Caravan – In the Land of Grey and Pink

One of the best known albums to come out of the Canterbury scene, Caravan’s "In the land of grey and pink" is a perfect blend between simple northern-English pop and complex progressive rock.

The album begins with the charming "Golf Girl" which sets the scene for the catchy melodies that will be employed throughout the album. The lyrics are simple but still unusual, with a heavy "British" tone. Richard Sinclair’s clear voice suits this song, as well as Jimmy Hastings’ winds that follow the light tone of the song in a great way.

It is followed by "Winter Time" and "Love to Love you (and tonight pigs will fly)", two tracks that show the obvious Traffic influence in Caravan, with a very progressive keyboards solo in the former. Then comes the title song, with a melody that is extremely similar to "Golf Girl" especially with the beatleish rhythm guitar. The lyrics again show a very joyful imagery.

The next track is the epic "Nine Feet Underground", featuring 23 minutes of strange subtitles (Hold Grandpa by the nose, Nigel blows a tune) and a keyboard style that comes close to what Camel used to do. This piece is considered as one of the best progressive epic songs ever made.

So In the Land of Grey and Pink is a true Canterbury gem that must be present in the collection of anybody who is fond of the old Prog-rock school.

Note : The recent CD reissue contains bonus tracks including alternate versions of "Golf Girl" ("Group Girl") and "Dissociation/100% Proof" (part of "Nine Feet Underground")