Artista: Caravan
Álbum: Live at The Fairfield Halls, 1974
Año: 2002
Género: Rock progresivo / Canterbury Scene
Duración: 1:19:53
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra
Año: 2002
Género: Rock progresivo / Canterbury Scene
Duración: 1:19:53
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra
Lista de Temas:
1. Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss
2. Virgin on the Ridiculous
3. Be Alright / Chance of a Lifetime
4. The Love in Your Eye
5. L'Auberge du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise)
6. The Dog, the Dog, He's at It Again
7. For Richard
8. Hoedown
1. Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss
2. Virgin on the Ridiculous
3. Be Alright / Chance of a Lifetime
4. The Love in Your Eye
5. L'Auberge du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise)
6. The Dog, the Dog, He's at It Again
7. For Richard
8. Hoedown
Alineación:
- Pye Hastings / Guitarra, voz
- David Sinclair / Órgano, minimoog
- Geoffrey Richardson / Viola eléctrica, guitarra, glockenspiel
- Mike Wedgwoog / Bajo, congas, voz
- Richard Coughlan / Batería
- Pye Hastings / Guitarra, voz
- David Sinclair / Órgano, minimoog
- Geoffrey Richardson / Viola eléctrica, guitarra, glockenspiel
- Mike Wedgwoog / Bajo, congas, voz
- Richard Coughlan / Batería
“Si
te gusta Caravan, ni lo dudes. Busca esta sobresaliente
grabación”
(Mellotron Storm, reviewer de Progarchives)
(Mellotron Storm, reviewer de Progarchives)
Live
at The Fairfield Halls es un registro en vivo de la alineación
de Caravan en lo que podría considerarse uno de sus mejores momentos, en la
época de lanzamiento de Caravan & The New Symphonia (también
en vivo pero con orquesta).
Originalmente el disco aparece como The Best of Caravan
Live, en 1980, pero
su relanzamiento remasterizado de 2002, que es el comentamos aquí,
hace honor al lugar donde se registraron (impecablemente, vale decir)
los temas que conforman este doble LP, el 1° de septiembre de 1974.
El disco incluye materiales que habían sido interpretados y grabados en Caravan & The New Symphonia, además de varios temas de For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night, y el tema que se convertiría en cerrador de sus conciertos en adelante, “For Richard”, aparecido originalmente en If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You. Dado que ya se han comentado estos discos en el blog cabezón, no los voy a entretener más con floro (luego los anónimos se ofenden por tener que escrolear tanto para llegar al link ¡já!), solamente insistir en que se trata de un estupendo registro en vivo de la banda, que nos la presenta tal como debe haberse sentido estar en un concierto de Caravan a mediados de los 70, un momento estelar. La banda ya había pasado por el impasse de la partida de Dave Sinclair, que se había ido a tocar con el genio Robert Wyatt en lo que sería Matching Mole y por el interludio de Waterloo Lily, que no alcanzó a consolidarse y terminó con la salida del tecladista que sustituyó a D. Sinclair, Steve Miller, y de uno de los miembros fundadores, Richard Sinclair. Bajo el liderazgo de Pye Hastings la banda tuvo diversos cambios de integrantes durante 1973 hasta que Dave Sinclair regresó después de un tiempo con Hatfield And The North, y se incorporó Mike Wedgwood (quien venía de tocar con Curved Air, una banda a la que habría que dedicarle un festival cabezón) y el virtuoso violista Geoff Richardson, cuyo instrumento destaca en el solo de con el que se sustituye el saxo de Jimmy Hastings que originalmente sonaba en “For Richard”, convirtiendo esta versión en un tema casi totalmente nuevo comparado con el original.
