Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Caravan
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1972
Running time: 40:06
Rating: 4.5/5
“Waterloo Lily” was the fourth studio album from Caravan, the British prog rock legends who established themselves in the early seventies as leading lights of the unique sound movement popularly known as Canterbury. Coming right on the heels of the landmark masterpiece “In the Land of Grey and Pink” (1971), which put them among the front-runners of seventies prog, this curious record marked an important turning point in the band’s history. They experimented with a new sonic direction on it and gave some longtime fans a proper scare, even though at heart it’s just another classic Caravan album, one that has been somewhat unfairly overlooked right up to the present day.
After the sudden, and as it turned out the following year, merely temporary departure of keyboard wizard David Sinclair, who around that time co-founded the short-lived avant-garde attraction Matching Mole with former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt, the jazz camp took over within the band. Its figurehead was David’s cousin, bassist Richard, who, besides guitarist Pye Hastings, also handled lead vocals. The die-hard jazzer brought in Steve Miller as the new keyboardist, and this album remains his only collaboration with Caravan to this day. Miller cultivated a much more jazz-flavored approach than his classically minded predecessor, who had mostly leaned on the massive sound of Hammond organs, the orchestral swell of the Mellotron and traditional piano. Alongside the organs, an indispensable part of Caravan’s traditional sonic repertoire, he also introduced the electric piano, which was still a relative novelty in the jazz rock fusion world at the time.
Because of the unexpected swerve toward jazz, and with it an obvious but still not radical change to the traditional Caravan sound cemented by the first three albums, some fans still treat “Waterloo Lily” with reservations today when they rattle off the band’s best work. In doing so they forget that this album, home to two first-rate classics, lacks absolutely nothing musically, apart from the fact that this time there was a bit less symphonic layering and, in exchange, a lot more extended jazzy improvisation. The lyrics, as always with Caravan, are packed with biting, openly cheeky black humor, this time mostly at the expense of the all-round decadence of the English aristocracy, embodied by the title ‘heroine’.
She introduces herself to the listener, stripped bare, already in the excellent opening track, where the band members immediately show off their changed sound. The mischievous neighing of Sinclair’s bass is woven through the well-oiled drum fills courtesy of Richard Coughlan. Pye’s hefty guitar phrases bring most of the punch, while Richard’s trademark ‘featherlight’ vocals tie together the playful melody. The longer instrumental section gradually morphs into a mix of melodic passages and jazz-leaning rhythmic improvisations, which still never get carried away far enough to wreck the song’s cohesion. The two vocal harmonies, that is, between Pye and David, complement each other brilliantly and help stamp the track with that indispensable, unmistakable Caravan atmosphere that smells of olde English rural life.
The complex, wildly colorful instrumental “Nothing At All” is a pure jazz rock fusion orgy and without a doubt the most jazz-oriented piece in the band’s history, with a faint whiff of the avant-garde too. A phenomenal run of Richard’s impishly sounding bass lines is draped in countless inventive guitar improvisations. In the guitar solo spot Pye is eventually joined by a special guest, the legendary Phil Miller, whom Canterbury fans know best as a member of bands such as Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North and National Health. A melancholy piano improvisation backed by the neighing bass gradually builds a mysterious yet still relaxed mood. The spontaneous addition of soprano sax from Lol Coxhill also helps drive the unbridled fusion experimentalism, which eventually turns into a gorgeous collage of instrumental finesse.
On the pastoral-flavored “Song And Signs,” the most recognizable Caravan sound returns, awakened above all by Pye’s signature falsetto, which quickly builds a pleasant, playful melody. Richard’s bass is still hugely dominant, but eventually Miller’s fantastic organ solo takes over the instrumental lead. “Aristocracy,” where Mr. Hastings shines on vocals once more, is the first of the two central classics on this excellent album. Pye’s cheeky sneer at a crumbling social class rides on a simple but extremely effective melody and expansive rhythmic twists, which together create an unmistakably antique atmosphere.
“The Love In Your Eye” is not only an essential Caravan classic but also the best creation on the whole album, where the band gives it everything they’ve got and, for the first time in a long while, awakens majestic symphonic elements with orchestral arrangements, which are otherwise not exactly plentiful on “Waterloo Lily.” This complex, 12-plus-minute masterpiece is, like many Caravan classics before it, split into several sections. The opening section, riding on a decisive guitar phrase and Pye’s excellent vocal performance, already heralds grandeur. After this mischievous overture comes one of the album’s best moments, a richly colorful section that contains a veritable jazz fusion instrumental charge. Within this string of instrumental high jinks, the solo spotlight is taken by the feisty flute of Pye’s brother Jimmy. The short jazzy improvisations on electric piano, bass and drums are played at such an enviable level that in these moments you could easily mistake the band for some of the American fusion giants of the time. Caravan keep effectively ramping up the playful atmosphere and make sure the cheeky rhythmic verve never lets up. Eventually Pye’s melancholy vocal comes back in and, joined by a determined wah-wah guitar effect, heralds the closing battle march. It turns into yet another treat for all the jazz rock fusion maniacs. The closing ‘love’ ballad “The World Is Yours” is a traditional, pastoral-flavored Caravan burlesque on an acoustic base, which sounds like the pinnacle of cynicism and a hymn to human madness, and as such makes for a fitting end to the album.
“Waterloo Lily” is a totally one-of-a-kind album in Caravan’s rich catalog, and from an instrumental improvisation standpoint it remains especially interesting for anyone who loves jazz rock fusion. Opening up to jazz fusion elements was undoubtedly a risky move after an album that had been a major commercial breakthrough, but in the end it still paid off. Sadly, the album didn’t get the commercial response they’d hoped for, and the rift within the band over its future direction after its release couldn’t be stopped anymore. Richard Sinclair and Steve Miller said their goodbyes and together founded Hatfield and the North, while Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan, who are still the only original members of the band to this day, decided to take matters into their own hands and rebuild Caravan from scratch.
Lineup
Pye Hastings – guitar and vocals
Steve Miller – electric piano, organ
Richard Sinclair – bass guitar and vocals
Richard Coughlan – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Lol Coxhill – soprano saxophone (1, 2)
Phil Miller – guitar (2)
Jimmy Hastings – flute (5)
Mike Cotton – trumpet (5)
Barry Robinson – oboe (5)
Production
David Hitchcock
Tracklist
1. Waterloo Lily
2. Nothing At All/It’s Coming Soon/Nothing At All(Reprise)
3. Songs And Signs
4. Aristocracy
5. The Love In Your Eye/To Catch Me A Brother/Subsultus/Debouchement/Tilbury Kecks
6. The World is Yours
