Nine Feet Underground (Caravan) Reaction & Analysis | The Daily Doug (Episode 454) 

I discovered this song about 10 years ago and I’ve been listening to the album on average once a month since then, if not more. Much respect and love to your dad and the entire band.

@@avramlevi4771 Thank you 🙂 Best wishes

Caravan became my favorite band with this album. It's so good and brilliant I don't know how is this not more popular.

I discovered Caravan literally today while driving for a few hours; heard about it before, just never got to it. Caravan is incredible, is now in my top 10.

Bought this in the 70s and lent it to a friend.took me 10 years to get it back.then bought it again on cd and play it often in the car.just the best!

"It's the Blimp! It's the Blimp, Yuri! It's the Blimp!"

@@tonyyeatropoulos6829 The mothership, the mothership!

@@shroomzed2947 "Put me on the white hook back in the fat rack, Shad-rach-ee-shack"

@@shroomzed2947 "Floppy boot, stomp down, to the ground!"

"When I see you floating down the gutter, I'll give you a bottle of wine"

Me too!

Richard is also a tremendous bass player.

So well said.

I’ve always thought the qualities of Richard’s voice you so well described were best displayed on Winter Wine. My favorite of his songs

A kinder gentler more cohesive England is just a romantic fiction. Read some Dickens.

You stole my thunder John, and I am glad - one of the greatest songs ever, and his voice is one of the most beautiful...

Great comment, John! RIP mr. Coughlan

It`s a Hammond A100.

@@gunvaldmkilli9131 Played, I believe, through a Burns Buzzaround.

Third is a must listen for anyone interested in the Canterbury sound.

Please check out moon in June it’s another suite from soft machine!

You know your Canterbury bands. Soft Machine and Caravan were the best. And Soft Machine III is one of my favorite all time albums.

Absolutely!!!

Cunning Stunts.

@@garyvanremortel5218 I need to revisit those couple albums after "For Girls..." I gave them a listen a number of years ago and they didn't really grab me, but it's been a while.

@@garyvanremortel5218 Hey Gary! "Cunning Stunts" was my first exposure to Caravan, which I bought because I loved the cover. I loved "The Show Of Our Lives", "No Backstage Pass", and especially "The Dabsong Conshirtoe". My next one was "Blind Dog at St. Dunstan's", which I loved as well. When I began working my way backwards, "For Girls Who Grow Plump In the Night" just blew me out of the water!! I do love "Nine Feet Underground", but to be honest, if I were ranking my favorite tracks, that one would not be in the top 5. Top 10? Maybe. Amazing for its time, but "Cunning" holds a special place in my heart as a sentimental and nostalgic favorite. Overall, I don't think any album surpassed "Plump". However, if you haven't heard it, the "BBC Live In Concert" will knock you out of your airplane!! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_1_Live_in_Concert_(Caravan_album)

If I Could Do It... is my favourite of theirs. Absolutely stellar album from top to bottom.

Indeed, he was known for being uncomfortable with improvisation and preferring to stick to the music as written.

A magnificent bass player as well

And even better in surround thanks to Steve Wilson!

Yes it is

Yeah, that's how I first heard this in 1980

Have been listening to it for 50 years. Awesome suite of songs.

I was given that album by Caravan bassist Mike Wedgwood, who’s coming to visit us on March 10th 24!

Nice. Lifetime fan.

It's Jim! Buy him a coffee. LOL @Doug Helvering I cannot recommend Jim's channel high enough. @Jim Newstead I'll have the book in the post in the next few days, and there'll be a nice little Marillion bonus too. btw coming up to see them at Aylesbury on Sept 24th.

Hi, Jim! I'd contend that although Canterbury doesn't describe a specific sound, there are some sounds (Mike Ratledge, Dave Stewart and David Sinclair's fuzz organs and electric pianos in particular) which are unmistakably Canterbury, so much so that Andy Tillison of The Tangent can produce 'modern' Canterbury tracks with these instruments (despite hailing from Yorkshire!)

Nice to see you here, Jim! I really like your videos.

My home town! (was)

I have been thinking for the last few days that Doug would love the Hatfiields and posted a comment above recommending him to check them out, so I'm delighted to find I'm not the only one who thought that.

