A Quest For Prog 11: Echolyn – Suffocating The Bloom

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Echolyn – Suffocating The Bloom (1992)

Produced by Echolyn

Christopher Buzby – Keyboards, background vocals

Tom Hyatt – Bass

Brett Kull – Guitar, vocals, background vocals

Paul Ramsey – Percussion, drums

Raymond Weston – Bass, vocals, background vocals

Katherine Shenk – Violin

Richard Casimir – Violin

Jeffrey E. Meyers – Violin

Laura Anthony – Flute

Heather Groll – Flute

Jim Dwyer – Marching snares

Tom Kelly – Marching snares

Kimberly Shenk – Cello

Elizabeth C. Detweile –  Viola

Dainis Roman – Alto saxophone

Track listing:

01. 21 (5:49)

02. Winterthru (3:45)

03. Memoirs From Between (8:01)

04. Reaping the Harvest (1:41)

05. In Every Garden (4:39)

06. A Little Nonsense (4:20)

07. The Sentimental Chain (1:40)

08. One Voice (5:20)

09. Here I Am (5:21)

10. Cactapus (2:51)

11. A Suite for the Everyman (28:13)

§  Only Twelve (1:17)

§  A Cautious Repose (4:55)

§  Bearing Down (3:49)

§  Cash Flow Shuffle (0:39)

§  Mr. Oxy Moron (3:23)

§  Twelve's Enough (2:21)

§  I Am the Tide (1:15)

§  Cannoning in B Major (1:19)

§  Picture Perfect (0:55)

§  Those That Want to Buy (6:45)

§  Suffocating the Bloom (4:03)

Released in 1992 “Suffocating The Bloom” is the second album by American band Echolyn.  The band formed in 1989 by guitarist Brett Kull and drummer Paul Ramsey.  Both had played together in a covers band Narcissus which had disbanded and solidified the line up with keyboardist Chris Buzby, vocalist Ray Weston and Bassist Tom Hyatt by the time of their debut album.  The band signed a multi album deal with Epic Records in 1993 but disagreements with the label over direction ultimately forced the Echolyn to disband.  The band reformed in 2000 and continues to record and tour.  

The album begins with “21”.  The track has a mix of 70’s rock and medieval instrumentation.   There seems to be a strong Yes influence here on this upbeat track.  Interesting but a bit to safe and controlled for me.

“Winterthru” follows on and is a classic rock tune with an African feel.  There are steel drums and African rhythms.  This isn’t a full blown rip off of the sound like Vampire Weekend but a mixture.  Unfortunately the track overall is fairly boring and does really go anywhere.  This and the next song seem to be Christmas songs or at least Christmas related.

“Memoirs From Between” has an English folk feel to it.  The lyrics on this tune are pretty bad and Raymond is giving loads singing them.  I did let out a laugh or two through this one.  I know that they weren’t probably trying to be funny...

The short intro “Reaping the Harvest” is next.  It a pleasant track that shares it’s synthesized violin with  “In Every Garden”. 

“In Every Garden” is an odd track.  It begins with a barber shop intro with something about there being “Too many Weeds” in every garden.  The track is a light prog track that is really pretty dull but there certainly is entertainment in the lyrics.  I don’t know how a band can muster so much emotion for a song about gardening.  I’m probably missing something much deeper here but I was too amused to care.

The aptly titled “A Little Nonsense” is next.  I nice little jazzy number the song has some interesting changes and some nice guitar work.  Again there are silly lyrics like “We are the music makers and the dreamers”.  Really? 

The intro “The Sentimental Chain” follows on and is one of my favourite things on this record.  A interesting Flute, Guitar and Violin instrumental.

This goes into “One Voice”.  This is an Overblown, Syrupy tune which makes me wonder if these guys in anyway affiliated to Hillsong?  There is a nice Flute section but apart from that it is a dull track.

“Here I Am” is next.  An upbeat acoustic track this has some decent movement.  It’s a pretty uninteresting but it seems that the band is try to do something different here. 

Following on is “Cactapus” a laidback mid-paced instrumental.  It’s pretty loose and lacks some focus or urgency about it which would have made it more interesting.  Has some promise but isn't quite there.

The 28 minute “A Suite for the Everyman” ends the record.  It is split into 11 sections from quite short pieces to some more significant sections.  It has some of the most interesting pieces on this album like “Only Twelve”, “Bearing Down”, “Twelve's Enough” & “Those That Want to Buy”. 

