Just ordered this from Wayside on the heels of the first track. Really love Pye's vocal delivery... Any fans of this record????
Just ordered this from Wayside on the heels of the first track. Really love Pye's vocal delivery... Any fans of this record????
Great stuff. This one grew on me over the years.Songcraft par excellance.Not my fave Caravan but it's up there, right behind "If I Could Do It All Over Again..".
Last edited by walt; 08-28-2015 at 11:13 AM.
"please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide
Caravan was never a big hit with me --- I like some things but overall a bit too "soft" sounding perhaps. I pull some out occasionally and do enjoy it though.
Definitely in their top 5 albums in my book (along with the debut, If I, G&P, and WL)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Top Caravan Album when Grey and Pink isn't!
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
I rank it #1 of their LPs.
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
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“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
My fave Caravan would be "Live at the Fairfield Halls" but For Girls would be a close second.
This one, Grey and Pink and the s/t debut are my faves. Great stuff, and the one in question here is arguably their most overtly "prog" one overall. And their "hardest", to the extent that this can be applied on Caravan at all.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
The first three are all total classics to me. This is the best of the rest and is pretty much equal to those early albums IMHO. The sound has a harder edge, with guitar more to the fore. Much of the album remained in their set-lists decades later...the albums either side of it (Waterloo Lily and Cunning Stunts) haven't fared so well in that respect.
To me it's more of a songwriting album, and a real triumph for Pye Hastings in that regard-- Man, the guy could swing a melody. "Chance of a Lifetime" would do McCartney proud, and I mean that as a high compliment. Great vocals also-- Too bad this was John Perry's only album, his deeper voice worked great as a counterpoint to Pye's.
Then of course you get the ten-minute prog instrumental as a capper. Love this album.
First progressive rock album I bought and still think their best. New Symphonia comes a close second.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
Not a huge Caravan fan, though Golf Girl is one of my fave songs of all time and I love Grey & Pink...the rest of their albums have never done much for me
Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/
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You HAVE heard Perry's 1976 solo album, right? Sunset Wading? It's simply stunningly beautiful, and although his voice is used at a mimimum it leaves a profound mark on the end result - man, that's one FAT timbre! He was excellent as backing vox with Quantum Jump as well, always instantly recognizable.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Once upon a time (late eighties, very early nineties, perhaps) there was a weekly radio show dedicated to progressive music here in my city in Brazil. It was an one-hour program in which the DJ would pick up a band and play selections from various albums. I used to record most if not all radio shows on tape. I remember this program with Caravan, in which I listened to Nine Feet Underground for the very first time. Other highlights for me were "As I feel I die", from their second album, and a song that only much time later I would find out which album it would come from (pre-internet days, remember?). This song happened to be "Be Alright/Chance of a Lifetime", from "For Girls...". In fact, I had completelly forgotten about this track when I finally bought this album like ten years ago and was delighted to discover it again. That said, "For Girls..." is definitely one of my favorite Caravan albums.
Fourth behind Fairfield, Grey and Pink, and If I Could
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
God, I love this album!
Sleeping at home is killing the hotel business!
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Great record.
I like a couple of these songs even better on the Live at Fairfield Hall record that came out in 2002ish.
One of my top 3 Caravans, along with Waterloo Lily and Grey & Pink.
It was my first taste of Caravan, and still one of my faves. I love Pye’s voice and thought that John G. Perry complemented him well. Love Geoff’s viola, which is all over the record and became Caravan’s calling-card ever since. “A Hunting We Shall Go” (complete with orchestrated Soft Machine theme in the middle) is an epic for all time.
And allow me to add a second recommendation for Perry’s solo disc, Sunset Wading. Also listen to the two Aviator discs, featuring Perry on bass/vocals, Mick Rogers (ex-Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) on guitar/vocals, Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull) on drums and, on the first, Jack Lancaster (Blodwyn Pig) on woodwinds/Lyricon. Perry played a custom Wal bass, which contributed to his distinctive tone.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
Have to go against the grain and say while I think the album is a fair one, its a real notch down from the first three, the viola is a poor fit and John Perry's voice grates on my ears. Caravan started to sound, if its not a wierd thing to say, a bit too professional on this album, a bit too corporate and it doesnt suit them IMO.
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