Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Caravan
Label: Arista Records
Released: 1977
Length: 43:25
Rating: 3/5
The champions of the so-called Canterbury offshoot of progressive rock, Caravan, like most of their prog rock peers, started battling a rapid decline in popularity in the second half of the seventies, after the punk and disco invasion. Even though the concert halls kept getting smaller and the crowds thinner, the eternal jesters from Canterbury basically stayed loyal to their own musical heritage, with the key difference that in this rough era for prog rock they ‘simplified’ quite a bit and started ditching all those complex, improvisational elements that had brought them their greatest success and recognition in the first half of the seventies. This is when their eighth studio album »Better By Far« was born, a retreat from the world of unbridled experimentalism into, let’s call it, much lighter territory, although most of the recognizable sonic trademarks stayed largely intact.
Guitarist/vocalist and unofficial head honcho of the band Pye Hastings, a big fan of melodic tunes and the band’s lead voice, had finally established himself as the main songwriter, so it’s no surprise the ‘pop factor’ became more pronounced than ever. That’s also why »Better By Far« has a touch more feel-good ballads than most other Caravan albums. As expected, plenty of old devotees were put off by the change, while Caravan were still too special and not nearly ‘in’ enough for followers of the trends of the day, so they were never going to refresh, let alone improve on, their former commercial success. Just like on the previous, otherwise very good album »Blind Dog at St. Dunstans’« (1976), thanks to keyboardist Jan Schelhaas modern synthesizers replaced the old-school sound of the Hammond organ, which most of the faithful didn’t exactly welcome with open arms either.
On the other hand, most of the songs were saved not just by Pye’s vocal charisma and brilliant guitar playing but by the rustic-flavored viola of Geoffrey Richardson, who also wrote one of the better pieces on this album. Most of the more interesting compositions on »Better By Far« are built around a central melody with a feel-good chorus and rustic string arrangements. The mischievous lyrics were still around, but they got a lot more restrained and less sexually spiced than they used to be. Caravan went through yet another bassist change on »Better By Far«, with Dek Messecar replacing Mike Wedgwood, but it didn’t really affect their sonic collage, as Messecar was an effective creator of solid bass lines too.
A few tracks on »Better By Far« are downright forgettable, which goes above all for the opener »Feelin’ Alright«, a pretty uninspired pop rocker with heavy synth seasoning and, by usual Caravan standards, rather basic rhythmic approaches. Pye’s cheery, eternally optimistic vocal and a dominant guitar phrase are all that saves the equally average »Behind You«, which in places recalls the ‘good old days’, but as if someone had hacked away at the once witty and rich symphonic-jazz arrangements. The guest saxophone of Pye’s brother Jimmy, who stamped a strong jazz seal on individual tracks on previous albums, is sorely missed on »Better By Far«. Even the individual solo breakouts are nowhere near as lavish and adventurous as they once were.
The title track is a dreamy piece, a sort of hybrid between a children’s lullaby, a love ballad and a pastoral tune, set to the pleasant sounds of acoustic guitar and the swell of synthesizer textures. Luckily, the quality vocal harmonies are still well polished, so the whole thing doesn’t get too sappy and stale. The melodic pop rocker »Silver Strings«, written by violist Richardson, could easily be credited to Paul McCartney and The Wings, given a slightly different vocal timbre and without the excessive viola sounds, and they might even have squeezed hit potential out of it. For most other rock bands that would be a compliment, but for innovators of Caravan’s caliber it only speaks of a lack of fresh ideas and a desperate search for inspiration from other popular acts of the day.
The rather weak first half of »Better By Far« is somewhat rescued by the excellent instrumental »The Last Unicorn«, the only track on the album that can easily be declared a Caravan classic, and another Richardson composition. Here he leaves a strong mark with gorgeous rustic string arrangements and tops off the mighty, almost epic atmosphere with the use of a mandolin. That brings in the folky, pastoral touch you could catch in Caravan’s golden days. The second part follows with a brilliant transition into a complex instrumental section with numerous dramatic bass lines, fiery synth improvisations and jazz-timed drum fills courtesy of old tomcat Richard Coughlan.
»Give Me More«, the next love ballad, is a not-too-disastrous experiment with a female soul vocal from special guest Vicki Brown, with whom Pye gets tangled up in a few vocal duets. While similar experimenting once paid off handsomely for Pink Floyd, this Caravan attempt at mixing ‘two different worlds’, passionate female soul with Pye’s gentle little voice, comes out awfully average. An even weirder experiment is »Man in the Car«, written by keyboardist Schelhaas, a botched cross between blues, soul, pop and symphonic stuff, which is dragged out of the gray mediocrity a bit by rich symphonic arrangements and lovely vocal harmonies.
»Let It Shine« opens with a bluesy guitar phrase and elegant piano passages that harmoniously shape a seductive melody and a nice chorus. Nothing special by usual Caravan standards, but still one of the better achievements on »Better By Far«. The closer »Nightmare« is, despite the title, one of the more inspired moments of the album, where it’s once again proven what the band members were capable of once they flexed their songwriting muscles again, so this distinctly melodic piece, laced with a melancholic atmosphere, shimmers under the weight of seductive symphonic arrangements on viola and keyboards. You could say a strong finish somewhat made up for the weak start of the album.
On »Better By Far«, whose title is sadly way off the mark, it became obvious that Caravan were slowly running out of steam for bigger musical adventures and had started glancing around way too much, trying to somehow hold on to their fading popularity. Luckily they didn’t completely ‘sell out’ like some of their prog rock peers who ran into a serious identity crisis in the late seventies, so there are still enough good moments on »Better By Far« to stir memories of ‘the years of old glory’, but nothing more than that. Not even the famous Tony Visconti, who delivered excellent production, in fact one of the better ones in this legendary band’s story, could save the fact that »Better By Far« is the least inspired Caravan album of the seventies.
Line-up
Pye Hastings – vocals, guitar
Geoff Richardson – viola, guitar, flute, sitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals
Dek Messecar – bass guitar, backing vocals
Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Vicki Brown – vocals on “Give Me More”
Fiona Hibbert – harp on “Man in a Car”
Tony Visconti – recorders on “The Last Unicorn”, electric double bass on “Man in a Car”
Production
Tony Visconti
Tracklist
1. Feelin’ Alright
2. Behind You
3. Better By Far
4. Silver Strings
5. The Last Unicorn
6. Give Me More
7. Man in a Car
8. Let It Shine
9. Nightmare