“Only Twelve” is like a B Horror soundtrack and is a pretty fun section.  “Bearing Down” is getting a little nastier and it’s a welcome change to the sound of the band.  The section has a nice groove and some great work from the Guitars and Drums.  The playing is less straight up and simply more interesting.  “Twelve's Enough” has a darker mood and some interesting changes in tempo and timing but the guitar solo ruins the flow.   The longest section “Those That Want to Buy” has some obvious downsides such as being much longer than it needed to be and a amusing 80’s bass sound.  Besides that it’s a edger track from the band and features a strong vocal which reminded me of Peter Hammill at points. 

As a whole “A Suite for the Everyman” doesn’t seem to have any flow or connection between tracks.  It’s really more a number of pieces collected and given the same name.  Parts of the track work on some level as mentioned but couldn’t hold your attention for 28 minutes as a single piece.

“Suffocating The Bloom” is not my cup of tea at all and I see a band of competent musicians not really pushing themselves.  It also highlights the reason a number of bands have used outside lyricist because the lyrics are average at best and comedic at it’s worst on this album. 

3/10

Cats Eyes – Cats Eyes

Cat's Eyes – Cat's Eyes (2011)

Produced by Steve Osborne

Faris Badwan

Rachel Zeffira 

Track listing:

01. Cat's Eyes (2:38)

02. The Best Person I Know (3:10)

03. I'm Not Stupid (2:57)

04. Face In The Crowd (2:49)

05. Not A Friend (2:11)

06. Bandit (3:02)

07. Sooner Or Later (3:59)

08. The Lull (2:39)

09. Over You (2:30)

10. I Knew It Was Over (2:14)

Released in 2011 “Cat's Eyes” is the Debut album by English/Canadian duo Cat's Eyes.  Cat's Eyes was formed by The Horrors Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira after Faris introduced Zeffira to the music of 60’s girl groups.  They made their live debut at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City in front of seven cardinals.  In February 2011 the band released their first ep “Broken Glass” on the Polydor label and that was followed in April by this album.

The album opens with “Cat's Eyes” which is reminiscent of the Ravonettes mixed with Devo.  This track has a great rhythm and strong verses but the chorus is a little weak.  The sound is very garage/lofi and almost overdriven at times.  It’s a fun tune and a nice way to start the album.

“The Best Person I Know” follows on which slows the pace down.  This tune is sounds like Mercury Rev with a female vocalist.  It also for some reason reminded me of Air’s “Kelly Watch The Stars”.  The backing is stripped back with minimal keyboards and horns. 

A similar sound is continued on “I'm Not Stupid” but with fuller instrumatation.  The song has a strong melody in the verses and backing vocals are really nice here.  Some jaunty piano later in the song adds a nice new texture to the song.

“Face In The Crowd” was my first introduction to the group when I caught the video late one night.  A driving tune in the vein of Scott Walker this is the strongest tune on the album.  The vocals are great as well.  One of the singles of the year.

Following on is “Not A Friend” which is similar to “The Best Person I Know” & “I'm Not Stupid”.  There is some nice woodblock on this track and the melody reminds me of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles.  Nice tune.

Next is “Bandit” a track with a Spaghetti Western feel to it.  The backing track has some nice eastern flavoured instrumentation and the Backing Vocals are great.  It has a Portishead feel with vocals treated and chopped.  Cool track.

“Sooner Or Later” is next and is a full blown Nick Cave tribute.  A grinding tune that reminded me of a song like “The Carney”.  This is the track that is most like the Horrors.  Dark and industrial.  A really good track.

The stripped back “The Lull” follows on.  This is a sweet almost Disney song with some coral vocals and nice instrumentation.  The vocals are understated and the lyric are quite sweet.

“Over You” follows on and has a baggy feel to it with keyboards that remind me of the Charlatans. The song has a strong beat and some nice 60’s rock band instrumentation.  The melody is strong with a great chorus.  Rachel’s vocals are really strong here.

The album ends with “I Knew It Was Over” a piano ballad with a nice vocal from Faris.  The background vocals are sublime and make most of the main backing apart from a minimal piano signature.  A a nice tune and a great way to finish the album.

A really interesting album and a band I hope does more music in the future.  The album does lag in places but there is nothing I don't enjoy here.  A strong collection of off kilter pop songs. 