Las
notas del disco explican que durante esa época (1973-1974) Caravan
se quejaba de que su manager Terry King no estaba consiguiendo buenos
resultados, así que aunque aún se encotraban bajo contrato con él, buscaron a Miles Copeland, manager de bandas exitosas como
Wishbone Ash, Renaissance y Curved Air, quien efectivamente logró
agilizar muchas cosas. Mientras tanto, los conciertos que King había
preparado en Inglaterra se fueron suspendiendo, quedando solo dos
fechas bajo su administración; una de ellas es la que aquí presentamos
en The Fairfield Halls, la cual se grabó pensando en proveer de
material a las estaciones de radio de Norteamérica para la gira que
pronto realizarían por
Canadá y los EEUU gracias a
Copeland. En 1976, de las
latas de esa grabación se eligió “For Richard” para la
compilación Canterbury Tales,
y en 1980, Terry King usó el material del concierto para sacar la
versión The Best of Caravan Live
en Francia, Alemania y Benelux, donde circuló durante tres años y
dejó de estar disponible.
La
edición europea de The Best of Caravan Live
en 1980 es medio piratoide; su existencia se debe a la letra pequeña
de un contrato según el cual King conservaría el manejo de los
derechos de Caravan en esos cinco países europeos (Francia,
Alemania, Bélgica, Luxemburgo y Holanda) aun después de que dejara
de representar a la banda. Pero una carátula poco provocadora y el
cliché “lo mejor de” como título hicieron que pasara desapercibida para los
fans de Caravan, hasta que se empezó a correr la voz de que se
trataba de un estupendo concierto en vivo en un momento central de la
banda y se convirtió en uno de esos discos buscadísimos e inencontrables.
Las
cintas del concierto en Fairfield Halls aparecieron en el proceso de reedición
y remasterización digital de la discografía de Caravan en 2001 y el
disco es relanzado, completo (The Best... no lo presentaba completo), con un bonito dibujo de carátula que
recupera un elemento visual que ya estaba ahí desde 1968 en el disco
debut, el desierto y el camello (cualquier parentesco con Camel NO es
mera coincidencia).
By all outward appearances, The Best of Caravan Live seems to fit the
description and packaging of a budget release. Indeed, this is what
all but the most inquisitive enthusiasts must surely have thought
when passing up the French two-LP set in 1980. In actuality, the
music contained within these grooves is a performance by Caravan from
the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, September 1, 1974. The band used this
gig to prepare for their inaugural North American tour. Additionally,
the performance was documented in hopes of using the best bits as a
promotional tool for their upcoming shows. However, the tapes
remained dormant for nearly two years. Then in 1976, the epic "For
Richard" was judiciously extracted and subsequently included as
an unreleased bonus on the double LP Canterbury Tales retrospective.
In 1980, the European-only Kingdom label released an edited and
reconfigured version under the name The Best of Caravan Live to
little or no fanfare -- which is unfortunate, as it contains some of
the band's finest live work. Enthusiasts who favor the edgier For
Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night era of Caravan should be
additionally encouraged, as they re-create most of the album. The
show commences with the "Memory Lain, Hugh" and "Headloss"
suite. Caravan's performance here firmly ascends to levels that the
studio version never achieves, as the band attacks and wraps
themselves around the music. Especially notable is the contribution
of Geoffrey Richardson's electric viola, as he deftly maneuvers
between augmenting the band's vintage sound without ever overpowering
it. Caravan's most recent release concurrent to this gig would have
been the equally impressive concert set Caravan & the New
Symphonia. "Virgin on the Ridiculous" was one of two tracks
to make its debut on that release and is featured here in a striking
quintet setting that equals the power of the New Symphonia version.
This reading is leaner, revealing the band's conversational way of
jamming and improvisation. It is no contest as to why "For
Richard" was used on the Canterbury Tales compilation. The moody
and emotive arrangement takes on several distinct personae
throughout. In 2000, the entire "classic" Caravan catalog
was researched, remastered, and subsequently reissued. During the
exhaustive search that ensued, master tapes for this complete
performance were recovered. After a thorough sonic scrubbing, Live at
the Fairfield Halls, 1974 was released in March 2002. Not only is the
sound undeniably better, but also the concert is re-created in its
entirety -- restoring "Chance of a Lifetime" (which is
listed on the LP jacket, however, edited from the disc) -- and
placing "Hoedown" back in the encore spot.
