Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Caravan
Label: Kingdom Records
Release: 1982
Duration: 42:53
Rating: 3/5
Canterbury scene champions Caravan entered the early eighties on ‘artificial life support via a transfusion tube’, though it might have been better had they done what some of their prog-rock peers did and shut down all activity during this period. After 1978, Caravan realized that their artistic muse had abandoned them, and that the days when they could pack big concert halls for fun were gone for good. The band was already planning to call it quits, but then-manager Terry King somehow talked them into carrying on and kept them alive even after Caravan moved to his new label, Kingdom Records. King managed to coax original Caravan keyboardist David Sinclair (ex-Matching Mole, Camel) back into the fold, and together they recorded »The Album« (1980), a studio record that was below par by Caravan’s usual standards. The bigger coup came a year later, when King managed to briefly reunite the members of the original Caravan lineup.
David’s cousin and original bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair (ex-Hatfield And the North, Camel) returned to the band, joining lead guitarist and vocalist Pye Hastings and drummer Richard Sinclair, the only original members to leave a creative stamp on every Caravan album up to that point. Even though the band members weren’t the least bit inspired to write new music and would have benefited from a longer break from all the detours of the music industry (they did eventually take one), they headed into the studio anyway and recorded their last album with the classic lineup, titled »Back to Front«.
Stylistically, this ‘farewell’ release was noticeably closer to classic Caravan than its weaker predecessor »The Album«, but still ‘light years’ away from what they were capable of in their prime. After the bad experience with »The Album«, Caravan on »Back to Front« no longer even tried to follow the music trends of the day and preferred to stay true to ‘themselves’ when writing, which is the right call in its own way. Old acquaintance Mel Collins (ex-King Crimson, Camel) came to the rescue as a guest musician on saxophone, spicing up the mostly pretty ‘clipped’ and message-less arrangements of most of the songs on »Back to Front«.
On the other hand, Richard’s return left its mark on some of the lyrics, so after a long time their trademark tickling humor, which was rather unusual for most of the seventies prog-rock scene, got an important place in a few of the songs. Pye and Richard split the vocal duties evenly from song to song, while David contributed extra vocals on the title track, which is also the closer. »Back To Herne Bay Front«, a quality album opener thanks mainly to Richard’s elegant vocals and David’s gorgeous keyboard textures, instantly reminds many a fan of their best days, though the individual arrangements have had their wings clipped hard compared to the seventies. The nostalgic atmosphere is also kept alive by plenty of ethereal piano embellishments and rattling bass lines. »Bet You Wanna Take It All/Hold On Hold On« is a cheeky little number with a rock’n’roll pulse and Pye’s playful vocal approach, which with a pinch of psychedelic infusion could even recall some of the highlights from their ’embryonic phase’, while Collins’ sax solo nicely spices up the whole thing.
»A.A. Man«, another lyrical burlesque with Richard’s distinctive vocal mannerisms, also sounds like time stood still while it was being written and the year was 1968 instead of 1982. If the chorus didn’t sound so overly repetitive and, with that, a bit annoying, it wouldn’t be a bad effort at all. »Videos Of Hollywood« is a nostalgic ballad where Richard’s elegant vocals, backed by a subtle symphonic arrangement, come into particularly beautiful expression. Dave’s synthesizer solo does remind you for a moment that the eighties had already begun, while Collins’ sax improvisation adds the finishing spice, making this one of the better moments on the album. »Sally Don’t Change It« is another lovely ballad, this time with a loving-yet-sarcastic undertone. This time lead vocals go to Dave Sinclair, the weakest singer of Caravan’s three main vocalists, though he gets plenty of help from the backing vocal lines. With »All Aboard«, where the indestructible Pye Hastings shines on lead vocals once again, Caravan went completely ‘simple’ and made a pleasant melodic rocker whose most complex element is Richard’s mighty bass lines.
The pop-rock-flavored »Taken My Breath Away« is the only openly commercial song on the album, and the weakest one too. On the other hand, it has the typical Caravan vocal harmonies, while its rhythmic nuances are in the classic manner of the Canterbury champions, so as a whole it doesn’t come off all that badly, since they’ve made worse songs in their career. The closing epic treat »Proper Job/Back to Front«, where David occasionally joins Pye and Richard on lead vocals, is one of the album’s bright spots, and maybe even its brightest moment, as the band briefly conjures up the artistic magic and atmosphere of the seventies. That means there’s no shortage of witty improvisations with a rustic aftertaste between the individual sections, and Pye finally unleashes a mighty electric guitar solo too, so for the finale the band really shows itself in the best possible light.
With »Back to Front«, the original Caravan lineup made a farewell album for their own souls, since by then they couldn’t have cared less whether it would bring them any commercial success. The old buddies thus left behind a solid studio document for a goodbye, one that at times recalls some of their best work from the previous decade, as well as their early psychedelic phase, as long as you can live with all the missing complex arrangements, clever time-signature shifts and longer improvisations, and with the fact that they weren’t exactly inspired while hammering out the individual arrangements and could hardly wait to head off on a longer musical break.
Lineup
Pye Hastings – vocals, guitar
Richard Sinclair – guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Dave Sinclair – keyboards, vocals
Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion, voice
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Mel Collins – saxophone
Production
Caravan
Track list
1. Back to Herne Bay Front (5:55)
2. Bet You Wanna Take It All / Hold On Hold On (5:20)
3. A.A. Man (5:02)
4. Videos Of Hollywood (5:11)
5. Sally Don’t Change It (4:06)
6. All Aboard (4:08)
7. Taken My Breath Away (4:52)
8. Proper Job / Back to Front (8:19)