7/10

A Quest for Prog 10: Dream Theater – Images and Words

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Dream Theater – Images and Words (1992)

Produced by David Prater

James LaBrie – Vocals

John Petrucci – Guitars/Backing Vocals

John Myung – Bass

Kevin Moore – Keyboards

Mike Portnoy – Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

Jay Beckenstein – Soprano Saxophone ("Another Day" only)

Track listing:

01. Pull Me Under (8:11)

02. Another Day (4:24)

03. Take the Time (8:21)

04. Surrounded (5:30)

05. Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper (9:32)

06. Under a Glass Moon (7:04)

07. Wait for Sleep (2:32)

08. Learning to Live (11:31)

Released in 1992 "Images and Words" was the second album by American band Dream Theater.  Formed in 1985 as Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung & Mike Portnoy while studying at the Berklee College of Music.  The bands combination of Prog and Metal has ganered them a dedicated following and a profile on the fringes of the mainstream.

The album begins with the single “Pull Me Under”.  This is the song that put them on the map and I can see why.  The song is a very slick Judas Priest like tune that was primed for early 90’s alternative radio.  It is a very straight forward Hard Rock/Heavy Metal song that for me is far too restrained and to be perfectly honest pretty uninteresting.  The vocals also don’t stand up to the music and are really weak in comparison.

“Another Day” follows on.  After listening to this album it is very apparent that the “Singles” were put at the front of the record.  This is a sickly metal ballad that goes too far to be dramatic.  You could imagine lighters in the air and swaying arms when this is played.  To make matters worse there is some cheesy sax added to the song.

Things get better with “Take the Time” the third track on the album.  The instrumentation is really strong and gives the especially John Petrucci room to take the lead.  This song moves along nicely but the vocals are a real let down on this song.  They reminds me of a bad Gary Cherone impersonation.  A real let down.

Next is “Surrounded” the second ballad on this record and is much better than “Another Day”.  The song has much more movement and energy and some strong vocals from James LaBrie.  The keyboards add some nice textures and layers.  Decent song.

“Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper” is the strongest track on the record.  The guitars are great and the songs main riff has a nice Maiden feel to it.  The Guitars and Keyboards really shine when the solo’s come in later in the song.  They make up for some uninspired Drums and Vocals.  Cool tune.

Following on is “Under a Glass Moon” another strong tune.  Again the guitars are strong and reminded me of Steve Vai’s guitar work for the “Bill & Teds Bogus Journey” movie.  This is where the band is at their best on a driving track that give the musicians a change to show off their skills.  Mike Portnoy does a great job here but it’s surprising such a highly regarded drummer only shines on one of the eight song.       

Things are slowed down on “Wait for Sleep” a keyboard/Piano and vocals only track.  The keyboards reminded me of Tubular Bells with a nice mix of synthesized keyboards and piano.  James LaBrie does a really good job and doesn’t over do it.

 “Learning to Live” is the final track and the longest at nearly 12 minutes.  This track is in the same vein as “Metropolis, Pt. 1” and “Under a Glass Moon” but collapses under the weight of a confusing time signature.  This track has a Maiden “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” feel to it but is a struggle to get through.  For me the time signature stops the flow of the track and I am sure that for musicians of Dream Theaters calibre it’s fun and interesting but as a listener it falls well short of being an enjoyable experience. 

This album was a disappointment as I own later Dream Theater albums which I enjoy.  There are three strong tracks “Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper”, “Under a Glass Moon” & “Wait for Sleep” but I rest I could happily leave.

4/10

A Quest for Prog 9: Deus Ex Machina – Cinque

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Deus Ex Machina – Cinque (2002)

Produced by Deus Ex Machina

Alessandro Bonetti – violin

Maurino Collina – guitar

Alberto Piras – vocals

Alessandro Porre Porreca – bass

Luigi Riccia Ricciardiello – keyboards

Claudio Trotta – Drums

Track listing:

01. Convolutus (7:18)

02. Rhinoceros (Afropuglise) (8:19)

03. Uomo del Futuro Passato (Roccaccione.....) (8:42)

04. Olim Sol Rogavit Terram I (Maurino Piras) (5:04)

05. Il Pensiero Che Porta Alle Cose Importanti (7:28)

06. Luce (Pensando a Claudia) (6:19)

07. De Ordinis Ratione (Nuovo) (6:55)

08. Olim Sol Rogavit Terram II (Cadaverone..... (20:22)

Released in 2002 "Cinque" was the fifth album by Italian band Deus Ex Machina.  Originally formed in 1985 in Bologna Italy Deus Ex Machina became the darlings for the early 90's Prog community.    

