jackhammer

Nice review of the PT album. I must admit I have never paid a huge amount of attention to the lyrics. This is one of my major faults with most bands.

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Ghostrider

Another good review Boo Boo, I have all of their studio work but haven't had the time to listen to them yet. When I do I'll start with this album, hopefully I'll get some more free time during the winter I've got a bookcase full of new music to go through.

ProggyMan

Count yourself lucky, they're horrendous.

FireInCairo

I feel I have a beef to pick with classic prog.
Surely, the music is no longer progressive when bands release similar albums over and over again.
Great technique and high concepts, doesn't mean the musics progressive.
But then again, it probably more a tag for the style rather than the nature....oh well

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Astronomer

This thread is awesome, I loved your Porcupine Tree review - it's one of my favourite albums; I too love how it's both dark and beautiful. Look forward to more posts and can't wait to see what albums will be next

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jackhammer

Howsabout some Prog Metal-Dark Suns etc More reviews you lazy sod

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Guybrush

I'm bumping this thread because, although this is my first post in it, I carefully read through every review quite some time ago and I think they're great! It was one of the first threads I read after I joined up. I especially like your review of Genesis' selling England album ..

But there's plenty more prog out there, so what's keeping you?

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FreddeGredde

Exactly, I want more! ^^

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Watch my "32 songs in 8 minutes" acoustic medley here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm9L60YBj3s&fmt=18

boo boo

So I'm gonna kick this back into gear.



For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night - Caravan - 1973

Personell:
Pye Hastings - Lead vocals, Guitar.
Geoff Richardson - Viola.
David Sinclair - Organ, Piano, Synthesizers.
John G. Perry - Bass, Backing vocals.
Richard Coughlan - Drums, Percussion.

Guest musicians:
Rupert Hine – A.R.P. synthesizer. (1, 2 & 6)
Frank Ricotti – Congas. (2, 3, 5, 7)
Jimmy Hastings – Western concert flute, Flute. (1)
Paul Buckmaster – Electric cello. (7)
Tony Coe – Clarinet, Tenor sax. (1)
Pete King – Flute, Alto sax. (1)
Harry Klein – Clarinet, Baritone sax. (1)
Henry Lowther – Trumpet. (1)
Jill Pryor – Voice. (5)
Chris Pyne – Trombone. (1)
Barry Robinson – Piccolo. (1)
Tom Whittle – Clarinet, Tenor sax. (1)
Martyn Ford - Orchestration. (8)

For those of you who loved In the Land of Grey and Pink and have yet to hear this album, this is an entirely different beast. Before this album was made, the group's original bassist Richard Sinclair left to form Hatfield and the North, John G. Perry was his replacement for the time being. Sinclair's absence and the addition of a viola player allowed for the band to evolve into a very different direction.

Hammond organ no longer dominates the music and Hastings is using more electric guitar than acoustic, and he doesn't hold back on this one, his rootsy guitar style combined with Richardson's fiddle playing gives the album a very country flavor. This is more keen to southern rock and Wishbone Ash than the jolly whimiscal folk of Grey and Pink.

This is still very much a prog album of course, in it's structure, freeform jams, time signatures and lengthy solos. This is basically what The Allman Brothers would sound like if they went prog.

One thing that has remained intact is Hastings quirky sense of humor. The lyrics are, well, lets say they're not very politically correct.

Memory Lain, Hugh: First track starts off with a rather bluesy riff (actually a lot of the songs here do) but don't expect anything too predictable here, what starts out sounding like a southern rocker quickly evolves into a proggy jam, complete with a brass section, just when thinks seem to be gettng rowdy, you're caught off gaurd with a rather sooting flute solo, which then builds up to a pretty satisfying climax. A fantastic opener.

Headloss: In some versions this is melded together with the frst track, but either way it's still it's own song. This is more of a straightforward rock song with a very poppy melody, it kinda reminds me of the Partrich Family theme, lol. It's a rather lubby dubby song, and yes, it's about pot.

Hoedown: This one has a very southern rock feel to it and I mean that in a good way, it's a fast paced little rocker, with a mean fiddle solo. A short straightforward song and not really "prog" but it's one of the best songs on the album.

Surprise, Surpise: Opens up beautifully with just vocals, guitar and viola, then the drums, bass and organ kicks in. I always love those kinda build ups in songs. A very mellow rock song, I really dig Hastings as a vocalist, I love the bass in this song, and another great viola solo.

C'thlu Thlu: NOW things are getting proggy. It starts with a slow repetitive instrumental build up, then the vocals and psychedelic synthesizers come it, it builds up into a hard rocker with a soft/hard verse/chorus dynamic, and finishes off with a psychedelic jam with hard driving guitar riffs and fiddle and hammond organ solos. A great kick off into the proggier second half of the album.

The Dog, The Dog, He's at It Again: Possibly the best song on the album, gorgeous melody, great chorus, awesome synthesizer solo. Though you should probably know that this song is about blowjobs.

Yeah, prog bands can write songs about sex too, take that AC/DC fans.

Be Alright/Chance of a Lifetime: Starts out as a fast paced rocker, but this one has a proggy twist. The Chance of a Lifetime segment brings things to a halt, a mellow bossanova rhythm with some great vocals and jazzy instrumentals. Another high point.

L'Auberge Du Sanglier - A Hunting We Shall Go - Pengola - Backwards - A
Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise): As you can tell by the title this is basically a medley. It starts out with some beautiful accoustic guitar and viola. Then the drums come in and kicks things off into an intense jam that lasts for 3 minutes or so. The next segment starts with some quiet piano, later joined by the rest of the band and a symphony orchestra (the idea of a prog band using orchestration may seem bloated but it's very wonderfully done here), ending the album on a beautifully pompous note, fantastic.

This is a must have album for canterbury fans. Caravan had a gift for combining folk, pop, psychedelic and jazz influences in a very unique and satisfying way.

They had one more good album after this, but it's been very downhill from there. This was their last great album and it adds something quite different to the bands catalog than their previous efforts.

This is a great mellow album to listen to in your backyard on a quiet night and just get completely lost in, also makes great background music for a barbeque. A classic.

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Bulldog

I think Caravan are one of a select few prog bands on my to try-out-sometime-preferably-soonish list, as I've heard one of their songs somewhere and remember quite digging it (can't remember which one though). Cracking write-up