Caravan “In the Land of Grey and Pink” (1971)

Caravan turned in a classic with 1971’s “In the Land of Grey and Pink,” with their insistent grooves, tongue-in-cheek lyrics with a uniquely English bent, and Richard Sinclair’s expansive, jazzy organ solos, this album largely set the template for the Canterbury sound. Caravan’s penchant for a whimsical, nodding bounce combined with a strong melodic hook is featured on “Golf Girl,” “Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly),” and the driving title track and reaches a peak on “Winter Wine,” as the band turns in a darker hued, intricate track featuring fantasy imagery. “Winter Wine” foreshadows the album’s pièce de résistance, “Nine Feet Underground,” a meandering multi-part suite that features some killer instrumental excursions coupled with some of the album’s most ingratiating melodies. –Ben