En
Allmusic sobre Live at The Fairfield Halls:
Documented during an era in which
U.K. performances by Caravan were few and far between, Live at the
Fairfield Halls 1974 is a brilliantly remastered and likewise
complete presentation of a concert held just prior to their inaugural
tour of North America. Although Caravan had been subjected to several
key personnel and managerial alterations in the preceding months,
once they hit the stage they shed any behind-the-scenes acrimony and
were transformed into a stunning synergy of progressive and symphonic
rock. This warm-up show took place on September 1, 1974, at Fairfield
Hall in Croydon and was initially documented as a possible
promotional tool for their upcoming stateside appearances. The tapes
remained on deposit, seemingly forgotten, at the Decca studios
storage facility in West Hampstead, U.K., until the stunning
19-minute "For Richard" was resurrected for inclusion on
the two-LP Canterbury Tales compilation in 1976. Then, in 1980, the
French budget label Kingdom Records issued a double album under the
title The Best of Caravan Live. All but the most keen-eyed and -eared
enthusiasts passed the set up as a poorly assembled hits package. It
was, however, this show sans "Chance of a Lifetime" --
which the band rarely ever performed. Then as mysteriously as it
appeared it was deleted and remains out of print. On this release,
the sound has been sonically scrubbed and is now presented faithful
to the original presentation. Enthusiasts who prefer the band's
lineup and subsequent edgier tone, circa For Girls Who Grow Plump in
the Night, will be doubly thrilled with this release as they
re-create most of the album. Additionally, they wrap themselves
around the crushing "Memory Lain, Hugh"/"Headloss"
opener. Perhaps foreshadowing how powerful this rendition will be,
the evening's proceedings fade in to the hovering resonation of
Geoffrey Richardson's electric viola as he fiddles underneath the
band's introduction. Caravan's most recent release concurrent to this
performance is the equally impressive Caravan & the New
Symphonia. From that disc comes "Virgin on the Ridiculous"
-- performed here by just the quintet. Although composed for the
incorporation of an orchestra, this rendition is leaner and displays
the band's almost conversational way of jamming and improvising. The
transition into the "Be Alright Now" suite is seamless,
and, under the thunder sticks of Richard Coughlan (drums), the band
is propelled into one of the only live versions of the medley to have
been professionally documented. With a well-deserved nod to the "New
Symphonia," Live at the Fairfield Halls 1974 will perhaps become
the quintessential live Caravan release. The sound is crisp and the
stereo image is direct and very warm. This disc is highly recommended
for newly found fans as well as the more seasoned consumer.
En
Progarchives sobre The Best of Caravan Live:
All the classic early Caravan tracks
are present, including "For Richard", "The love in
your eye", "A hunting we shall go" etc. The recording
quality is good, and the performance accomplished. For me though,
there's nothing here which isn't as good if not better on the
original studio albums. If you're a fan of Caravan, this is probably
worth having otherwise stick to the studio albums. For a unique
Caravan live experience, I would recommend the "New Symphonia"
album, which sees many of the tracks orchestrated.
While this specific album was only
ever released in France, it has more recently been made generally
available under the title "Live at Fairfield Halls", on
which the tracks have been re-sequenced into the correct running
order as originally performed, and the song "Chance of a
lifetime" appended to "Be alright".
En
Progarchives sobre Live at The Fairfield Halls:
If LIVE AT FAIRFIELD HALLS had been
freely and universally available long before 2002 (when it finally
appeared complete, in CD-format) it would probably be considered one
of the great 1970s live albums. It contains eighty minutes of music
which sound less messy than YESSONGS, less sterile than SECONDS OUT
and less routine than BURSTING OUT. But let me be careful. I don't
want to annoy people. My main purpose is to explain to you how
adorable this album sounds!
First of all, FAIRFIELD HALLS
reveals Caravan at the absolute height of their powers. The album
simply rocks, and the band play much better than on the NEW SINFONIA
album. The concert recorded was apparently Mike Wedgwood's first
appearance with Caravan, but you could never tell. Wedgwood's bass
has a nice fat sound, his playing is incredibly tight, and with
veteran Richard Coughlan he makes one hell of a rhythm section.
