With their third studio album, In The Land Of Grey And Pink, Caravan bid a final farewell to the hazy psychedelic moods of their first albums. There is also less jazz/jazz-rock spirit than before. With Grey And Pink, the band headed more towards symphonic prog and even pop. It was not only a conscious change of direction, but also because guitarist/vocalist Pye Hastings’ pockets as a songwriter were empty at the time. Whereas he had been responsible for most of the songs on the first two albums, In The Land Of Grey And Pink was dominated by bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair and his cousin keyboardist Dave Sinclair.
Producer David Hitchcock also brought a whole new polish to the sound. The more refined sound is probably also explained by the fact that the album was one of the first productions at George Martin’s newly established Air studio, which at the time was one of the top London studios. On the other hand, it must be said that something charming was also lost with the new more streamlined sound and style. There was something about the slightly fuzzy and buzzing sound of the first albums that seemed to fit particularly well with Caravan’s homespun and gentle style.
The album opens with Richard Sinclair’s charming pop track ”Golf Girl”, which sings about the rain of golf balls and dreams of a kiss with a girl serving tea (the waitress was Sinclair’s future wife). The song has a fun thumping bass sound and the buzzing trombone also adds a unique twist to the song. ”Golf Girl” was the most poppy music Caravan had released at this point. However, single chart compilers were not bothered by the song.
”Winter Wine”, which follows the golf romance, is a particularly great song (maybe even the best of Caravan?) and its pastoralism reminds me of Genesis at its best, even if it approaches it from a slightly different angle. The song is a wonderful combination of pomposity and the typical Canterbury warmth. In a way, Caravan moved here more into symphonic prog territory than usual, but does it in a very original way. Richard Sinclair’s wistful vocal performance is stunning. The vocal side of the album has taken a big step in the right direction. On the one hand, because Sinclair has developed enormously as a singer, but on the other hand also because Pye Hastings’ reedy voice is given less space than before.
Pye Hastings’ only composition on the album ”Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly” is the album’s most insignificant offering, but it’s not really bad either, just a charming pop romp in 7/4 time that remains a bit monotonous.
The five-minute title track that follows is also a catchy pop song, but it’s a much more interesting and varied piece of music. In fact, there’s something very Beatles-esque about the song and it’s easy to imagine that the Liverpool four-piece might have done something like this in 1971 if they had continued straight ahead along the path laid down by Sgt. Pepper.
The album ends with the eight-part ”Nine Feet Under”, which is almost 23 minutes long. The song is almost entirely the work of keyboardist Dave Sinclair, which is easy to believe when listening to it. It’s full of great organ solos and is overall a very keyboard driven song. ”Nine Feet Under” is mostly instrumental, but it is nicely spiced up with some melancholic and downright bittersweet vocals. The music rolls along very nicely for the most part and features some of the best instrumental work of Sinclair’s career, but on the other hand the piece feels a little under-composed. The band sometimes linger on the tasty groove for too long and there seems to be a bit too much repetition. ”Nine Feet Under” is great as it is, but one can’t help thinking that it could have been much better, either a few minutes shorter or with a more complex rhythmic and harmonic development.
In The Land Of Grey And Pink is a charming package, easily weathering its few weaker moments.There is something very inviting about the album’s friendly and warm feel, and the music is very easy to listen to. There are moments when you miss the rougher edge of the previous albums, but overall In The Land Of Grey And Pink is probably Caravan’s strongest album.
The album is crowned by a stunning painting in shades of pink and grey by Anne-Marie Anderson, a remotely Tolkien-esque painting whose fantasy landscape feels just as inviting as Caravan’s music. Rarely do cover art and music come together as seamlessly as on this album.
In The Land Of Grey And Pink received good reviews when it was released, but still didn’t make the album charts like its predecessors. Even so, the album eventually became by far the band’s most successful album. The slow pace of its success, however, is illustrated by the fact that it took over 20 years for the album to sell enough copies to qualify for a silver disc in the UK.
The album was the last to feature the band’s original line-up. After the album, Dave Sinclair, fed up with the Caravan experience, left the band because he wanted to play with other musicians from time to time. Sinclair soon ended up playing in Robert Wyatt’s new band Matching Mole. Caravan found a replacement for Sinclair in jazz-rock band Delivery and the band continued on to new adventures with keyboardist Steve Miller.
Best tracks: ”Golf Girl”, ”Winter Wine”, ”In The Land Of Grey And Pink” ja ”Nine Feet Under”
Rating: ****½
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Year by Year : Best Albums of 2023
Caravan:
Richard Sinclair: bass, acoustic guitar, vocals Pye Hastings: electric guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals Dave Sinclair: organ, piano, Mellotron, backing vocals Richard Coughlan: drums, percussion
Vierailijat:
Jimmy Hastings: flute, tenor saxophone, piccolo Dave Grinsted: cannon, bell and wind John Beecham: trombone
Producer: David Hitchcock
Label: Deram
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