Caravan: In the Land of Grey & Pink (2LP, special edition) [KLIMT]

Why you'll love it

This special edition 2LP set adds a full disc of outtakes from the original AIR and Decca sessions, in a gatefold jacket. Critics often point newcomers to the album as the best way into the Canterbury scene, and it has stayed in print and sold steadily for decades.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Bonus disc of session outtakes
• Gatefold jacket

About the album

After producing themselves on the previous album, Caravan brought in David Hitchcock, a Decca art-department man turned producer who had helped get them signed. Recording began at Decca Studios in West Hampstead in September 1970, and Hitchcock's enthusiasm helped them find the warm, whimsical sound the Canterbury scene is known for. Pye Hastings, the main writer on the first two albums, stepped back and let the others' backlog of songs come through.

Bassist Richard Sinclair stepped forward as a writer and singer with "Golf Girl," "Winter Wine" and the title track, while Pye Hastings contributed "Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)." Dave Sinclair's keyboard solos run through everything, and side two is given over to "Nine Feet Underground," a suite that shows the original line-up at full stretch. The Tolkien-style painting on the cover suits it perfectly.

Several of these songs have never left Caravan's live set, and the band still look back on the record fondly. In most genres a 22-minute song is a big ask; in Canterbury it's practically a single.

Also at Kops: more Caravan on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Klimt (cat# MJJ352), a reissue of the 1971 album.