the title track and Nine Feet Underground. Brilliant tunes!

Waterloo Lily is alright too, I think! It's not an imposing album. It doesn't make me sit up, sorta, but songs you mention like the title track, Aristocracy and The World is Yours are good and comfortable listens if not mind blowing (blowing minds isn't a very Caravanish thing to do anyways). I even like Songs and signs! I think Miller leaving again was probably a good thing for the band, though, considering my love for the next in line.

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Something Completely Different

Dotoar

It's one thing to like the same bands and all that, but to actually have similar tastes on the songs by said bands is really something!

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Dotoar

Remember what I said in my introduction, about Caravan being a nice bunch of meek and nerdy dudes, not at all aspiring on getting between the sheets? Well, scratch that! If the album name and cover, making us voyeuring an innocent sleeping girl in progress of pregnancy, alone won't convince you, then perhaps the knowledge of the original intent of her being nude will. And at least one of the songs is approaching almost Zappaesque heights of naughtiness. Have I intrigued you enough? Good!

By this time things started to move about in the Caravan camp; Our old friend Richard Sinclair decided to quit and explore the depths of the Canterbury sound in Hatfield & The North and became replaced by some bearded hipster named John G. Perry on da bass. Plus, they expanded the lineup with a viola handled by Geoff Richardson, and guess what: Dave Sinclair is back! The scene is set, how about that!

But it's not really the change of personell that makes this record stand out. It's that Pye has really seized his chance to prove himself a worthy guitar player. The whole record reeks of catchy, occasionally even heavy, riffs and tasteful solos on courtesy of himself, sometimes intertwined with Richardson's viola, all of which make for a truly intriguing listen. It becomes obvious from the very start with "Memory Lain, Hugh" greeting us with a really tricky guitar riff over a thumping rythm on which they harmonize an airy melody in the best Caravan tradition. The flute break thereafter is really memorable, as is the transition into "Headloss" which suddenly creeps up just as you think the song is about to end. Now the whole thing transforms into a bouncy shuffle with a looping structure very similar to Yes's "All good people", expanding the track into being the best opener on a Caravan album ever. It rules! The following "Hoedown" is the weakest track on here though, being a very rushed exercise in pseudo-country in 7/8 which just sounds forced. Thankfully it's also the shortest so it doesn't manage to do much harm.

But then we're back on track again with "Surprise, surprise". A laid back folksy groove peppered with great harmonies once again, and what seems to be a pedal steel that makes it sound almost like Zeppelin in folk-mode. "Suddenly sunshine" they sing, and indeed it is. It simply rules! Then we switch gears completely with "C'thlu thlu", boasting really heavy riffs, that Pye obviously nicked from Robert Fripp's backpack during recession. Watch out for that guitar break after the second chorus, very much in the style of "Larks' tounge in aspic"-era Crimson. The creeping, almost gothic, verses with their theatrical atmosphere reminding of early Alice Cooper, are juxtaposed with strangely upbeat and jolly choruses in a way that in the hands of a less talented band would just sound out of place. But here, it rules! "The dog, the dog, he's at it again" is yet another typical Caravan popster that makes remarkably good use of its looping chord sequence on which they build catchy and clever melodies that toward the climactic ending climb upon each other in an ingenious way. And David really shines on that sci-fi synthesizer break in the middle. And oh, this is the one with the infamous lyrics, celebrating the joy of copulation in such a filthy way it's just pure fun! Have you seen them perform this? With Pye completely straight-faced announcing that "he's got something that he'd like you to hold"? How the h*ll did he manage to pull that off without cracking up? Or could he have been so desperate in trying to get laid that he actually was serious? I don't know and I don't care. It's a true pop masterpiece and I needn't tell you that it rules!

Off we are to "Be alright/Chance of a lifetime" in which that Perry dude proves himself to be a very good successor to Sinclair not only on bass but in taking the lead vocals as well. It's built on a great guitar/viola interplay culminating in a catchy descending chorus line which all make it sound a lot like Kansas, except that it's better. After all, Caravan wasn't Kansas which is always an advantage and besides, Kansas was yet to be formed. Only to let you know who were first and who were just a bunch of rednecky copycats. And Kansas surely couldn't have pulled off such a beautiful and contemplative second part as on here. Did I mention yet that it rules? And we're still to be blown away by the grand finale "A hunting we shall go". Yet another viola/guitar assault that shakes the house down, albeit even more profound this time. Now they're reaching almost Gentle Giantish heights of dexterity, trading solos over the looping riff as if to convince you of the very origins of prog metal. Then it all dies down with a slowly emerging orchestral suite, constantly building up to a symphonic climax that segues into a reprise of the main part in which each and every instrument play in unison until it all ends with a bang (literally). It freakin' ru - wait for it - les!

