My Top 2000 Songs #1119: Nine Feet Underground

We've already had a couple album-side-long prog suites--courtesy of Genesis' "Supper's Ready" and Jethro Tull's album-length "Thick As A Brick." This time the culprit is Canterbury scene act Caravan, whose 1971 album In The Land Of Grey And Pink was dominated by the epic "Nine Feet Underground."

The track is on the jazzier side of the prog spectrum, large chunks taken up by keyboard-dominated jams. But there are some nice vocal segments as well. As with other Canterbury acts (Soft Machine/Robert Wyatt, Gong), I can find the vocal style (and some of the telltale musical accents) a little off-putting, not necessarily my vibe. But this piece gets a pretty good groove going before segueing into a quieter, more pastoral bit and then a harder-rocking, Cream/Iron Butterfly-like close. Definitely one for the diehards, but when I'm in the mood--maybe once or twice a decade?--it's kinda cool.

Live 2020: