Caravan's third album

CARAVAN - In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971 (prog rock, Canterbury, UK) (Deram SDL-R 1)

One side composed of four songs and the second side consisting of one track containing eight different sections but conceived as an entity. To describe the music would take up far more space than is available here but those of you who have heard Caravan live and on their previous records, will know the quality to expect although you may not have heard all the numbers before. Those of you who haven't heard the group before are in for a very enjoyable initiation.







Personnel :

Richard Sinclair - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
David Sinclair - organ, piano, mellotron, harmony vocals
Pye Hastings - electric guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals
Jimmy Hastings - flute, tenor sax, piccolo
Richard Coughlan - drums, percussion
David Grinsted - cannon, bell and wind

Tracklisting :

A1 Golf Girl 5:01
A2 Winter Wine 7:36
A3 Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 3:04
A4 In the Land of Grey and Pink 5:00

B Nine Feet Underground 22:44
a. Nigel Blows a Tune
b. Love's a Friend
c. Make It 76
d. Dance of the Seven Paper Hankies
e. Hold Grandad by the Nose
f. Honest I Did !
g. Disassociation
h. 100% Proof

- Their Story -

The years 1966 and '67 were very active and creative on the Canterbury semi-pro group scene. Several of the groups and musicians who started their musical careers in those years are now nationally known. It was at the end of this period that Caravan was formed by Pye, Richard, David and Richard, all of whom had played together previously in various bands but primarily in the Wilde Flowers. They started their professional careers in the glamorous world of show business with a six month sojourn in a house at Whitstable, close to their home town of Canterbury ; six months which they spent writing, rehearsing and trying to find out where their next meal was going to come from. In june of '68 they had to leave their Whitstable home and they spent the summer living in tents at Graveney and rehearsing in the church hall. By this time they had come to the attention of a record company executive and in october '68 they made their first album for MGM Verve. When the weather became too cold for them to continue their spartan way of life at Graveney, they moved up to London, staying with friends, but after only six weeks they decided to return to the more relaxed and healthier atmosphere of Canterbury, where they still live.

Their record company had introduced them to a leading London management company at the beginning of 1969 and this led to their getting regular work at last. Thanks to their year of virtually nothing but practice, they were one of the most musically proficient and original bands in the country, playing their own distinctive form of British rock ; a rarity in those days in the land of a thousand blues bands. After 10 months of gigging up and down the country building up a reputation they signed a new recording contract with Decca (after parting from MGM Verve when that company curtailed its operation in the U.K.) and their second album, released in September 1970, was enthusiastically received by all, both here and abroad, and was in the charts for 6 weeks. At last, they were getting the acclaim that they deserved so well and worked so hard for.

MAJORITY ONE - s/t, 1971 (ENGLAND, Kingston upon Hull, psych pop) (Pink Elephant PE 888 010)

Originally known as The Mustangs they went in 1965 to London and changed their name to The Majority. They released eight singles from 1965 to 1968 and also backing Barry Ryan on his international chartbuster "Eloise". They toured France in early 1969 and as the trip turned out to be very successful they finally moved over there and never played in England again. They got a contract deal with Pink Elephant and changed their name to Majority One. They did two 45's for their new label and especially their first single "Because I Love You" became a hit. This song was also included on their only album that was finally released in 1971 . There are a few throwaway cuts on it like the totally schmaltzy "I Nearly Died" or the nasty "Glass Image" but most of the material is pretty good late sixties Pop and Psychedelic with a strong Bee Gee's influence sometimes. The re-issue on Synton (Synton OL 5682 / 2005 ) gives no further information but is an exact repro with one bonus cut. There's also an eighteen track compilation from RPM-Records called "Rainbow Rockin' Chair".

Personnel :
Robert Long
Peter Mizen
Ian Sutherland
Barry Wigley
Walter Andrews

Tracklisting :
1. Feedback 3:28
2. Rainbow Rockin' Chair 2:25
3. A Cigarette, A Cup of Tea 2:50
4. I Nearly Died 3:34
5. Looks Like Rain 2:51
6. Glass Image 2:45
7. Because I Love 2:11
8. Love Came Today 2:41
9. Depths of my Mind 2:17
10. I Don't Mind the Rain 3:32
11. I See Her Everywhere
12. Roger La Frite 5:46
13. Revelation 0:40
14. Get Back Home 2:45 (bonus track)

LINK  (no pass)

MARIANI - Perpetuum Mobile, 1970 (USA, Austin, TX., heavy psych blues ultra rare LP) (Sonobeat HEC 411)

