Customer Reviews

Second Album

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the liner notes indicate, this group named itself after American composer Terry Riley's 1969 minimalist masterpiece "A Rainbow in Curved Air", although the music on this 1971 release is anything but minimalist. This is an album of full-blown prog and the eight pieces on 2nd Album display use of odd time signatures, virtuosic playing by all musicians (in fact, keyboardist Francis Monkman and Darryl Way studied briefly at the Royal Academy of Music), some fairly intricate ensemble playing, and great vocals from alto Sonja Kristina. Keyboardist Francis Monkman used the VCS-3 synthesizer quite heavily in addition to the Hammond organ, mellotron, and piano on this recording. Interestingly, he was also a decent electric guitarist and utilized both distorted and "clean" tones. Violinist Darryl Way is also excellent and along with Sonja Kristina authored the first five tracks, while Francis Monkman composed three tracks including the energetic Everydance, the somewhat silly Bright Summers Day '68, and the excellent 12'53" Piece of Mind suite. It is worth noting that Piece of Mind features Sonja Kristina reciting a passage from T.S. Eliot's epic "Wasteland". In fact, "highbrow" references to literature were not unusual around this time, i.e., Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane wrote a piece influenced by James Joyce's radical Ulysses. Percussionist/drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa is excellent and displays a stylistic range that spans virtuosic and thunderous rave ups on Everydance to the hypnotic conga parts on the quiet piece Puppets. The bass slot was filled by the superb Ian Eyre on 2nd Album, although the bass position was in a constant state of flux with several bassists coming and going over the space of a few years. Although Curved Air was plagued by personnel changes, they managed to forge a distinctive sound over the course of three great and highly recommended albums including Air Conditioning (1970), 2nd Album (1971), and Phantasmagoria (1972).

An excellent sophomore effort. Born from the British group Sisyphus in 1968, the core of Frances Monkman (Guitar), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (Drums) and Rob Martin (Bass) met up with another visionary, Darryl Way (Violin, Keyboards) to form Curved Air. Very shortly, they were joined by Acoustic Guitarist/Singer Sonja Kristina. Personnel change for this album brought Ian Eyre on as Bassist. A milestone in the Progressive/Folk Rock genre had surfaced from the psychedelic mold, and Curved Air was making mega-leaps in song construction and complexity. From the haunting Jumbo to bouncy Bright Summer's Day '68 to the dark Piece of Mind, all cuts continue with the complex arrangements. Another gem of an album for Curved Air. Highly recommended. It is unfortunate that this band didn't get the recognition it deserved in the U.S. The same fate as Gentle Giant.

I heard this music well after the fact but well before today. I was 19 in 1982 when i discovered this, and it is the only Curved Air album i've heard. Am so happy to see it is available now on cd and will be ordering right after i finish this comment.

It is so rooted in the period that it may be hit or miss for younger folks, but on the other hand it is such strong music it may still crash through 35 years of music evolution to some degree as it did strongly for me after 10 years of music evolution by the time i heard it the first time.

As far as her voice, yes, when i first heard it, i was comparing everything to mainstream production values and i though it sounded odd and vaguely weak. But the musical virtuosity and the more kinetic tracks like "Everdance" (pretty sure it is called that, even tho Amazon has it listed as "Everydance") hooked me long enough to just let the album play on a number of times. The song on the other side of that album that tricked me into letting that side play was "Bright Summer's Day '68", previously described as silly in here, but to me it was a wonderful blend of happy bouncy bluesy music with a light-hearted casual singing style about all kinds of awful things that happen, with cool conscious-penetrating filtered voice inserts, etc. A real delight. Backstreet Luv is brooding and musically takes you down to an alley-level feeling even though it is progressive and not derivative. Her voice is alternatively creepy and kind of sexy-lecturing-unison.

