In the Land of Grey and Pink

Product Details

Artist : Caravan
Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0042288298328
Label : Decca - Pop
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 2001-02-26
Running Time : 75minutes
UPC : 042288298328

ASIN : B00005A0V0

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Golf Girl
2. Winter Wine
3. Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)
4. In The Land Of Grey & Pink
5. In The Land Of Grey And Pink
6. I Don't Know It's Name (Alias The Word)
7. Aristocracy
8. Winter Wine
9. Group Girl
10. Disassociation / 100% Proof

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Canterbury, late 1960s: Heaven knows what used to come out of the taps around there but rest assured, bands like Soft Machine and Caravan seemed to be sharing a cuppa or two from the same magic tea-pot. 1971's In The Land Of Grey and Pink is, by common consensus, the high-water mark of Caravan's career--it's Pye Hastings and co's most perfectly brewed infusion of mellifluous folksiness, jazz-inflected prog-rock and hippy pixilation (yeah, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are fans).

Even if David Sinclair (organ, mellotron, piano) and Jimmy Hastings (flute, piccolo, sax) often strayed from the public footpath for a happy ramble in an extempore field of their own, the results (the 22-minute long "Nine Feet Underground" for example) somehow steered clear of any sticky ditches. And the succinct "Love to Love You" is a tuneful Brit-pop tonic 25 years ahead of its time. For Caravan connoisseurs, special bonus tracks include an instrumental version of "Winter Wine", an early recording of "Aristocracy" (subsequently reworked for the Waterloo Lily album), an alternative take of "Golf Girl" (with different lyrics) and "The Word", a track intended for but omitted from the original 1971 vinyl album. --Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews

Definitely in the pink (2008-06-29)

With 17 of the 21 previous reviewers giving this album the 5 star treatment along with many good, no excellent reasons for owning it, I feel my policy of giving an in depth review of my 5 star albums will be surplus to requirements here. Drat there are so many good things to say.I can't even focus on a favourite track, everything on this album slots nicely into place, giving a roller coaster ride all the way through, without of course having to turn the disc over at halftime now its on cd. The bonus tracks simply prolong the enjoyment.I am currently preparing my top ten list of favourite albums, on which this is sitting comfortably at number two, behind Wishbone Ash's Argus, I can't see it slipping below that.Sorry it's a short report, I'm really racked off now.

2nd time around (2008-01-30)

This is one of those bands that I missed in the seventies[you can't buy everything]Where would you put it? So I was browsing up the AMAZON one night,too tired for sleep,and found myself back then amongst a lot of forgotten bands.So having my Xmas bonus to dispose of I purchased the first three albums by CARAVAN.How I missed them first time around I don't know!This is great stuff of a rare quality.I shall certainly be buying more with my Easter bonus.

A great album? Absolutely! (2007-08-20)

Caravan are another one of those bands that I missed first time round and am now only discovering....30+ years too late! This is my first experience of their music, and what a first album to hear. Every song contains a beautiful and memorable melody, the whole album is instantly likeable, with no throwaway or filler tracks to be seen or heard. With the bonus tracks you get on this remastered series being of the same high quality as the main album tracks, you have a complete package that is worth every penny of your money. Winter Wine is possibly my favourite track, simply divine, and does anyone else think that the long track here, Nine Feet Underground, makes a great driving song? Try playing it loud in an open top car on a warm summer's day whilst you're driving somewhere really picturesque, and you'll get my meaning. Can't wait to discover more of their back catalogue. Five gold stars for this magnificent album!

In the pink (2007-07-13)

This is the first Caravan album I heard and, as a result, I sought out as many of their others as I could find. Only its predecessor, 'If I Could...etc,' is possibly better, but this one is perhaps a little more instantly accessible. Bright, imaginative and yet a little reserved in manner, this is the sort of work that could only come from an English band. 'Golf Girl' is a gentle, melodic, but engaging opening, a trait continued by the next three tracks. 'Love To Love You (Pigs Might Fly)' is a little more rhythm-oriented, but there's no raucousness with Caravan. The 22-minute 'Nine Feet Underground' is the track you hold your breath over. Triumph or disaster? Definitely the former, the portentous opening keyboard riff grabbing you straight away. According to the track listing, it's divided into several sub-tracks, but as with all instrumentals, trying to work out where the divisions are is a pointless exercise. Suffice to say, this is a marvellous album for anyone with an inclination for so-called progressive rock of the 1970s.

A stunningky good album! (2007-03-26)

Caravan have been with me since my early teens; their music always inspirational, but probably never so much so as on this album, "In The Land of Grey and Pink". Their third album, it is one of three in a four year period that most Caravan fans pick out as their best, the other two being 1970's "if I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You" and 1973's "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night".Caravan are still playing and recording to this day despite having suffered many line-up changes in the 40 years of their existence: the only ever-present member being its inspirational leader, Pye Hastings. Pye's sweet voice is a hallmark of the Caravan sound, whatever reincarnation of the band you listen to. On this album the band also comprised the cousins Richard and David Sinclair (on bass and keyboards) and Richard Coughlan on drums. Significantly, the band also brought in Pye's brother Jimmy for this album and his contributions on flute, tenor sax and piccolo are a significant factor in the overall mystique of the soundscape created. David Sinclair's keyboards are another big factor in this; the music on this album is almost like a painting; different songs corresponding to different areas of the canvas, but clearly all being a significant part of the overall picture, such is the nuance of the musical thread running through the album.The album is made up of 5 separate pieces: four are relatively short whilst the final one, "Nine feet Underground", is a relatively lengthy composition of over 22 minutes which originally took up the whole of side 2 of the LP. The complexity of this piece, together with the interweaving of similar complexities and soundscapes into the shorter pieces, have led to Caravan being labelled as a progressive-rock band. Certainly, for my money, this album is better than anything more famous prog-rock bands such as Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd ever produced.Melody is a strong feature throughout: even during "Nine Feet Underground", there is plenty to hum or whistle along to. And by the time you get to it, your voice is already warm as you've sung along to some gorgeous songs - the boppy, tongue-in-cheek love song "Golf Girl", "Winter Wine", "Love to Love You" and the title track itself, "In the land of Grey and Pink". This is unashamedly about the pleasures of taking drugs and it is one of life's little mysteries to me why I, who have never taken drugs (and I wasn't even a boy scout!) should so much enjoy music either about drugs or obviously composed under the influence: Caravan, Hawkwind, Steve Hilllage, Spirit and many more.Wonderful!

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