THE SHOW OF OUR LIVES: CARAVAN AT THE BBC 1968-1975

The amazing thing about Caravan is just how much they recorded for the BBC, whether in radio sessions or live concerts, but even more amazing is that they keep on belting a few sessions every now and then. Released in 2007, TSOOL is yet another one of those release, a double disc affair for that matter, and still no overlapping from sessions and no sessions with doubtful (even if admitted and revealed) origins, such as the Green Bottles For Marjorie release. But if there are no repetition of sessions, I wouldn't exactly say that these recordings are absolutely essential if you already own one or two live records from the For Girls/Stunts era or own the other sessions from the original four.

I'm not going to go through all of the tracks, but it's quite pleasant to hear three from their debut album, including a rare Wilde Flowers/Soft Machine stunning tidbits Feelin, Squeezin' from a 71 session. Other rarities are the rarely heard Love To Love You, a vastly different Love Song With A Flute (Sinclair on electric piano) and an unfortunately abridged Grey & Pink track and 9 Ft Underground. The only thing not right about this first CD is the inclusion of a For Girls session. Why didn't they wait for the second dic as there was enough space.

That very second disc offering us a bunch of Richardson-era sessions, but not past the Stunts album. Of interest is the Love In Your Eyes with violin and the two new for the New Symphonia gig tracks as well as a For Richard, but most of these can be heard on the Fairfield Hall concert. Hell we even hear Pye answering Geoffrey's great violin runs in For Richard. One of the best versions of Dabsong Conshirtoe is also present on this disc.

Surprisingly, these BBC sessions are issued by Decca label instead of the HUX label, which has been handling BBC stuff for the last years. Anyway, those of you reading me for years now know I have a soft spot for Caravan, but this doesn't mean a fanboy and that I'm buying everything from them; quite on the contrary, I tend to be even more difficult with my fave artistes. So when I saw this, I hesitated less than 10 seconds, told myself, WTF and took it home, knowing I'll only have limited mileage on it. While I wouldn't call this essential at all for general progheads, if you're a Caravan fan, this is an absolute must for all of the great surprises.

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