''Curved Air – Live'' was the first official live album by the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fu ...

. It was recorded on the band's reunion tour in December 1974 and released in 1975. Though it failed to enter the charts, it made enough profit to pay off the tax bill which had compelled Curved Air to reunite, allowing

Francis Monkman Anthony Francis Keigwin Monkman (9 June 1949 – 12 May 2023) was an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founding member of both the progressive rock band Curved Air and the classical/rock fusion band Sky. Life and career ...

and Florian Pilkington-Miksa to again leave the group.Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). ''L'Historia Bandido''. London and New York: Proteus Books. . p. 16.

Background

Sonja Kristina's vocals on the album are atypical of her 1970s performances, both live and in the studio. By her own account, she was in a distraught emotional state following the breakup of her first marriage, and this provoked more wild and raw on-stage singing.

Reception

Allmusic wrote that "Kristina herself is possibly in her best voice ever, while the instrumentation rides roughshod over the... belief that Curved Air were at their best in the studio", offering high praise to nearly all of the individual cuts while criticizing none of them.

Track listing

Personnel

;Curved Air *

Sonja Kristina Sonja Kristina (born Sonia Christina Shaw; 14 April 1949) is a British singer and songwriter, best known for starring in the original London production of the seminal 1960s musical ''Hair'', and for being the lead vocalist of the 1970s progres ...

– lead vocals *

Darryl Way Richard Darryl Way (born 17 December 1948 in Taunton, Somerset, England) is an English rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their Progressive Rock seminal albums from 1970 to 1976. He is best kno ...

– violin, keyboards, backing vocals *

– lead guitar, organ, VCS3 synthesizer * Florian Pilkington-Miksa – drums * Philip Kohn – bass guitar

Recording details

* Recorded live at Cardiff University and Bristol Polytechnic in December 1974 with the Manor Mobile * Re-mixed at Air London Studios * Produced by David Hitchcock for BTM Productions * Recording Engineer and Re-mix engineer Django Johnny Punter * Assistant Engineers – Phil Becque, Paul Nunn, Sean Milligan, Andy Morris and Alan Perkins * Design and Artwork Liz Gilmore * Photography Michael Allard for BTM design * Special thanks to Ben Mullet and Yamaha for stage equipment

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curved Air - Live Curved Air albums 1975 live albums Albums produced by Dave Hitchcock