Caravan-For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night

[florentine pogen]

Where would you rank this album in their ouvre. I love Caravan, and consider, "If I Could", and "Grey and Pink", to be their masterpieces. However, as much as I try, I can't seem to get into, "For Girls". It seems rather pedestrian to my ears with a meat and potatoes/countrified sound. The orchestral bits don't add much either. The only song that saves it from being a total loss for me is, "The Dog, The Dog, He's at it Again", which has the cheeky lyrics, and musically produces some beautiful sonorities.

[mogrooves]

Of the classic first five I rank it #1. The earlier albums are very much of their time, and are good, but Girls has aged much better for me; I dig Richardson and Perry, and the songs are strong and well-played.

[martiprog]

^

Terrific Album, second only to Grey & Pink for me.

[JKL2000]

^

Terrific Album, second only to Grey & Pink for me.

^ This.

[walt]

This one has grown on me over the years.I place it second on my list of early Caravan faves, just after "If I Could Do It All Over Again......"

[Trane]

3rd/4th

behind:
ITLOG&P, If I Could, and tied with their début

but in front of WL and all the rest of their albums

[Brian Griffin]

Cunning Stunts is their most under rated, IMO

BG

[arturs]

I love For Girls... but a part of that might be b/c it was my first Caravan LP. I bought it for $3 from a flea market vendor circa 1980 never having heard of the band before. I just thought, based on looks of the band in the inner gatefold, that it *had* to be a prog record. And damn I was right. I remember thinking "Holy shit I've just found another band as good as Yes!". I even took it to my 9th grade music class and the teacher really liked it too.

[Mister Triscuits]

Cunning Stunts is their most under rated, IMO

The long piece is great, but I think some of the material on side one is pretty dodgy.

To me Waterloo Lily is the most underrated. Most fans don't seem to like the detour into jazzier realms, but it may be my favorite. Love Grey and Pink , Girls and New Symphonia too, and I would place If I Could... just a hair below those.

[bRETT]

Interesting how different members of Caravan take the lead on different albums, with For Girls being mostly Hastings and Cunning Stunts mostly D. SInclair, then Hastings again on Blind Dog.

I thought Hastings was an amazingly good pop songwriter during this stretch..."Chance of a Lifetime," "No Backstage Pass" "Here Am I" and "Memory Lain Hugh" are just sublime melodic stuff. ANd the beauty of Caravan was that you had eclectic arrangements matched to tunes that good.

[Scrotum Scissor]

In the end I'll probably keep ItLoG&P as my *one* Caravan album, but this has threatened it on more than a single occasion. I enjoy the more guitar-based sound, and as for the meat'n'potatoes bit I think Caravan was the most rock'n'rollish of the Canterbury bands and thus show their face as true here as on earlier efforts.

[mx20]

Mine:

Grey & Pink / Waterloo Lily (tied for #1)

Debut album #2

Most everything else (including this one!) (tied for #3)

[chalkpie]

I like this one, sometimes a lot, but there is no way it is Top 20 Canterbury for me. "Grey/Pink" and "...All over you" are definitely top 20 without blinking. Quite honestly I miss Sinclair's vocals here, not that I don't enjoy Pye's, but the mix on lead was the best combination to my ears. But since Sinclair was with Hatfield, you will hear NO complaining from me

[JKL2000]

Caravan is another band where I started with the wrong album (though it isn't SO bad): Blind Dog at St. Dunstan's. Found a used vinyl copy. But then I got that 2CD compilation, which was a pretty good real intro.

[zombywoof]

Of the ones I own:

If I Could Do It ... (Amazing)
Grey and Pink (Amazing)
Waterloo Lily (Decent)
For Girls (So-so)

I jumped ship after this one. It's really most of a good album; the opening and closing tracks are great, plus Cthulhu Thulu and The Dog, The Dog are really good, but nothing from this album appeals to me on the level of If I Could Do It and Grey and Pink.

[flatliner]

Just listened to this a few days ago for the first time in quite a while. Love this album! To me, it's right behind Cunning Stunts. Both are classics IMO.

[mogrooves]

Love this album! To me, it's right behind Cunning Stunts.

CS is why I booked on these guys; will have to revisit it.

[miamiscot]

I got it ranked #3 (and you can guess which two I have ranked higher - Grey And Pink and If I Could...)

[yesstiles]

Maybe #1 for me. I love it.

Pink and Lily are right up there too.

[Smörgåsbord]

I easily rank s/t #2. Their most psyched release and good at that.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I easily rank s/t #2.

Very underrated, I concur. "Place of My Own", "Love Song With Flute", "Cecil Runs", "Magic Man" and "Where But for Caravan" are astoundingly fine tunes - some of the most beautiful tracks they recorded altogether, IMO. Both the Softs and Caravan had debuts that have been somewhat downplayed in the bigger scheme of things, unfairly so. Dave Sinclair and R. Coughlan are the shining stars of the debut, as I see it.

[happytheman]

Count me in with the folks who love this release..

[JeffCarney]

Very underrated, I concur. "Place of My Own", "Love Song With Flute", "Cecil Runs", "Magic Man" and "Where But for Caravan" are astoundingly fine tunes - some of the most beautiful tracks they recorded altogether, IMO. Both the Softs and Caravan had debuts that have been somewhat downplayed in the bigger scheme of things, unfairly so. Dave Sinclair and R. Coughlan are the shining stars of the debut, as I see it.

Pye Hastings evades your debut "star" list?

[flowerking]

My favorite. Its got a wider range of song styles and rocks out more than their other classic albums. I love Grey and Pink but I find 9 Feet Underground to be a bit overrated (too long for what its trying to do) and I love Waterloo Lily but it doesn't live up to this one.

[Facelift]

Where would you rank this album in their ouvre. I love Caravan, and consider, "If I Could", and "Grey and Pink", to be their masterpieces. However, as much as I try, I can't seem to get into, "For Girls". It seems rather pedestrian to my ears with a meat and potatoes/countrified sound. The orchestral bits don't add much either. The only song that saves it from being a total loss for me is, "The Dog, The Dog, He's at it Again", which has the cheeky lyrics, and musically produces some beautiful sonorities.

Before you write it off, check out the live album Fairfield Halls, which has a lot of Plump material on it. Those versions are somewhat more energetic and less studio-scrubbed.