Caravan
Waterloo Lily

THE REVIEW

What happened in the world of Canterbury Sound at the turn of the '60s and '70s is now a well-documented fact in several already published reviews. What I wanted to achieve with this review is to push a little further and fill in some temporal gaps.

The record that kicks off the new Caravan era is this "Waterloo Lily", and the elements that distinguish it from previous productions are not many, but they are crucial. First and foremost, the great David Sinclair leaves the group and is replaced by former Delivery Steve Miller, not to be confused with the American rocker, but rather the brother of the more famous Phil, guitarist with Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North, etc.

This change proves decisive for the different stylistic approach of the two, more prog in the strict sense for Sinclair, more jazz and avant-garde for Miller (widely demonstrated also in subsequent works with Lol Coxhill - present on this album as a guest on the sax). The compositional phase of this work, therefore, begins to lean heavily in favor of Richard Sinclair and Pye Hastings (respectively bass and guitar) and the generated album assumes a form that leans more towards powerful and structured jazz-rock, rather than the more classic Canterbury sound of the two previous works. Thus essentially what is lost, though not completely, is the psychedelic component. We are still talking about an enormously high-level record, even if alongside the main tracks, which are longer and of more elaborate composition, are shorter tracks with a more immediate approach.
Leaving aside the reissue with some unreleased tracks, which were left out of the recording and in my opinion inferior, I would like to focus on the original album, which, as an immediate impact, presents another splendid cover and whose listening starts decisively with the title track, the track that most ties this work to the splendid preceding "In The Land Of Grey And Pink". This "gentleman" track, besides being the hypothetical link with the previous album, is also what one might define the most cerebral, convoluted and in some respects challenging thing ever done by Caravan, which under an apparently rather direct melodic line carries a truly underground arrangement. Richard Sinclair's voice is among the warmest and most dreamy in the prog scene and in this track, it penetrates you, convincing you that he is what you want to hear from Caravan, nothing else. But there is more... certainly. Two other masterpieces present themselves to the listener's ear: "Nothing At All": a jazzy pulse with a deadly bass, a saxophone development at the top of the genre, and a central jazz piano break by Miller, simply perfect. And yet again "The Love In Your Eyes" which, in its construction, is somewhat reminiscent of that stroke of genius three years prior "For Richard": a melodious start, arpeggios, and singing leading to an explosion of jazz-rock soundscapes of flute and complex rhythms.

Encircling these jewels are three short tracks "Songs and Signs", "Aristocracy", and "The World is Yours" which, as mentioned, are more immediately accessible while maintaining great mastery of intent and use of sounds.

In conclusion a different episode from the previous ones but great in its perfect prog balance. The edition with additional tracks could have been easily spared, and I advise anyone who wants to purchase it to look for the original digital DERAM first edition. Better for those who manage to find the vinyl, so they can fully enjoy the entire cover and the many inner notes, which found no space on the CD.