Search - Caravan :: Back to Front (Reis)

Buy this just for the last track!

Y. Choe | San Francisco | 03/14/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I don't really care for Caravan. I have just two caravan albums-Land of pink of grey and this one. But this album is worth the money b/c of the last track (long epic). It's not 'starless' by King crimson but it just flows nice and smoothly. Excellent track. I can compare this track to 'Metamorphosis' by Curved air. Nice melody and cool keyboard sound. This is one of those rare recordings I strongly recommend based on only a couple of songs (Video of Hollywood is also good) on a CD. Get it!"

First You Must Understand............

Stuart Moutner | Brooklyn, New York United States | 01/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Caravan is not your run of the mill band, and their recordings can not be held to the standards or criteria of "popular" musicians. With Paul McCartney or Elton John you can speak about hooks, and the beat, or the quality of the writing, but Caravan takes a unique aproach to their art, and has to be looked at from an entirely different perspective. Caravan is a collective of Canterbury genre musicians creating tonal poems of an aesthetic value, not intended for dancing, sexual stimulation, or selling sneakers. Their work is best met on an intellectual level, like the timeless work of great authors or painters, existing not for a purpose, but for it's own sake. They don't so much write their songs as "experience" them, inventing a large portion of most tracks as they record, spontaneously, improvising not just melody and counterpoint, but rythms, chord changes, and even lyrics. Their strength is not in their precision but in their lack of musical dogma. Their are no rules here, and so the music is free to explore and experiment. Once you understand this, you can begin to appreciate their work in an appropriate light. You can't define or even explain this music, To castegorize and compare this band, or measure their work, like a "product" one manufactures for sale or competition, goes against their nature, for in doing so you have lost their essence, which is a subtlety that washes over the senses, integrating with the mind without assaulting it. This music is not intended to be memorized, as it evolves with each performance, growing and reshaping. It is a living, breathing organizm, not a static object. This particular recording was done after a hiatus from the studio, with a renewed vigor and refreshed palette of sounds to draw on. The result is a prime example of Caravan, and transendental art, at it's finest. If you wish to enjoy art for art's sake, this is a great place to start."