Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971)

Dan:

Caravan was a prototypical prog band from Canterbury, UK. They helped to define the genre in its earliest incarnations. All of my knowledge of Caravan comes from Steve, who has diligently investigated prog bands for decades. The lineage from Caravan to Camel is a connection I was unaware of until he traced it back from my copy of Camel's Breathless (1978).

Caravan's eponymous first album was released in 1969 and offered a thoughtful and clever alternative to the heavier prog bands of the time. Their next four albums took the promising beginning to more imaginative extremes, refining vocal and instrumental prowess despite frequent lineup changes. In the Land of Grey and Pink followed If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You, and stands as one of their greatest achievements on record. 

Side 1 opens with a light-hearted tale of infatuation with a "Golf Girl," followed by "Winter Wine," "Love to Love You," and the title track. All of these songs are delightful fantasies and recollections. 

Side 2 is a suite of ten songs comprising "Nine Feet Underground." It consumes 22:40 minutes and is classic prog at its best. Heard in one sitting, it touches all of the bases: excellent compositions, outstanding playing, coherence, and overall balance. Vocal duties are shared by Pye Hastings and Richard Sinclair. I especially like Sinclair's singing on "Dissociation" toward the end of the suite, which creates a nostalgic and wistful vibe:

And sometimes I think of wine

Songs and laughter flowing free

People talking all the time

And it brings it all back to me

Will the day be warm

And bright, or will it snow?

There are people waiting

Now who really have to know

For me, discovering In the Land of Land of Grey and Pink clarified a lot of prog's later developments. Caravan was a key band whose albums offer up much enjoyment 50 years after their first release. 

Steve:

As mentioned in our post for Soft Machine's Fourth, I bought In the Land of Grey and Pink on the same day as that album, and both albums were my first Canterbury prog albums. However, I do have an earlier memory of Grey and Pink. Dan and I would often shop at Yardbird Records in Coconut Grove (a section of Miami) and I specifically recall this album playing in the store long before I bought the album. It garnered my attention because of Richard Sinclair's singing, which is hard to miss - his presence on Camel's Breathless and Rain Dances is a defining characteristic of those two albums.  

During my junior year of college, the school year after I had bought this album and a few other Canterbury prog albums, my roommate (not much of a music fan, but he tolerated me well) heard this album so much he could sing along with "Golf Girl". I could tell that he was quite amused by the whimsical, goofy lyrics, sing-songy melody, and the innocent charm of Sinclair's voice. Meanwhile, my prog friend Rob (mentioned elsewhere in this blog) and I dug deeper into the more expansive thematic explorations of "Winter Wine" and "Nine Feet Underground". This album has a little something for everyone. "Love to Love You (and Tonight Pigs Will Fly)", sung by guitarist Pye Hastings, even sounds like a potential radio hit.

In the Land of Grey and Pink has rightfully earned the almost unanimous respect of the prog rock fanbase - I've never heard a negative word about it. I would even suggest it as a starting point for curious rock fans as to what this progressive rock thing is all about. Caravan are a very easy band to love.