Caravan The Decca

CARAVAN were the other half of the WILDE FLOWERS - the SOFT MACHINE being the other - that originated in Canterbury, Kent. The band itself was originally formed in early 1968 by guitarist/vocalist Pye HASTINGS, keyboardist Dave SINCLAIR, bassist/vocalist Richard SINCLAIR (later of HATFIELD & THE NORTH, NATIONAL HEALTH, etc.), and drummer Richard COUGHAN. All four members of CARAVAN were, at one time or another, in that band. They were a leading exponent of what became known as "the Canterbury sound". “In the land of Grey and Pink” is one of Caravan’s finest albums, possibly THE finest. While the centrepiece is the side long “Nine feet underground”, the complete album offers a melodic and coherent 40 minutes. A truly superb album, worthy of any music collection (prog or otherwise!).

Founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan, Caravan rose to success over the years from 1968 into the 70 s. This English band from Canterbury blended Psychedelic Rock with Jazz to create their distinctive sound. Caravan were the first British band to sign for American record label Verve and released their debut album Caravan. After the closure of Verves rock and pop division, Caravan moved to Decca records and released If I Could Do It All Again, I d Do It All Over You in 1970. After the third album release, David Sinclair left the group and was replaced by Steve Miller…

Better by Far is the eighth studio album by Canterbury scene rock band Caravan. Caravan are an English rock band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, and Richard Coughlan in 1968. The band have never achieved the great commercial success that was widely predicted for them at the beginning of their career, but are nevertheless considered a key part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock acts, blending psychedelic rock, jazz, and classical influences to create a distinctive sound.

This three-disc compilation features many of the Mills Brothers' best tracks. Although Golden Greats does not cover the vocal group's whole career, it still competes well with the definitive Mills Brothers: The Anthology (1931-1968) and perhaps represents them better.

This is Canterbury progressive rock music. CARAVAN has definitely his style here. The presence of excellent viola gives personality to this band. There are very good electric and acoustic guitar parts. The ensemble is catchy and rythmic, but rather mellow, and can be entirely listened without any problem. The keyboards can be rythmic melodic and slightly floating; they are rather subtle and refined. The bass is present and quite sophisticated. The lead vocals are absolutely outstanding. The drums patterns are never monotonous. This is not dark or aggressive music. It implies happiness in a peaceful way. ~ greenback

I think this album is better than some of their earlier stuff, I find the early stuff rather boring, this album has some real good rock music in it, the opening track is extremely grand with the piano phrase that re appears along with the finale on Dabsong Conshirtoe which in itself is extremely enjoyable with several different movements and the usual high standard of playing expected from this band…

Three complete sessions for the BBC from 1975,1976 & 1977. Nine tracks, including 'The Show Of Our Lives','Stuck In A Hole', 'Dabsong Conshirto' and 'All The Way'. All three sessions are previously unreleased.