Caravan - Live At The Fairfield Halls, 1974 (The Best Of Caravan "Live") (1980) [Japanese Edition 2009]

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Caravan - Live At The Fairfield Halls, 1974 (The Best Of Caravan "Live") (1980) [Japanese Edition 2009]

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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.