Caravan: Every Album, Every Song Av Andy Boot

Caravan have a history that stretches back over half a century, with a catalogue of music that ranges from progressive rock classics to pop gems that should have been hits. Lumped into that strange category known as ‘the Canterbury Sound’, they are both the paradigm and the transcendent band within that nebulous category. This book traces their history, track-by-track, over eighteen canonical albums, stopping off to examine the plethora of live and BBC session releases that have swollen their back catalogue like a girl who grows plump in the night. Beginning with their pop-psych debut on Verve, continuing through the run of classic and revered albums on Decca/Deram that forged their reputation, and then on the albums that saw them move towards pop and be swept up by the tides of fashion, it ends with the decades of reunions that saw fewer albums, but a refinement of the sensibilities that define their unique sound. With ever-present Pye Hastings on guitar/vocals/songwriting, and Richard Coughlan at his back on drums, the band has also been defined by the skills of viola player Geoff Richardson and the Sinclair cousins – David on keys and Richard on bass. But this is not to belittle the contribution of every musician and songwriter whose talents have combined to make this most English of bands just that little bit special…