Now, I know I said that Caravan isn't really designed to blow you away, but if there is anywhere to look for that kind of thing then this is your best bet. "For girls who grow plump in the night" is the album that finally and firmly places Caravan among the league of prog supermen. Of course, the saga isn't over yet, but it's quite obvious that it just had to go downward from here, even if ever so slightly.

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Dotoar

I'm well aware that this is where a lot of fans lose interest in Caravan but I really don't see how that could be explained judged strictly from the music on "Cunning stunts" (allegedly a wordplay on "stunning c u n t s", something they had proved themselves rather fond of. Wordplays, I mean. What did you think?). You see, I'm gonna skip ahead here and state that I really dig this album and claim that it's not an iota worse than, say, their debut or "If I could screw you all over again, I would". (Hey, don't blame me! They started it!). Maybe it has something to do with prog starting to decline or maybe it's their overall turn towards lush pop, but I don't buy that. See, the structuring of this record doesn't really differ from any previous Caravan album and they still manage to deliver a lengthy epic towards the end, and as for the decline of prog, well, that doesn't explain the popularity of such records as "Going for the one". No, allow me to speculate that it's basically ignorance that keeps even fans away from this, and it was indeed released in the shadows of both the marvellous predecessor two years earlier, as well as their concerto performance that followed so it's understandable that it couldn't live up to the expectations. But it deserves a chance and you should grant it, or else I'll be forced to dock off a point from my rating of you and we'll see how fun that is!

It opens on a really grand note with "The show of our lives" that almost manages to out-Queen Queen. That ascending chorus is really something, and newcomer Mike Wedgewood does an outstanding job in contributing the vocals. Yes, forgot to tell you; Since the last time he replaced John G. Perry on bass guitar and occasional vocals, as on this one. The grand piano and all those ethereal gospel stunts (cunning stunts indeed!) make for an almost celestial atmosphere. I can picture the song ascending and spreading out like a giant feathery cloud in the sky, can you? It's followed by the bouncy pop-rocker "Stuck in a hole" which isn't brilliant but a good McCartney-like relief in the process. "Lover" however, is a duffer and this is all Wedgewood's fault. He seized his chance to slip in some stuff himself, one of which is this sugary soul ballad. It's not suitable for Caravan at all, and I'd even say that it's not suitable for anyone. It sounds like something Glenn Hughes would sneak onto a contemporary Purple record. (This is the second time I'm forced to mention him in a Caravan review! Why won't he leave me alone? Get that bastard out of here! He's a criminal! He kills good bands for no reason!)

Anyway, it's followed by another highlight in "No backstage pass" in which Pye shows off just about everything; His ever-growing songwriting skills, likewise growing singing abilities and tasteful guitarworks. This is probably one of his best guitar solos, reminding of both Steve Hackett and Andy Latimer, the latter especially thanks to the scat singing that joins in halfway through. And the main melody is top-notch, soothed by his tender vocals. Then it's time for another Wedgewood-penned thingie, this time better though, being a chugging funk sendup (and yes, I know what I've said about funk but this one at least has a decent melody) named "Welcome the day". Nothing special but a nice breather before the main course is served.

Yeah, you guessed it. They were still not through with side-long multipart epics, although they would be after this one. "The dabsong conshirtoe" ends that grandiose tradition on a really high note, I say. Basically it's a bunch of half-baked songs stitched together, but then again, what Caravan epic isn't? No part overstays its welcome which means the song never has the chance of becoming boring. It begins as a lightweight, almost Hollywoodish, ballad that soon gets mixed up with a rocking brass-driven section during which Pye really shines as a singer. It kinda reminds me of late-period Beatles (which is one of the finest awards you can get), and we all know how the second half of "Abbey Road" was put together, right? Half-baked songs hastily glued together, and if it worked for them, why wouldn't it work for anyone else? Because everyone else are inferior, that's why. But Caravan proved to be talented enough to pull it off. After a brief orchestral break it then finds its way into the obligatory flute passage, probably one of their absolute best and most melodic ever. And the good thing is that it returns after the jazzy solo passage, which by the way is really nicely executed too. It all comes to a conclusion with a lengthy riff-fest dissolving into a total cacaphony of snippets taken from just about everywhere. Kinda like the coda of "I am the walrus" or something. Do you think Beatles would have made a good Canterbury band? Man, this is my number one bet for the best Caravan epic ever, and this alone is a reason not to disregard the album. Oh yeah, the album ends with a minute of instrumental country-rag which is nice and all, but not terribly worthy of being written about more than this.

So, you see, the race wasn't run for the band even in the steadily darkening mid-70's, not yet. The tendency to streamline the sound to the more accessible genres of the time was starting to make itself visible, and I'm not talking about the orchestrated lush pop here, rather the sugary ballads and soul/funk/disco/whatever influences. But they were still brave enough to hang on to their own standards and besides, Pye's songwriting was definitely on a roll, and anyone who can apply to the formula of generic pop and still come out with winners, is definitely worthy of praise.

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ayush789

Hi

It's good..

thanks.