For girls who grow plump in the night

Remember what I said in my introduction, about Caravan being a nice bunch of meek and nerdy dudes, not at all aspiring on getting between the sheets? Well, scratch that! If the album name and cover, making us voyeuring an innocent sleeping girl in progress of pregnancy, alone won't convince you, then perhaps the knowledge of the original intent of her being nude will. And at least one of the songs is approaching almost Zappaesque heights of naughtiness. Have I intrigued you enough? Good!

By this time things started to move about in the Caravan camp; Our old friend Richard Sinclair decided to quit and explore the depths of the Canterbury sound in Hatfield & The North and became replaced by some bearded hipster named John G. Perry on da bass. Plus, they expanded the lineup with a viola handled by Geoff Richardson, and guess what: Dave Sinclair is back! The scene is set, how about that!

But it's not really the change of personell that makes this record stand out. It's that Pye has really seized his chance to prove himself a worthy guitar player. The whole record reeks of catchy, occasionally even heavy, riffs and tasteful solos on courtesy of himself, sometimes intertwined with Richardson's viola, all of which make for a truly intriguing listen. It becomes obvious from the very start with "Memory Lain, Hugh" greeting us with a really tricky guitar riff over a thumping rythm on which they harmonize an airy melody in the best Caravan tradition. The flute break thereafter is really memorable, as is the transition into "Headloss" which suddenly creeps up just as you think the song is about to end. Now the whole thing transforms into a bouncy shuffle with a looping structure very similar to Yes's "All good people", expanding the track into being the best opener on a Caravan album ever. It rules! The following "Hoedown" is the weakest track on here though, being a very rushed exercise in pseudo-country in 7/8 which just sounds forced. Thankfully it's also the shortest so it doesn't manage to do much harm.

But then we're back on track again with "Surprise, surprise". A laid back folksy groove peppered with great harmonies once again, and what seems to be a pedal steel that makes it sound almost like Zeppelin in folk-mode. "Suddenly sunshine" they sing, and indeed it is. It simply rules! Then we switch gears completely with "C'thlu thlu", boasting really heavy riffs, that Pye obviously nicked from Robert Fripp's backpack during recession. Watch out for that guitar break after the second chorus, very much in the style of "Larks' tounge in aspic"-era Crimson. The creeping, almost gothic, verses with their theatrical atmosphere reminding of early Alice Cooper, are juxtaposed with strangely upbeat and jolly choruses in a way that in the hands of a less talented band would just sound out of place. But here, it rules! "The dog, the dog, he's at it again" is yet another typical Caravan popster that makes remarkably good use of its looping chord sequence on which they build catchy and clever melodies that toward the climactic ending climb upon each other in an ingenious way. And David really shines on that sci-fi synthesizer break in the middle. And oh, this is the one with the infamous lyrics, celebrating the joy of copulation in such a filthy way it's just pure fun! Have you seen them perform this? With Pye completely straight-faced announcing that "he's got something that he'd like you to hold"? How the h*ll did he manage to pull that off without cracking up? Or could he have been so desperate in trying to get laid that he actually was serious? I don't know and I don't care. It's a true pop masterpiece and I needn't tell you that it rules!

Off we are to "Be alright/Chance of a lifetime" in which that Perry dude proves himself to be a very good successor to Sinclair not only on bass but in taking the lead vocals as well. It's built on a great guitar/viola interplay culminating in a catchy descending chorus line which all make it sound a lot like Kansas, except that it's better. After all, Caravan wasn't Kansas which is always an advantage and besides, Kansas was yet to be formed. Only to let you know who were first and who were just a bunch of rednecky copycats. And Kansas surely couldn't have pulled off such a beautiful and contemplative second part as on here. Did I mention yet that it rules? And we're still to be blown away by the grand finale "A hunting we shall go". Yet another viola/guitar assault that shakes the house down, albeit even more profound this time. Now they're reaching almost Gentle Giantish heights of dexterity, trading solos over the looping riff as if to convince you of the very origins of prog metal. Then it all dies down with a slowly emerging orchestral suite, constantly building up to a symphonic climax that segues into a reprise of the main part in which each and every instrument play in unison until it all ends with a bang (literally). It freakin' ru - wait for it - les!

Now, I know I said that Caravan isn't really designed to blow you away, but if there is anywhere to look for that kind of thing then this is your best bet. "For girls who grow plump in the night" is the album that finally and firmly places Caravan among the league of prog supermen. Of course, the saga isn't over yet, but it's quite obvious that it just had to go downward from here, even if ever so slightly.

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