FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT

A number of lineup changes following Waterloo Lily would see Caravan's musical style changing direction. This time around, they're trying to fuse their whimsical Canterbury sound with a more mainstream-friendly musical approach, a project which after several albums would result in the band's prog audience drifting away and no mainstream audience drifting in to replace them. Here, however, the compromise between the conventional and the experimental is perfectly judged. The closing epic deserves particular props for combining a sweeping Hollywood orchestral buildup with, at the climax, a frenzied rendition of Backwards (a Mike Ratledge composition originally performed by Soft Machine). I wouldn't put this alongside the likes of If I Could Do It All Over Again or Land of Grey and Pink, which are the absolute cream of the Caravan crop, but it's certainly one of the better second-tier Caravan albums.