Caravan - 1974-11-10 - Record Plant, Sausalito, CA

Caravan
1974-11-10
Record Plant, Sausalito, CA
FM broadcast recording, excellent qualty
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Staying with progressive rock bands associated with the Canterbury Scene, here is Caravan, a band that featured a wonderful mix of rock, jazz, and folk, and deserved much more success and acclaim than they received. Caravan was formed in 1968 from the remnants of an earlier band, Wilde Flowers, after Robert Wyatt and Hugh Hopper had left to join The Soft Machine. The original lineup consisted of cousins David and Richard Sinclair (keyboards and bass/vocals, respectively), Pye Hastings (guitars/vocals), and Richard Coghlan (drums). In their first album, Caravan (1969), they were still finding their identity within the emerging progressive rock scene, but by their second album (and first on the Decca label), If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (1970), they had settled into their signature sound and style, an intriguing mix of pop, gentle English folk, rock jams, jazz explorations, and eccentric and humorous tales. Their next album, In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971) became their most critically acclaimed, but struggled to find an audience. Frustrated by their lack of success, Dave Sinclair left the band to join Robert Wyatt in his new band, Matching Mole. Caravan added new keyboardist Steve Miller for their next album, Waterloo Lily (1972), which took them in a bluesier direction. But Miller's more straight jazz/blues style clashed with the rest of the band, and he was soon out. By 1973, Dave Sinclair returned to the band (Matching Mole didn't last long, followed by a short stint with Hatfield and The North), which had now also added Geoffrey Richardson on viola and flute (but Richard Sinclair was now gone, joining Hatfield and The North) for their next album, For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973), which was another highlight for the band, followed by a Live album with orchestra, Caravan and the New Symphonia (1974). Although gaining a dedicated following, the band could never quite break through to popular success. In 1974, and their first U.S. tour (now with Mike Wedgewood on bass), they attempted to make it in America, and following a successful tour, their next album Cunning Stunts (1975) did finally crack the charts in both the UK and U.S., but just barely. Sinclair left after that, and subsequent more mainstream albums Blind Dog at St Dunstans (1976) and Better By Far (1977) failed to expand their fanbase, resulting in the band calling it quits after that. An eighties revival of the band resulted in a couple of subsequent albums, but could not match the earlier band's ouput. But as seems to be the pattern, the original lineup reunited for an event in 1990, which re-ignited interest, and resulted in re-forming and touring shortly after, and various forms of the band has continued to play right up to the present.
Here we have the band in their first U.S. Tour in 1974, in an excellent radio broadcast recording featuring the band plying songs primarily from their excellent For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night Album, along with some earlier favorites. A fine show from a wonderful band that never quite got their due.     

Tracklist:
1. Announcement by radio dj
2. Memory Lain, Hugh
3. Headloss
4. For Richard
5. Band introduction / Virgin On The Ridiculous
6. Be All Right
7. Chance Of A Lifetime
8. The Love In Your Eye

Total time 1:05:40

Pye Hastings - Guitar & Vocal
Geoffrey Richardson - Viola, Guitar, Flute
Dave Sinclair - Keyboards
Mike Wedgwood - Bass & Vocal
Richard Coghlan - Drums

FLAC - Caravan_1974-11-10_Record Plant_FLAC.rar
links updated 08/25/21
mp3 - Caravan_1974-11-10_Record Plant_mp3.rar