But after hearing the whole album a few times, the other songs really started getting under my skin and wouldn't get out of my head, and a big part of it was her voice. Of course, i've since been exposed to the whole range of musical expression, of which bands like Jethro Tull and Genesis are but a tiny sliver. Against the whole backdrop of it all, Sonja Kristina had a wonderful quirky jazzy breathy sexy slightly-disjoint delivery that fits perfectly into this kind of music. It would absolutely kill it to have someone more traditionally technical singing these parts.

Even "the slow song" that i skipped right over many times at first (because i was 19 and had way too short of an attention span for a SLOW song) wormed deep into my subconscious and years later, even today, though i haven't heard that record in decades, i still think the dreamy, floating "Jumbo" is one of THE most haunting, subtle, emotionally yearning while simultaneously disconnecting pieces i've ever heard, and nothing has ever come as close for me to capturing the feeling of reflection and ambivalence and travel weariness and fondness for home while on a long jet flight as this song. It is amazing.

Curved Air, that delightful British band that had their heydey in the early 70's, are often called "progressive folk-rock". Actually, if one were to take into account all their major influences, the correct label might be: "Progressive folk-rock, classical-jazz, theatrical-phantasmagorical musical band, sometimes including strings and horns, as well!" In short, there is no type of musical genre that the band did not incorporate into their rich sound-stew. Second Album boasts such fabulous songs as "Young Mother" (a nice keyboard-laden piece reportedly about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), the hit single "Back Street Luv" (in which a great guitar hook heralds a situation many girls are all too familiar with), "Jumbo" (a lovely symphonic ballad about touring featuring Sonja Kristina's beautiful voice), "Everdance" (featuring a fabulous, throbbing band into highlighted by Darryl Way's gypsy violin), and best of all, "Piece of Mind" (a stunning twelve-minute tour-de-force featuring incredible lyrics by Francis Monkman, delicious vocals by Sonja, and mind-blowing playing by all!). Curved Air could have, and should have, been one of the great early progressive bands, and Sonja Kristina should be recognized as one of the pioneer women of rock (Gee, I wonder if Stevie Nicks ever listened to any Curved Air; it sure sounds like it, only Curved Air did it better!) Get this CD at once!

It was November 13, 1971. It was my 19th birthday and a group of my hippie friends bought tickets to a Jethro Tull concert in Cleveland, Ohio. With the help of an alka-seltzer size pill and a travelers fifth of Old Crow Whiskey, I had prepared my mind for one of my favorite bands. However, playing before Ian Anderson and company was the up-till-then-unknown group Curved Air. My mind became a floatation device upon hearing the incredible vocals of Sonja Linwood (Christina) and the pulsating synthes and streaming violins of the other members of the band ( Way, Pilkington, etc. ). I loved this band thereafter and have owned all of their material for decades. All of the albums are really good but, the Second Album with songs such as Backstreet Love and Everdance are so very outstanding that one should purchase it on cd immediately. You won't need a pill or whiskey to like the sounds of Curved Air's Second Album; it is a Classic, without a doubt. Let me add that the song "Envoy" found on Darryl Way's album Night Music is one of the all time great Progressive Rock songs ever recorded; buy it if you can find it.

Curved Air - a corner of my heart will always be reserved for this band - they headlined the first gig I went to in 1972 (Birmingham Town Hall) and of course gave me (and the rest of the world's pubescent males) Sonja Kristina!

In my opinion this 2nd album is far and away their most important offering, serving up an eclectic mix of finest prog to pop to classical (a propsicle?) - all of which bursts with the unique moods and atmosphere created by Kristina's unique voicing, Monkman's musical genius and Way's .... well way I suppose. In fact I will declare that this is prog Britain at its very best.

A couple of special mentions: Young Mother and Piece of Mind - possibly two of the finest prog tracks ever recorded. The first, an incredible dreamscape dominated by Monkman's superbly programmed synth (a track that sounds as fresh and exciting to me today as it did back in 1971) - the second a prog symphony that exercises every member of the band throughout its seamless movements. Again Monkman is nothing short of massive throughout and the band as a whole serve up an awesome achievement that, like classical music, is likely to remain listenable forever.