@@alphaomega6062 Thank you. I was quite amused to find out their name came from two Road Signs🛣

Seconded, thirded, recommended, hell yes, do this, Doctor Doug. If a full album is too much, then at least do the "Mumps" suite from side two of The Rotters Club; you'll find a LOT to sink your compositional teeth into -- and it's all written by the brilliant and WOEFULLY under-appreciated keyboardist Dave Stewart (who subsequently worked with Bill Bruford in his late '70s band, later wrote for Keyboard magazine, and in more recent years has done string and choral arrangements for Steven Wilson & Porcupine Tree).

The eponymous Hatfield and the North album has the marvellous Son of There's No Place Like Homerton and from keyboardist Dave Stewart's time in the band called Egg there is A Visit to Newport Hospital, both well worthy of scrutiny.

'Mirage' especially.

I was thinking if someone didn't know any prog but the really big bands I would compare them to Genesis but Camel would be a more apt comparison but of course understanding time wise camel sounds like Caravan not the other way around

Hatfield And The North is even more intense and virtuosic

@@cesarincamendozaloyola4407 Dave Stewart is a great composer/keyboardist . He came to prominence in the 1970s as a founding member of the band National Health and later, joined Bruford, led by drummer Bill Bruford . He also had a column on Guitar Player and developed a harmony system based on fifths.

I'd love Doug to do side B of Ruth is stranger than Richard...Side Richard with all the magnificient MOUSE interludes

I was a little surprised at how many episodes he’s done and Robert Wyatt has zero appearances. He should just do the entire Rock Bottom.

It really is. Golf girl is a perfect slice of whimsy.

It would certainly speed the household chores along.

With a magnificent artwork

Hatfield is a must for a "wierd Wednesday", Gong, Matching Mole will fit in the perfectly as well

Up!

Yep, amazing stuff! Along with the Lovecraft's referenced "Cthulhu Cthulhu"

@@risboturbide9396 One of my favorites on the album, to be sure!!!

Richard Coughlan, the drummer, is also amazing here. RIP

Going to see them for the third time in a few weeks!

Great album, but I prefer Whatevershebringswesing and Confessions Of Dr Dream!

And, of course the first 'Soft Machine' album.

Yes and NATIONAL HEALTH - HATFIELD AND THE NORTH were a wonderful band playing very tricky music with wit and flair and lugubrious Richard Sinclair on bass and witty vocals. Brilliant Dave Stewart on keyboards ( from Egg) Phil Miller underrated guitar player and Pip Pyle on drums. They used to talk about breaking drummers! Bill Bruford drummed for a while with NATIONAL HEALTH formed by Dave Stewart with Alan Gowen from GILGAMESH with Phil miller again. Dave then went on to join Bill Bruford’s band … all excellent and when hear any of them live and improvising the musicianship is off the charts

Probably my favorite cut from this band. Seconded!

I want to add "gong" to this list

Although they are more from The New Wave of Canterbury Scene music, I think Syd Arthur should also be added to that list!!!

If Doug ever react to For Richard or The lover in your eye, it should be the New Symphonia version

Good observations Carl. You may prefer side one. More hooks n vocals.

Doug reacts to a lot of computer music?

Weird. I'm actually looking at a computer now, and there are two others around. Three computers in sight*

They don’t teach progressive rock in music schools.

@@jimhardiman3836 They also don't control you in your time outside of school. And I learned music theory and harmony under Truman Fisher, who taught Capt Beefheart, Frank Zappa, and Eddie Van Halen. So he actually was aware of prog rock and Coltrane and Steve Reich to name a few things he referenced.

This is a fair point. Circa 1974 our (classically-trained) music teacher at a very old-fashioned school once took a lesson or two to point us in the direction of Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth and 'Sounds Interesting' which was Radio 3's (UK BBC classical music station) look at adventurous rock/avant-garde music. Always thanked him for that and goes to show that a classical training should involve investigation of ALL genres of music.

Totally agree. The rest of the side 1 tracks are nice, but Winter Wine is far superior in my opinion.

@@Bsith there is a fantastic live version of Winter Wine from German TV here on RU-vid. Check it out, mate!

Absolutely love Winter Wine. Such brilliant music makers

Hey, the title track is superb. Probably my favorite by Caravan

@@hankbannister Yup, I know that version and it's so good. Thank you anyway!

It owes a lot to "Sunshine of Your Love", though, doesn't it?