Eric Johnson, né le 17 août 1954, fait ses débuts au sein de The Id. Il enregistre en 1975 un LP sur le label Discreet de Frank Zappa avec le groupe Electromagnets (1000 copies). La découverte de Jimi Hendrix et Jeff Beck sera décisive. "Perpetuum Mobile" pressé à seulement 100 exemplaires (!) met en scène le jeune prodige texan âgé alors de 16 ans (!). Le disque est l'un des plus grands albums de hard-blues-psychédélique de l'époque avec des titres surboostés comme Re-Birth Day, Things are Changing, Euphoria, véritables monuments de technicité et de génie guitaristique. Akarma a réédité l'album en format digipack avec deux titres additionnels (Re-Birth Day, Things are Changing) en 2000.
Ce groupe est particulièrement difficile à suivre dans ses pérégrinations discographiques. Les enregistrements étant parus sur un label texan à faible rayon d'action, il est bien sûr plus facile de se procurer des rééditions (même à tirage très limité) que des originaux quasi-invisibles où les informations y fugurant demeurent pour le moins succintes. Cette formation d'Austin semble avoir à son actif au moins un simple "Memories" / "Re-Birth Day" (Sonobeat 118), publié en 1970. Eric Johnson, guitariste, compositeur et chanteur, en est la figure centrale et y fait une demonstration éblouissante de ses qualités. Profondément influencé par le Blues ("Baby, I Want to Sing the Blues...And Get Free") et par Jimi Hendrix, il nous régale de solos extraordinaires de maîtrise technique, de virulence, de feeling et d'inventivité ("Searching for a New Dimension", la suite "The Unknown Path / Euphoria", "First Song", "Third Song", "Pulsar" sur le 33 tours. Les morceaux, habilement composés, sont longs pour permettre un développement maximal des parties instrumentales ("Boots"). A noter que la réimpression de Perpetuum Mobile n'aurait pas dépassé 150 exemplaires, tous numérotés, ce qui en fait déjà un collector en soi.

Personnel :
Eric Johnson - guitar, vocals
Vince Mariani - drums, vocals
Jay Podolnick - bass, vocals

Tracklisting :
1. Searchin' for a New Dimension 5:40
2. Re-Birth Day 5:52
3. Thing are Changing 4:42
4. Lord, I Just Can't Help myself 2:55
5. The Unknown Path 5:59
6. Euphoria 11:24
7. Windy Planet 2:19

Bonus Tracks :
8. Re-Birth Day 3:06
9. Thing are Changing 2:08

LINK (no pass)

NAZARETH - s/t, 1971 (SCOTLAND, Dunfermline, hard-rock)(Pegasus PEG 10)

The hard rocker "Witchdoctor Woman" is a devastating opener, full of killer fuzz guitar and McCafferty's overwhelming vocal power (especially at the end). The solo part is awesome too, listen to the way the guitar scorches while the bass is thumping away like a mastodon. Obviously, they had been listening to what Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep did the previous year."Dear John" is pure piano boogie rock. Awesome song. "Empty Arms, Empty Heart" has a phenomenal riff that should definitely be on any list of greatest guitar riffs. But few people know about this album so I guess that will never happen."I Had A Dream" is beautiful. Dan McCafferty can adapt his voice to practically any style of music, and this proves it. Listen to this song and you'll be thinking "this can't be the same guy who sang 'Hair Of The Dog' and 'Razamanaz'". But it is! What a lovely vocal melody and soothing harmonium. "Red Light Lady" is interesting. Starts out simple enough as a kick-ass rock tune, then slows down and goes into a weird orchestral part. Unique, definitely.Speaking of unique, how about "Fat Man" ? Killer riff with some weird, distorted vocals. Man, these guys just had a plethora of ideas. Chronicling a day in the life of an unpopular fat guy."Country Girl" is a marvelous country ballad with great slide guitar from Manny. Dan sings beautifully. "Morning Dew" is THE masterpiece on this album, and in my book, one of the top 5 greatest songs the band ever did. Yeah, you can keep your radio tunes and hit singles, but this song is Nazareth's Mona Lisa. Definitely the best version of this song ever made, it even blows away the Jeff Beck Group's version. The intro is priceless, with a pounding bass line being driven into your brain, before some brilliant, spooky guitar effects come into play (love the way Manny uses echo here). And here's Dan adapting his voice once again, starting out peaceful and smooth before exploding into full-fledged rock 'n roll as the rest of the band explodes with him. Simply priceless. "The King Is Dead" is a chilling tale of anarchy, complete with string accompaniment. This one can really haunt you to death, with Dan's whispery vocals and Manny's beautiful acoustic guitar. The b-side "Friends" is included here and it's a real treat. Yet another country-styled acoustic ballad that really is wonderful. This is about as far from 'Hair Of The Dog' as you can get! Anyway, it's a nice, relaxing little ditty about relaxation. Has funny lyrics too ("Roll yourself a joint, friend...Empty your head, friend"). Great stuff. The alternate versions of the original songs are pretty pointless, but they take nothing away from the musical mastery of this great, forgotten album.

Line-up

Dan McCafferty (vocals)
Pete Agnew (bass, vocals)
Darrell Sweet (drums, percussion, vocals, 1968-99)
Manny Charlton (guitar, banjo, synthesizer, vocals, 1968-90)
Zal Cleminson (guitar, synthesizer, 1978-80)
Billy Rankin (guitar, keyboards, 1980-83, 1990-94)
John Locke (keyboards, 1980-82)
Jimmy Murrison (guitar, 1994-present)
Ronnie Leahy (keyboards, 1994-2002)
Lee Agnew (drums, 1999-present)


Tracklisting

01. Witchdoctor Woman 4:06

02. Dear John 3:45

03. Empty Arms, Empty Heart 3:17

04. I Had a Dream 3:22

05. Red Light Lady 5:56

06. Fat Man 3:23

07. Country Girl 4:03

08. Morning Dew 7:05

09. The King is Dead 5:42

10. Friends (B Side)* 3:25

11. Dear John (Single Edit)* 2:44

12. Morning Dew (Alternate Edited Version)* 4:51

13. Friends (Alternate of B Side)* 3:25

14. Morning Dew (Extended Single Version)*

15. Witchdoctor Woman (Previously Unreleased)*

* Bonus Tracks