Caravan - "Caravan"

Caravan
"Caravan"
Verve Records
Released 1968
****

Caravan was never more than a cult act, but it was also one of the founders of the progressive rock movement in England. It's 1968 debut sits along side Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and the Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed" as one of the first albums of the oft-maligned genre.

But Caravan doesn't fit into the pretentious virtuoso school of prog-rock. Caravan evolved, along with the more acclaimed Soft Machine, from the Canterbury r&b band Wilde Flowers, combining child-like psychedelia with restrained jazz rock. Their jazzy style would eventually define "the Canterbury sound" to prog fans.

Imagine if Syd Barrett fronted Traffic, and you've got a general idea of what Caravan's debut sounds like. Keyboardist David Sinclair drives the band musically, his burbling organ creating dreamlike soundscapes on the beautiful "Magic Man" and forcefully leading the instrumental attack on the psychedelic "Grandma's Lawn."

For most of the album, the songs are tight with little room for Sinclair and guitarist Pye Hastings to stretch out. But they more than make up for their restraint on the album closing "Where but for Caravan Would I?", a 10-minute epic that builds to a powerful instrumental climax before abruptly shifting to the restrained, surreal vocals of Richard Sinclair.

Caravan would later get more whimsical lyrically and more improvisational instrumentally, but on its debut the group shows that great prog rock isn't always dependent on virtuoso solos or pretentious symphonic arrangements.

Note on the album's CD reissue: The disc includes both mono and stereo mixes of the album. The mono mixes are far superior - the vocals are bright and up front, while the stereo mix seems to cloud everything in an aural haze. An added bonus is the non-LP single, "Hello Hello."

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