“Convolutus” the first song on the album and has an early 90’s Grunge Feel to it.  It’s quite interesting mixing a prog aesthetic with a genre that in some respects was about simplicity.  The track times it does at times veer very close to Dave Mathews Band territory and did make me cringe in places.  Nice guitar and violins though.

“Rhinoceros (Afropuglise)” follows on.  An upbeat and groovy track it features some really nice percussion.  Kind of like a Funk groove or a James Brown track when the band is locked in really tight. The solo’s are quite crazy especially the Keyboards.

 The Hendrix like “Uomo del Futuro Passato (Roccaccione.....)” follows on.  The song begins out as a slow guitar jam but picks up the pace.  Again the grunge sound is here and this time it’s a cross between Stone Temple Pilots and Frank Zappa.  As the song progresses it gets jazzier and has some cool grooves and at times even sounds like Primus.  Another strong track though I’m not a fan of Alberto Piras’s Vocals.

“Olim Sol Rogavit Terram I (Maurino Piras)” is next and is a stripped back track featuring just Vocals and Guitar.  It didn’t get anything from this track.  I guess it was nice enough but nothing more or less.

“Il Pensiero Che Porta Alle Cose Importanti” returns to the sound of the rest of the album.  It’s a jazzy track that is similar is style to “Uomo del Futuro Passato (Roccaccione.....)” in it STP/Zappa sound.  That said it is far less successful.  The track tries to be everything to everyone and loses focus .

The pace slows again on “Luce (Pensando a Claudia)”.  The Violins have a nice Bluegrass sound to them and the playing is impressive.  There is some interesting interplay between the Violin and Guitars but ultimately the song really doesn’t go anywhere. 

“De Ordinis Ratione (Nuovo)” is next.  The violins are back and are used much more effectively.  This song is more of a jam.  The song moves, changes and has lots of different parts and solos but as a whole there seems to be little direction. 

The album closer “Olim Sol Rogavit Terram II” is an 8 minute track with rehearsal/Studio Outtakes tacked onto the end.  The 11 minutes tacked on the end would be something that fans might enjoy but I didn’t get through it.  The actual song is really odd and seems like bit’s and pieces put together.  The vocals seem to have no relevance to the music that is being played.  The violins make a bulk of the instrumentation.  Could have been interesting but unfortunately it’s not.

Deus Ex Machina seem to be very competent musicians but the song structures are just not there.  Bar a few tracks (Rhinoceros (Afropuglise) & Uomo del Futuro Passato (Roccaccione.....)) this album didn’t do anything for me.   

3/10

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (2011)

Produced by Mortal Unknown Orchestra

Ruban Nielson – Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards

Jake Portrait – Bass

Julien Ehrich – Drums

Track listing:

01. Ffunny Ffrends (4:17)

02. Bicycle (4:45)

03. Thought Ballune (4:10)

04. Jello And Juggernauts (3:24)

05. How Can You Luv Me (3:28)

06. Nerve Damage! (2:15)

07. Little Blu House (3:01)

08. Strangers Are Strange (2:24)

09. Boy Witch (2:25)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra was formed by Ruban Nielson after his band the Mint Chicks disbanded.  The band released the track “Ffunny Ffrends” on Band Camp in late 2010 while keeping their identity hidden.  A self titled 7” released through UK label Sounds of Sweet Nothing was released before this, their debut album, was released in 2011 by Fat Possum.

The Mint Chicks had always been a band to mix pop sensibilities with different genres such as Post Rock and Garage.  At times they could be very arty to the point of being divisive but at other time they could produce great pop melodies.  UMO are following in that tradition but going in new directions. 

The album begins with the first song the band ever released “Ffunny Ffrends”.  This song has a nice soul feel with what sounds like a looped drum pattern and groovy bass.  In some ways the instrumentation reminds me of the Strokes.  The vocals are cool with a high register soul and disco melody.  Cool tune.

The next track is “Bicycle” a scratchy track with an incessant drum beat and grimy keyboards.  The guitars and vocals share a nice melody.

