Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Caravan
Label: Decca Records
Release: 1970
Duration: 43:18
Rating: 4.5/5
The indecent title of the second album from British prog rock heavyweights Caravan, who had already established themselves as one of the leading lights of the so-called Canterbury scene with their cult psychedelic rock debut, was totally in keeping with their trademark cheeky humor, which was packed with all sorts of juicy sexual innuendo. Shame on anyone who’d think ill of Caravan because of it, because every member of the band was always a proper English gentleman, the kind who would never skip their midday tea with milk and biscuits or the watering of the petunias. But every now and then they loved poking fun in their lyrics at proverbial English stiffness and the detours of Her Majesty’s social order, as well as at the crooked staff of His Eminence, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
That English sarcastic virtue came through loud and clear in their music too. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more quintessentially English band than these eternal jesters of the Canterbury scene. A year passed between the release of their debut and this album, and in that time Caravan took a big sonic step forward. The psychedelic pop rock mantras, heavily influenced by the late Beatles, began to give way on “If I Could Do It All Over Again…” to their unique, increasingly recognizable style, marked by an eclectic mix of symphonic, folk, psychedelic, rock and jazz elements.
Unlike most of their prog rock peers, Caravan never overcomplicated things, and always wove individual arrangements and harmonies into compact structures built on accessible melodies. These friendly lads with a sharp ear for biting social satire always cultivated gentle vocal harmonies within their sonic vocabulary, usually handled by the witty guitarist Pye Hastings and the astute bassist Richard Sinclair. Their vocal and instrumental skills were artfully laid over the warm sound of the Hammond organs of Richard’s cousin, keyboardist David Sinclair, and the distinctly jazzy manner of drummer Richard Coughlan.
With their witty fusion of psychedelic rock, symphonic music and jazz, Caravan successfully conjure up numerous pastoral moods across the album, which fit perfectly with the vivid green cover, where the band members play at being an eco club. The individual compositions boast cheeky titles and even cheekier lyrics, starting with the playful title track. They build simple pop rock melodies up with frisky Hammond passages and distinctly thick bass lines, weaving in goofy vocal harmonies. As usual, Pye’s tenor stands out among them.
In the epic two-part suite, “And I Wish I Were Stoned” and “Don’t Worry”, they subtly poke fun at the botched hippie scene, the essence of which the band’s intellects managed to see through quickly. The opening, dreamy-psychedelic part, where Pye and David trade lead vocals, shifts via warm Hammond sounds and assorted solos into a boisterous instrumental section, after which the playful situation is slowly calmed with gentle melodies, all the way to Coughlan’s closing drum solo. “As I Feel I Die” opens as a dreamy ballad with a distinctly English black humor, but over time turns into a song of many different moods. It’s all tied together superbly by Pye’s melodic singing, while the instrumental sections are full of David’s Hammond shenanigans and Richard’s bass improvisations.
The next epic suite is made up of four different parts: the ballad “With an Ear to the Ground You Can Make It”, the spirited instrumental romp “Martinian”, teeming with baroque ornaments and jazzy rhythms, the pastoral “Only Cox”, ruled by the flute of Pye’s brother Jimmy, and the closing “Reprise”, in which the ballad-like opening motif returns. The bouncy “Hello, Hello”, dominated by Richard’s vocal (noticeably rougher compared to Pye’s angelic crooning), is a Caravan classic teeming with pastoral percussion and keyboard motifs around an exceptionally singable central melody. “Asforteri” is a short folk rock appetizer with hypnotic multi-part vocals, coming right before the album’s main event.
Its high point is the evergreen epic suite “Can’t Be Long Now/Francoise/For Richard/Warlock” (over the years it became known only under the name “For Richard”, in honor of Richard Sinclair, who by then was already a former member). “Can’t Be Long” is a ballad intro with a strong pastoral atmosphere, created by the sound of Jimmy’s flute and Pye’s dreamy singing. Spirited improvisations on Richard’s bass tip it into the red-hot instrumental section “Francoise”, where the instrumental talents of the individual members shine with full force. Jimmy’s saxophone brings an extremely powerful jazz charge into the solo shenanigans. Amid all this rowdy jazz-rock fusing, they manage to hold on to an enviable amount of melody. The key part of the suite is the “For Richard” section, where a dramatic turn arrives through Pye’s scorching guitar riff, enriched with a thick layer of Hammond and aggressive saxophone. The closing section “Warlock” thrills with an escalation of jazz rock fusion passages and killer drum fills, which suits the Celtic master of black magic just fine. To close out the album, “Limits,” laid over “Hawaiian” rhythms and flute, pokes a bit more fun at themselves as they come to terms with their limits as songwriters.
“If I Could Do It All Over Again…” has in many ways become the prototype of their signature sound, which they would keep refining in the years to come. On this album, which over the years has earned its title as a prog rock classic, they first began practicing the popular tactic of joining individual instrumental sections and motifs into longer suites, and in doing so set many a standard for later progressive rock epics. At the same time, they had already shaped their characteristic style here, a fusion of pop rock simplicity and prog rock complexity, with a typical English atmospheric seasoning. Together with Soft Machine and Gong, the other leading bands of the Canterbury scene, Caravan would go on to string together a nice number of prog rock classics in the years ahead.
Lineup
Pye Hastings – vocals, guitar
Richard Sinclair – vocals, bass guitar, tambourine
David Sinclair – keyboards
Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Jimmy Hastings – flute, saxophone
Production
Terry King
Track List
1. If I could do it all over again, I’d do it all over you (3:07)
2. And I wish I were stoned – Don’t worry (8:21)
3. As I feel I die (5:17)
4. With an ear to the ground you can make it / Martinian / Only cox / Reprise (9:56)
5. Hello Hello (3:46)
6. Asforteri 25 (1:21)
7. Can’t be long now / Françoise / For Richard / Warlock (14:18)
8. Limits (1:34)
Bonus tracks from the reissue (2001):
9. A Day In The Life Of Maurice Haylett (5:40)
10. Why? (And I Wish I Were Stoned) (4:22)
11. Clipping The 8th (Hello Hello) (3:13)
12. As I Feel I Die (4:39)
