IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK

Let's go to Canterbury and check out the scene! Caravan is one of the primary examples of the Canterbury prog style. I am quite familiar with the title track, but not much else, so I'll say I'm a level one here.

Track 1 - Golf Girl

We begin with a trombone solo (I know right!?!) The band is playing a bouncy rhythm underneath as the vocals join in. Richard Sinclair's vocals are very British indeed. I like the whimsical instrumental but that follows. The trombone joins back in. As far as I can recall, this is the first song to feature trombone out of 65 albums I have listened to thus far. The beat is fun and remains bouncy as now we have a flute solo. The trombone is by John Beecham, and the flute is by Jimmy Hastings, who will apparently provide more woodwinds as we proceed. Fun track, I like it.

Track 2 - Winter Wine

We begin with clean strummed electric guitar and Richard Sinclair again on vocals. It begins with a ballady feel, but the rhythm section kicks in and the tempo increases. There is a nice dynamic shift at around the 3-minute mark. There is what I believe to be a keyboard solo at around the 4-minute mark, but it has a tone that could be a fuzz guitar to it. Cool panned wah-wah effect just before the 5-minute point. The rhythm section is very tight behind this extended solo. The vocals return around 5:55 and there are great harmonies at around 6:20. Great track.

Track 3 - Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)

This one begins with a Hang on Sloopy type of riff and "more cowbell," but in a 7-4 time. Love the guitar tones at around 55 seconds in provided by Pye Hastings who is also the lead vocalist on this one. This is a very cool track, it sounds happy and poppy, but that 7-4 puts a twist on it. Excellent!

Track 4 - In the Land of Grey & Pink

As mentioned, I know this one quite well. Back to Richard Sinclair's vocals here. The beat is similar to Golf Girl. The lyrics are very trippy. We have a piano solo just before the 2-minute mark. The keyboard tone used in Winter wine is back here. (David Sinclair is the keyboardist but would leave for about a decade following this album.) There are some funny vocal parts that sound like they have puckered lips and are wiggling their fingers in a way that moves the lips while holding a note. Don't know how else to describe it, but I think we all played with that sound as kids. Fun song.

Track 5 - Nine Feet Underground (Medley)

And we have a sidelong closing epic of nearly 23 minutes to close out the album. There are several sections as listed below (cut & pasted from Wikipedia):

"Nine Feet Underground"

a. "Nigel Blows a Tune"

b. "Love's a Friend"

c. "Make It 76"

d. "Dance of the Seven Paper Hankies"

e. "Hold Grandad by the Nose"

f. "Honest I Did!"

g. "Disassociation"

h. "100% Proof"

Part b is sung by Pye Hastings, while part g is sung by Richard Sinclair. The rest are instrumental segments. According to my minor research, this track came about because David Sinclair had several instrumental ideas that he wanted to pull them together into a medley. The band liked the idea, and all contributed in bringing it together.

The track begins with "fuzz organ" with the rhythm section underneath. This is the tone I've been hearing on previous tracks. The organ is joined by guitar briefly, before the sax takes over, played by the previously mentioned Jimmy Hastings (Pye's Brother). David Sinclair has a truly unique sound as he uses wah-wah and fuzz effects on his organ. I believe we are transitioning to part b at around 5:55. Yep, vocals join in around 6:15. Richard Coughlan has some nice drum fills on this one. More organ soloing as we reach the 8-minute mark. I like the backing vocals at around 8:45, they add a nice touch. We transition to part c I believe at around 9 minutes in. David Sinclair is a good soloist, but I'd like to hear more from Pye Hastings. The next transition to part d seems to happen at around 10:45. This section is more mellow. Next change occurs at around 11:55 as the rhythm changes to presumably part e. Richard Sinclair is playing a wonderful bassline here. The next transition happens at 14:10 to what I believe is part f, if I'm keeping count correctly. A slower, but steady, tempo happens here. Things change again at 16:10 to part g and the vocals begin, so I must be on track. This part gives Moody Blues vibes. Things get rocking at around 19:30 for section h. This one reminds me of Rare Earth's version of "Get Ready." Richard Sinclair is quite a bassist, he seems a bit unsung as prog is known for having some of the greatest bassists of all time, and Richard Coughlin holds down the groove nicely. The track ends with a bit of a crash of cacophony.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

This is a very enjoyable album. It's very fun and whimsical for much of it. The songs on side one are each quite good. The epic on side two is also good but feels more like an extended jam session for much of it. I believe that is due to how it was pieced together. As mentioned above, there doesn't seem to be much of an opportunity for Pye Hastings to be featured on guitar, as most, if not all, of the solos are played by David Sinclair on the organ. I like it quite a bit, but I don't think it reaches the heights of some of the other albums on the list. I'll give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

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