Description
Label Review.
If I Could Do It All Over Again I’d Do It All Over You (1970), In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971), Waterloo Lily (1972), For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973) and Cunning Stunts (1975) with 20 bonus tracks across the discs. Also included is Caravan and the New Symphonia, the 1974 live LP recorded the year before at London’s Theatre Royal, and Live At The Fairfield Halls 1974. Plus The Show Of Our Lives: Live At The BBC (2 discs). 44pp book.
Our Overview.
Caravan, the progressive rock pacesetters who are recognised among the key innovators of what became known as the Canterbury Sound, now have a box set to their name covering their prime period in the first half of the 1970s. The original line-up consisted of guitarist/vocalist Pye Hastings, Dave Sinclair (keyboards), Richard Sinclair (bass/vocals) and Richard Coughlan (drums) and they formed in 1968 out of the ashes of an earlier Canterbury band The Wilde Flowers who also featured future members of The Soft Machine. “We all had the same goal” recalled Richard Sinclair, “to make our music, write it ourselves, and make a living from it.”
The four blended psych rock, jazz and even classical influences to create their first album ‘Caravan’ which came out on Verve originally and isn’t featured here. After they were dropped, Decca Records signed the band and issued ‘If I Could Do It All Over Again I’d Do It All Over You’ in 1970 which began the run of classic albums included here. The next album ‘In The Land of Grey and Pink’ is seen as their critical high point and garnered great reviews but as with they previous albums, failed to sell in any substantial numbers. Despite this the band continued with four more similarly ambitious albums including ‘Caravan and the New Symphonia’ which saw the group realise their classical ambitions. Despite their next album ‘Cunning Stunts’ being their first record to make the UK charts, they left Decca and Dave Sinclair quit to be replaced by Jan Schelaas.
Caravan continue today as a huge live attraction, still led by Hastings in the contemporary line-up featuring Geoffrey Richardson on viola, guitar, flute and vocals), Jan Schelhaas (keyboards), Jim Leverton (bass, vocals) and Mark Walker (drums, percussion).