THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK ENCYCLOPEDIA: C (Part.3)

                                                 CARAVAN
Caravan were formed in 1968 and they were one of the former bands of the famous Canterbury Scene.

They signed their first record contract with the American label 'Verve', and later on the same year they released their debut album 'Caravan'. Their music style was a mixture of Jazz & Psychedelic rock, including many British Folk elements. After this album they moved to the English record label 'Decca' and on 1970 they released their second record with the bizarre title 'If I could do it all over again, I'd do it all over you'.
This record is maybe the milestone in their career. They became rather known, and therefore they decided not to change their music style. The result was another record in 1971 named 'In the Land of Grey & Pink'.
Here the compositions are more complexed and the band is at a full form. The Jazz elements are not so many as before, as the band turns to more Progressive rock paths. After this album one of their former members - Richard Sinclair (keyboards) - leaves the band, and he is being replaced by Steve Miller. (Not the famous American musician). But the change of the keyboard player also changed the style of the band in general.
Their next album 'Waterloo Lily' (1972) was in music style more Jazz than any other of the previous ones.
This caused some unrest to the fans of the group, and after this album the most members of the band are quitting, leaving only 2 behind. From this point and on, Caravan are changing their members quite often, and they start releasing more mainstream records. The original sound of Canterbury scene is no longer present.
Caravan are still active in our days, after many disbands and reunions, but the original spirit and music style lies in the 3 first albums. So, for anyone that wants to have a taste of the real Caravan, I suggest one of the 3 first albums without any doubt.
In the following video you can listen to the first part of their probably most Progressive song 'Nine feet underground'... Enjoy! :)