In the Land of Grey and Pink
| In the Land of Grey and Pink | ||||
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| Studio album by Caravan | ||||
| Released | 8 April 1971 | |||
| Recorded | September 1970 – January 1971 Decca Studios and AIR Studios, London |
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| Genre | Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, Canterbury scene | |||
| Length | 43:23 | |||
| Label | Deram | |||
| Producer | David Hitchcock | |||
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| AllMusic |   |
In the Land of Grey and Pink is the third album by English progressive rock band Caravan, released in April 1971 on Deram Records. It was produced by David Hitchcock and was the last album to feature the original lineup of Richard Coughlan, Pye Hastings, Richard Sinclair and David Sinclair until 1982's Back to Front.
The album was written and recorded during late 1970 and early 1971, and featured more material from Richard Sinclair. Hastings, who had been the main songwriter on the previous two releases, contributed only one track. Instrumentally, the music is dominated by David Sinclair's keyboard solos, and side two is taken up by a 22-minute suite of songs, "Nine Feet Underground". The cover features a Tolkien-influenced painting.
The album was critically well received but was not a chart success, which led to frustration within the band and David Sinclair's departure. Nevertheless, it has remained in print and sold steadily, and been recommended by critics as a good introduction to the Canterbury Scene genre. The band look back favourably on the album and several of its tracks have remained fixtures in Caravan's live repertoire. It has been reissued several times, including a comprehensive 40th anniversary remix package by British musician and producer Steven Wilson in 2011.
Though Caravan had yet to achieve strong commercial success in 1970, they had started to build a live following, including an appearance at the Kralingen Pop Festival in the Netherlands to an audience of 250,000 and the 10th Plumpton Festival. In between touring, the group had written several new pieces that they wanted to record. Having had problems self-producing the previous album, If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You, the group decided to collaborate with producer David Hitchcock. Hitchcock had become a fan of the band and had been a key figure in getting them signed to Decca Records. He had progressed from the label's art department to production and was keen to work on the album. The group had been apprehensive about Hitchcock working on If I Could Do It All Over Again... but after discovering his enthusiasm and creative ideas, decided it would be a good idea to enrol him as producer.
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