Following on is “Thought Ballune”.  A song that has a cool gritty Stoneseque guitar running through it.  The most psychedelic song on the album that is kind of reminiscent of the Flaming Lips more tripped out moments.  The vocals have a nice density to them which add to the melody.

“Jello And Juggernauts” is next.  The guitars on this are really unusual.  Ruban is playing some really nice Classical guitar through a very strange guitar effects.  It’s really quite unexpected and interesting clash of genres.

The dancing shoes are strapped on for “How Can You Luv Me”.  This song has funk.  A strange Disco/Funk/Post Rock love child.  Similar to band like MGMT and Passion Pit but more authentic.  

The tempo is kept with “Nerve Damage!” but in a very different way.  This track is a tidy little Indie Punk song but has a really strange guitar effect going on that mixes the guitar with some kind of vocal sampling. 

“Little Blu House” is an electronic song is the style of Beck.  The vocals are really strong here and the melody is upbeat and groovy.  A fun tune.

The funk is back on “Strangers Are Strange”.  Sly and the Family Stone was the marker for this one.  The instrumentation on the verses sounds like a 70’s/80’s kids TV program music.  Think Sesame Street mixed with Sly? 

The album finishes with “Boy Witch”.  This is a full on 60’s surf number mixed with early Pink Floyd.  Reverb is to the max and features some dirty dirty guitars. 

This is a really interesting record.  There is so much going on but sound of the record is quite open.  Some unusual and interesting instrumentation keeps you guessing and makes for a satisfying listen. I’m really keen to give this one another spin and it makes up in some way that there is likely to be no more Mint Chicks records.

8/10

Check out All This Useless Informations views on this record.

A Quest for Prog 8: Cast – Third Call

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Cast – Third Call (1994)

Produced by Cast

Dino Brassea – vocals

Francisco Hernandez Reyes – Guitars

Luis Alfonso Vidales – Keyboards

Antonio Bringas – Drums and percussion

Rodolfo Gonzalez Quiroz - Bass

Track listing:

01. Where The Wind Blows

02. Sleeping Fortress

03. Time In Space

04. Door Of The World

05. Static Dreams

06. I'm Waiting

07. Veto Ben

08. House By The Forest

Released in 1994 "Third Call" was the third album by Mexican band Cast.  Not to be confused with the John Powers band Cast formed in 1978 but for years seemed to be playing for their own enjoyment and not making a career out music.  In the early 90’s the band built Cast Studios in Luis Alfonso Vidales home and started releasing album independently. 

From what I have been able to find it appears that this album comes from two sets of recordings five years apart.  With one in 1989 and the other in 1994.  Although I couldn’t find notes as to which songs were from which sessions sonically it seems as though the first four songs are the 1994 recordings and the second four songs are the 1989 recordings.

The first song on the album is “Where The Wind Blows”.  The track has a solid, if not simple, drum and bass backing with what seems to be a lot of keyboards.  The keyboards reminded me of Sammy Hagar era Van Halen with a touch of Dream Theater.  I’ve got to say that the song for me is a fairly uninteresting.

Following on is “Sleeping Fortress” which is slower than “WTWB” and is drenched in Keyboards.  From what I have read Luis Alfonso Vidales seems to be the leader of the band and this song seems to back it up.  The song has a waltz feel and reminded me of 80’s television incidental music.  The first part of the track is quite silly and hard to take remotely seriously.  But later on it does pick up in the second half which adds some interest.  Some but not allot.

The third song is “Time In Space”.  Fans of the Scorpions or maybe Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals might get a kick out of this one.  It has a bit more of a groove than the first two songs but is still a fairly dull.

The last of the 1994 recordings is “Door Of The World”.  This song is less straightforward than the previous three and has a nice jazzy feel at the start.  The song moves around a bit and has some interesting instrumentation but I really got nothing from these 1994 recordings.

 The 1989 recordings begin with “Static Dreams” which was a bit of a surprise as it sounded like Dragonforce at the start.  The song moves a lot more and has more interesting instrumentation.  The vocals I’m not a fan of but the instrumentation is interesting.  A step up from the 1994 recordings in structure but not in fidelity.

 “I'm Waiting” follows on and is pretty much a Soft Rock radio song.  The drumming is quite interesting on this track but there are some pretty awful high pitch vocals.  Not for me.

“Veto Ben”, the only instrumental piece on the album, is next.  This one reminded me of Emerson, Lake & Palmer in that it was very much a showcase for the Keyboards (a re-occurring here) with the mood changing from dark to jaunty in the course of the song.  This would have to be my favourite song on the album.  Pretty fun.

