Record Reviews
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  | CARAVAN ~ ALL OVER YOU
TALKING ELEPHANT 090 (Barcode: 5028479009022) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene
Recorded: 1995 - 1996 Released: 2006
It doesn´t happen too often that a band takes a look back at its music recorded over 20 years earlier and decides to re-record it from scratch, as if from another perspective. But than again, CaravanFind albums by this artist, the legendary British Prog / Canterbury pioneering group, is hardly a "usual" band – one can always expect them to come up with the unexpected. This album is exactly that – a new look at the glorious material the band recorded in the 1970s and a new presentation of that material. Of course many fans saw this move as sacrilegious, holding the opinion that this classic Prog material should remain untouched. With all due respect to the fans, it´s really up to the band to decide what they wish to do with it, and honestly, considering how great this new versions are, this bold move truly paid off. Pye HastingsFind albums by this artist, Geoffrey RichardsonFind albums by this artist, Dave SinclairFind albums by this artist, Jimmy HastingsFind albums by this artist and Richard CoughlanFind albums by this artist (the Caravan lineup at the time this album was recorded) did a splendid job and this historic material sounds absolutely fresh and brilliant as it ever did and in some cases even better. Years of experience and evolution surely added layers of sophistication and understanding, which can, and in this case do outshine the youthful enthusiast and spirit of the original recordings. A must for any Canterbury music fan!
| | | CD 1 Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | CARAVAN ~ IT`S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
MADFISH 636551821223 (Barcode: 636551821223) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021
British Canterbury / Progressive Rock heroes CaravanFind albums by this artist are back with a new album, eight years after their last studio recording and well over fifty years since they started their journey in 1968. With vocalist Pye HastingsFind albums by this artist as the only original band member, the lineup includes violist / guitarist Geoffrey RichardsonFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Jan SchelhaasFind albums by this artist and drummer Mark WalkerFind albums by this artist. Two guests support them on this album: bassist Lee PomeroyFind albums by this artist and flautist Jimmy HastingsFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, nine songs and one instrumental, nine of which are written by Pye Hastings and one by Richardson.
Obviously the music does not strike the same ecstatic reaction as that achieved while listening to the early albums by the group, but not because the music is less exciting. Simply we have all moved on and half a Century later we have a different perspective on everything, not only music. To be honest the music is quite faithful to the Canterbury spirit and mood, perhaps somewhat less ambitious but still offering great melody lines and fine instrumental support, and Hasting’s vocals sound fine to me, in contrast to the many critical reviews published about this album.
It is completely naïve, if not simply stupid, to expect anything else from a group in their sixth decade of activity and at least they manage to reproduce the spirit of the early days without being completely derivative or pathetic. This album is a nice piece of music which stirs warm memories without being blindly sentimental. Definitely well done, lads!
Overall, this is a nice effort by Prog veterans Caravan, re-visiting old memories and sentiments, and being completely professional and heartfelt. For Prog / Canterbury fans, who loved that music once, this is pleasant trip down the memory lane. If one does not have false expectations, one does not get disappointed!
| | Updated: 29/03/2024Posted: 29/03/2024 | CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
  | CARAVAN ~ THE SHOW OF OUR LIVES - LIVE AT THE BBC 1968-1975
DERAM 301443 (Barcode: 600753014431) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene
Recorded: 1968 - 1975 Released: 2007
Every piece of archival material by the legendary Canterbury Scene band CaravanFind albums by this artist is worth its weight in gold, and where to look for such material if not in the BBC vaults, which seems to be an endless source of superb material from the 1960s and 1970s material for us, the ever hungry fans. This great collection of Caravan recordings spans the first 8 years of the group’s career and includes material from their most adventurous and productive period. It’s enough to list the musicians, who were members of the band over the years (Dave SinclairFind albums by this artist, Pye HastingsFind albums by this artist, Richard SinclairFind albums by this artist, Richard CoughlanFind albums by this artist, Geoffrey RichardsonFind albums by this artist, Mike WedgwoodFind albums by this artist) is enough to make every Canterbury fan shiver with awe-inspired admiration. The group was truly inspirational, setting the path for generations to come and vastly contributing to the development of jazz influenced Fusion and avant-oriented RIO. The BBC session included here cover the band’s entire first phase, starting from their debut eponymous album on VerveFind albums on this label and covering all the albums they recorded for DeccaFind albums on this label, the last being Cunning StuntsFind albums with this title. The quality of the material is absolutely superb from start to finish both musically and sonically, as the usual high standard of the BBC sound engineering never fails to astonish. This is an absolute must to every Caravan and Canterbury Scene fan, and basically for anybody out there, who likes good music.
| | | CD 2 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
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