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Caravan — The Shows of Ours... Live
(Madfish, 2001/2025, 10LP)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-08-01

The Shows of Ours... Live Cover art

The Shows of Ours… Live is a set of five live recordings by Caravan presented on 10 LPs, spanning from 1976 to 2001. Aside from noting the somewhat awkward wordplay of the title, most people are likely to think, “That’s a lot of live Caravan.” Yes, it certainly is. It adds up to a hair over seven hours altogether, and presents the dedicated fan of the band with many listening sessions of enjoyment. The first show, from Keele University in 1976, is incomplete, so two of the band’s staple long tunes — “Nine Feet Underground” and “The Love in Your Eye” — are presented in excerpt form. It’s also the only show to feature Jan Schelhaas on keyboards and Mike Wedgwood on bass, as well as being the show with the poorest recording quality, sounding a bit muffled and thin. Moving on, the 1980 show from Bobino in Paris, is only slightly better quality, but it does feature full-length versions of all the songs in the setlist. “Nightmare” is the only one of the band’s longer pieces included, though it does feature “Golf Girl,” “Hoedown,” and “Headloss.” Old Buckenham High School 1990 is notable for being the only show to include Richard Sinclair in the band, as well as Jimmy Hastings. This version of “Nine Feet Underground” comes in at nearly twenty minutes, and there’s a good reading of “For Richard” as well. Having Hastings in the group provides a lot of additional colors, and the recording fidelity is passable. The next stop on the tour is 1998 and a concert from the Park Hotel in Diss, Norfolk. This one starts with a rousing take on “Hoedown,” and then goes right into “Memory Lain, Hugh,” “Headloss,” and “Nine Feet Underground,” for a fine recap of classics from the early years. The recording quality is improved a bit here as well. The final show is Stables Theatre 2001, in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire, and features many fan long-time favorites along with a few more newer songs. In general, I think it’s obvious that a box set like this is only going to appeal to those who are already big Caravan fans, so if you’re the kind of person who needs four more versions of “Nine Feet Underground” in your collection, it’s got you covered. The fidelity of the recordings is generally only so-so, which is another factor in the fans-only column. Aside from occasional vocal shakiness, the performances are all spirited, and it’s easy to see why the band has so many loyal fans who’ve stuck with them through so many changes over the decades.

Filed under: Archives, 2025 releases, 2001 recordings

Related artist(s): Caravan, Richard Sinclair, Dave Sinclair

More info
http://caravanband.lnk.to/The_Shows_Boxset

 

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