Secondly, although the album
features neither the vaudeville "Golf Girl" nor the band's
best-known epic, "Nine Feet Underground", most other
essential Caravan tracks are here, and they receive performances of
the utmost warmth. I'll be the first to admit that, as a vocalist,
Pye Hastings has his limitations (his singing never goes beyond
mezzoforte), but what a range of lovely melodies does he get to sing,
and how well does his fragile voice suit them! "Virgin on the
ridiculous", "The love in your eye" and, of course,
the immortal "For Richard" all sound delightful.
Caravan is often considered the most
conservative Canterbury band, because their compositions are more
straightforward and less intricate than those by Hatfield and the
North or Henry Cow. You will 'get' them from the first time, and they
never grate on the ear. FAIRFIELD HALLS contains lots of solos, and
while many of them are similarly structured (starting off peacefully
and gradually getting more intense), none of them fail to satisfy.
David Sinclair proves himself to be one of prog's greatest organists
and Pye Hastings (whose clear sound I love) does a superb job on
electric guitar. But the concert's true hero is undoubtedly viola
player Geoffrey Richardson, who underscores each sung melody with the
most delicate arrangements, and who also builds up one instrumental
climax after another. I adore Richardson's warm timbre, and I'm
convinced he is one of Caravan's greatest assets. The only thing I
regret about FAIRFIELD HALLS is the lack of a guest spots for
flautist Jimmy Hastings. With one or two appearances by him this
album would have been perfect.
This album was recorded at
Fairfields Halls in 1974 just before CARAVAN embarked on their first
tour of the USA. "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night"
was their latest studio album at this time and 5 of the 8 tracks are
from that record. Great cover art by the way. The electric viola of
Geoff Richardson really adds to their sound here.This recording
really surprised me, it's almost a five star for me. The only
negative for me is the final track "Hoedown" which I was
never a big fan of anyway, but during this version it's taken up more
with audience participation then the music itself. The rest is about
as perfect as it could be.
"Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss"
is such an incredible track with the persistant bass, viola and
charming vocals. Organ before 2 1/2 minutes with some excellent
drumming 4 minutes in as viola rips it up. It changes after 5 minutes
to the more uptempo second section. "Virgin On The Ridiculous"
was never released on a studio album. Viola and drums to open before
it settles with vocals. I can't stop smiling. It kicks in before 3
minutes with drums leading the way as viola and organ keep pace. "Be
Alright / Chance Of A Lifetime" has a melancholic flavour to it
and I love it. The guitar is great a minute in when the vocals stop.
Vocals return as drums and viola continue to be relentless. The
second part comes in before 2 1/2 minutes and is slower but still
sad. Beautiful.
"Love In Your Eye" is from
"Waterloo Lily". This is such a moving track. Nice rhythm 2
1/2 minutes in. Viola joins in then organ. Great section. Excellent
guitar before 4 1/2 minutes. A calm with viola after 6 minutes. It
picks back up with viola leading the way. The organ before 10 minutes
is incredible.The guitar is back before 12 1/2 minutes ripping it up
with the viola as the bass throbs. Just an amazing 15 1/2 minute
version of this song. "L'Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Will
Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise)"
kicks in around a minute with viola and drums leading the way. The
guitar before 2 1/2 minutes lights it up. It changes before 4 1/2
minutes as it calms right down and organ takes over. The tempo picks
back up 8 minutes in to end it. I should mention that the original
"Backwards" section was composed by Mike Ratledge, and the
"Pengola" section was written by John G.Perry.
"The Dog, The Dog, He's At It
Again" is opened with a funny story about how that song came
about. This might be my favourite track on here. The vocals are so
wimsical and the lyrics so humerous. The music is infectious too.
Deep bass lines on this one. Organ before 2 1/2 minutes. Lots of
viola throughout. "For Richard" was written by David
Sinclair about his brother. It's from the "If I Could Do It All
Over Again I'd Do It All Over You". This version is a monster at
over 16 minutes in length ! The song starts to build after 4 minutes
until we get this fantastic instrumental with killer guitar, viola
and organ after 15 minutes.
If you like CARAVAN don't even
hesitate, track this outstanding recording down.
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