''Caravan'' is the debut album by the British

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

. It was released by Verve Forecast in January (UK) and February 1969 (USA) and was the group's only album for the label.

Background

The album was the result of the band borrowing equipment from

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

(who were touring the U.S. at the time with

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and using his backline), producing "an unusually mature musical statement". The album was released in stereo and mono, in both the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but failed to reach chart hit status.

Track listing

All tracks credited to Richard Coughlan, Pye Hastings, Dave Sinclair & Richard Sinclair except where noted. ;

Re-release

The 2002 CD re-release included two full versions of the album, in its original

mono Mono may refer to: Biology * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monocyte, a type of leukocyte (white blood cell) * Monodactylidae, members of which are referred to as monos Technology and computing * Mono (audio), single-c ...

and in

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

, and an extra track "Hello Hello" (3:12) which had originally been issued as a single.

Personnel

;Caravan *

Pye Hastings Julian Frederick Gordon 'Pye' Hastings (born 21 January 1947) is a British musician. Born in Scotland and raised in Canterbury, Kent, he is the guitarist and vocalist of the Canterbury scene band Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Tran ...

– lead vocals (1, 2, 4), co-lead vocals (5, 6, 8), guitars, bass guitar * Richard Sinclair – lead vocals (3, 7), co-lead vocals (5, 6, 8), bass guitar, guitar * Dave Sinclair – Hammond organ, backing vocals * Richard Coughlan – drums ;Additional personnel *

Jimmy Hastings James Brian Gordon Hastings (12 May 1938 – 18 March 2024) was a British musician associated with the Canterbury scene who played saxophones, flute and clarinet. Early life Hastings was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He started playing the saxop ...

– flute on "Love Song with Flute" * Tony Cox – production * Keith Davis of DBWX – sleeve design

References

External links

Official website

''Caravan'' album review by Lindsay Planer, credits & releases
at AllMusic.com
''Caravan'' album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs ( ; short for "discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''The N ...

{{Authority control Caravan (band) albums 1968 debut albums Decca Records albums Verve Records albums