Where But For Caravan Would I?
Indeed, where would I be? Not writing this, that’s for sure. Whether or not that is a good thing is entirely for you to decide, assuming you get to the end of the book.
In the meantime, perhaps a word of explanation as to the hows and whys is in order. Firstly, the hows: how exactly does this work?
The book is divided into four sections. The vast bulk of the text is devoted to what can be termed the canon albums: the studio recordings of original material that are the bedrock on which the band’s reputation and history are built. This begins with theCaravan album on Verve in 1968 and concludes with the double whammy of 2013’sThe Paradise Filter, to date the last album of original material, andThe Back Catalogue Songs, 2014’s reinvention of the pick of the old tunes. Not something that Caravan haven’t tackled before, but the first effort with a settled full band line-up.
Within the canon section, there are some anomalies to this basic idea.Caravan And The New Symphonia is a live album but was released at the time of recording (unlike most of the later live releases) and most importantly, it has material that was new at the time of release as well as reworkings of existing songs.Cool Water was released nearly twenty years after its recording, but it did consist of new material that was recorded betweenBetter By Far andThe Album and so is obviously part of the canon, although it is discussed at the point of chronological date of release rather than the date of recording. Finally,All Over You andAll Over You…Too are two albums usually included in the compilation sections of discographies as they consist of old songs: this is to ignore the fact these songs are re-recorded and in new arrangements. As such, they can be considered as a canon albums in as much as they show the reconvened band finding their way into a new phase, as represented by subsequent studio albums.
For the Verve and Decca albums, the bulk of the discussion is about the original releases and their running order. Extra tracks have been added to reissues, and these will be mentioned, but mostly they are alternate mixes and edits – attention is given to those tracks that are of note, but in truth the original albums as they played are the canon that fans have grown to love, and for better or worse (any original or thwarted intentions as to running order or tracks omitted aside) they are the canon as we, the listeners, know it, and judge it. These – with perhaps a few exceptions in the categories below – are what really matter.
Live albums and compilations are not discussed in such detail as the studio albums. This is partly to avoid repetition regarding songs, but also because, for the most part, they add little to the Caravan story. There are a few exceptions, and these will merit further discussion. There may be some compilations or live recordings missed – as with all bands of their vintage, there have always been fly-by-night licensees getting product in shops in a ‘blink and you miss it’ manner. I have tried to include all those that have at least something of interest, no matter how slight.
The BBC recordings are another matter again. In part, this is because the release of these sessions over the years has occurred in a fairly haphazard manner and so needs some clarification; also, because even when there is a supposedly definitive release, it still manages to omit some recordings. Of more import is the way in which these recordings dem