Somehow a year or two ago I ended up watching some Air Supply TV special of some theatre concert.  It was really bad and hilarious at the same time with some old guys dressing like they were 20 and trying to rock out.  That image was the first thing that came to mind when listening to the last song on this album “House By The Forest”.  It's a soft rock song being played like a bunch of old guys who think they are letting loose.  As you can guess I didn’t think much of this song.

This album was a struggle for me to get through.  The first listen was ok but the second was some kind low level torture.  I sure for some people this kind of music is great but for me there is maybe one song that really did anything for me.

1/10

A Quest for Prog 7: Caravan – In the Land of Grey and Pink

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Caravan – In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971)

Produced by David Hitchcock

Pye Hastings – Guitars and vocals

Dave Sinclair – Hammond organ, piano and Mellotron

Richard Sinclair – Bass, acoustic guitar and vocals

Richard Coughlan – Drums

Jimmy Hastings – Piccolo (side 1: 1), flute (side 1: 3 & side 2: 1), saxophone (side 2: 1)

Paul Beecham – Trombone (side 1: 1)

Dave Grinstead – Canon, bell and wind (side 2: 1)

Track listing:

Side one:

01. Golf Girl (5:05)

02. Winter Wine (7:46)

03. Love to love you (And tonight pigs will fly) (3:06)

04. In the Land of Grey and Pink (4.51)

Side two:

01. Nine Feet Underground (22:43)

I. "Nigel Blows a Tune"

II. "Love's a Friend"

III. "Make It 76"

IV. "Dance of the Seven Paper Hankies"

V. "Hold Grandad by the Nose"

VI. "Honest I Did!"

VII. "Disassociation"

VIII. "100% Proof" 

Released in 1971 "In the Land of Grey and Pink" was the third album by English band Caravan.  Caravan formed in 1968 after David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan’s previous band Wilde Flowers dissolved.  Initially signed to Verve the band moved to Decca after their first self titled album and to Deram for “In the Land of Grey and Pink”.  Even though they have considerable success in Europe and American as a live band this didn’t translate into record sales. 

"In the Land of Grey and Pink" follows the format of a lot of Prog albums in having one side with shorter pieces and a longer piece filling the other side. 

The first side of shorter songs begins with “Golf Girl” an upbeat tune in the vein of the Small Faces.  It has a very British feel to it with coy lyrics which reminded me of the Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd singles (Arnold Layne, See Emily Play and Apples & Oranges).  It’s a nice enough tune but fairly restrained and this gives it a fairly light weight delivery.

“Winter Wine” is the next song a folk rock tune similar to Jethro Tull.  I liked the lyrics on this one a bit more surreal and less fairy tale.  The Keyboard and Guitar solos are good and opens the song up.  I like this one even though at times it can be a bit pedestrian.

 “Love to love you (And tonight pigs will fly)” is one of those silly little tunes that Englished bands seem to love to write.  I gotta say the first thing that came to mind when I listened to this song was the Bay City Rollers.  You get the picture.  That being said the Piano and Flutes are really well done.

The last song on the first side is the title track “In the Land of Grey and Pink”.  Reminiscent of Yes and Syd Barrett’s solo material this for me is the strongest track on this the album.  Whereas the other songs on this side are restrained this song, in comparison, lets loose.  The lyrics are surreal and at points slightly disturbing.  For the life of me I don't know what they are on about.  Really strong melody and vocals. 

The Second side is dedicated to the 22 minute long “Nine Feet Underground”.  Caravan, being quite a restrained band, struggles on this song to keep this piece interesting.  It’s a shame because they could have taken some of the ideas here and created some strong shorter songs.  The song does make some nice turns which remind me of Van Der Graaf Generator and King Crimson.  The final 6 minutes of the song which I gather includes the pieces “Disassociation" & "100% Proof” is the strongest part.  The final 3 minutes “100% Proof” is quite riffy and sounds alot like “Sunshine Of Your Love”.  Maybe the result of trends or a lack of editing but as a whole “Nine Feet Underground” is unsuccessful. 

This album is a disappointment.  For me the title and the album art is so strong that if I have seen this in a record store I may have brought it based on that.  The title track and parts of “Nine Feet Underground” are strong but not too much more here delivers.

3/10