The CD doesn't reproduce like the old vinyl but at least it's clean and easy to fish out and put on!

Highly recommended to anyone of any age that takes their music seriously.

This is the definative Curved Air album. The first album (Air Conditioning) and 3rd (Phantasmagoria) have a few good tracks on them but even Air Cut (4th album), which is a good album, does not compare to this one.
Although there are many good tracks on this album the final 'extended' track (Piece of Mind) is the perfect 70's British Rock instrumental piece.
Having said that... Sonja Kristina's vocals are haunting at times ... just as she herself always was in concert.
If you like the early 70's British Rock bands I think you'll like this album.

I have the vinyl version of this and I loved it so much when it was new that I would have worn it out if I hadn't committed it to cassette tape early on. Therefore, my LP is in mint condition. When I finally located a CD of it, it was only available as a Japanese import, and I paid nearly $30 for it, and I paid the same price for PHANTASMAGORIA as well (still have three Curved Air vinyl records in my permanent collection). For something this good, I will gladly shell out the bucks if an expensive import is all I can get ... The music? Well, the above comments should tell you how fantastic I think it is. This is among the great psychedelic albums of all time, along with AIR CONDITIONING and PHANTASMAGORIA. None of the other Curved Air efforts are as wonderful as these three records, of which SECOND ALBUM is the absolute best (although I've noticed that others disagree with me on this). "Piece Of Mind," the over twelve-minute long final track is a marvel, as are "Jumbo" and "Puppets." These songs remind me of Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Yes, Jean Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield all rolled into one with touches of It's A Beautiful Day and Zephyr. In other words, it is a wall of sound full of influences and yet quite original at the same time. Swirling electronics, ethereal singing, pulsating rhythms, and constant, unexpected turns make this a spacey, addicting slice of ear candy. To me, it sounds as fresh today as when it was new. If you're not into synthesizers, this CD probably won't convert you, but if you like a really intense, eclectic mix of sounds, and you enjoy experimental yet melodic music, this could be your bag.

... Curved Air's second album was a pleasant discovery for me.. I had long known about this band because of a pair songs aired from it's "Phantasmagoria" album, but I never really saw the full depth of the band until I gave a few playings to the copy that I brought.. None of the songs really has anything to detract from them.. As a whole, I'd strongly recommend it to prog-rock fans who might've missed this unsung classic as the best of the first three studio albums by this group!

... My favorite tracks are "Back Street Luv", "You Know" and the epic "Piece of Mind".. It's hard to describe it all, but one can find influences of Jazz, Folk and Classical in this album in abundance.. It's just the right mix needed for any prog-rock fan's listening pleasure.

A lot of people dismissed Curved Air because of the picture disc gimmick of their first album; they couldn't get beyond the gimmick to the music. This is the album that proved Curved Air's substance.

It opens with "Young Mother", which begins and ends with an every-note-in-its-place vocal section with a wonderfully free-flowing violin and synthesiser jam in the centre. "Back Street Luv" was the hit single - a distinctive sound unlike anyone else. "Jumbo" and "You Know" are the most lightweight tracks here, the former featuring Sonja's multitracked vocals playing against the violin, the latter old-fashioned rock'n'roll.

Puppets is a minimalist song (about manipulation?) extending for five and a half hypnotic minutes. It's very quiet, almost remote, with simple percussion and piano underscoring a quiet voice and dreamlike synthesiser. Energy returns with "Everdance" and "Bright Summer's Day" before the final track "Piece of Mind", the album's tour de force. Almost thirteen minutes of music in the best progressive tradition, the mood ranges from manic to desperate to quietly contemplative, with the band exploring their sounds to the fullest with a precision similar to that of King Crimson.