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Curved Air/Air Conditioning

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What does it sound like?:

Curved Air were always a better idea than a reality, perhaps explaining their inability to retain any one line-up for any great length of time. Air Conditioning was their debut and, shall we say, very much of it’s time, 1970, the time being ripe for a classical violin and rock rhythm section fusion, fresh with, ever mindful of the potential TOTP audience, a dad-friendly hippy chick on vocals. And, to be fair, who outside of these portals remembers them for anything else? (And no, Back Street Luv was on their 2nd album.) So what do we get here?
2 discs, the first being a remaster of the original recording, with both sides of the debut single, reprising the different version that opens the album, and it’s flip. Disc 2 is loads of motley alternate versions, the compulsory John Peel sessions and, significantly, a studio recording of the apparently otherwise unreleased Daryl Way live showstopper, Thinking on the Floor. A fancy booklet would be included, were this not a stream, effectively also nuancing the sonic virtues of the remastering, but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers. It is probably clearer than the copy I have on my i-pod already. Or the 2 songs I felt worthy of keeping last time I listened to it. This is both good and bad. First the positives. Ever the sucker for a fiddle, I find Daryl Way’s playing is as superb as I remember, with that silky and honeyed vibrato tone soaring overhead, whenever his democratic turn to solo is allowed. The keyboards and guitar are less to my taste, both, in the indubitably competent hands of Francis Monkman, a little predictable. Bass and drums plod a little, even if sticksman Florian Pilkington-Miksa deserves a place in history for his name alone. As for Sonja Kristina, well I get the channeling of Grace Slick. But it is in all but voice. Sadly the voice is more a composite of Joan Baez and, on occasion, Julie Andrews. Honest. Yes, each track has it’s moments, usually when Way is leading the pack, but with always a time signature change never far away, dashing it all away into derivative guitar solos and those vocals. Track 6, Hide and Seek can be used as a template for both this dismissal and for the whole album, apart from the stand out set piece, Vivaldi, which, as on the original, appears twice, the reprise with cannons. Utterly bonkers, it is a marvellous indulgence and is alone worth the price I paid for the LP back in the distant. Pretentious? I should cocoa. I am playing With Cannons as I write, smiling broadly.

What does it all *mean*?

What were we smoking? OK, that’s harsh, it has aged no less well than many of it’s era, when to get all killer no filler was a rarity anyway. But I wish I had retained the memory rather than it’s invocation, sticking to Vivaldi and Back Street Luv as all I needed. OK, I now have the rarity, outside a later live LP “At the BBC”, Thinking on the Floor. Or I think I have, as the numbering of the tracks on disc 2 are all muddled and awry. Which was careless, unless a trick to confirm all review copies were listened through…. (STOP PRESS: Spotify also has the wrong track labelling for Thinking on the Floor, presenting yet another listen to It Happened Today, which is fast becoming an ear worm of unwanted proportions….)

Goes well with…

A short memory span.

Release Date:

Might suit people who like…

Jig a Jig, Devil’s Answer, Living in the Past, all those fab singles, ruing the day they bought the long-player.

1

Comments

  1. I’m not having that. Anyone investigating the long players from East Of Eden, particularly the second album, ‘Snafu’, as a result of hearing the inescapable sounds of Jig-a-Jig will have been delighted with what they found. The 7 minute version of Leaping Beauties is outstanding, and worth the price of admission alone.

  2. Forgive me that slight troll, VV, I was just trying to think of “prog” (1970 so possibly underground??) singles. I have each of the parent albums of the 3 songs mentioned, liking all 3 good deal more than either of the first 2 Curved Air records. I took on Bargey’s offer as I felt bad about thinking the Air were a bit limp, hoping to discover earlier missed charms. I didn’t.

    • Arf, I guessed you had your tongue in your cheek, especially as you included Living In The Past as well.
      I have to agree with you regarding Curved Air; the idea is somehow better than the implementation. Their instrumental prowess was never in doubt (see the Sky albums that followed), but their shtick never really gelled properly for me either.

  3. Saw Curved Air three times in the early days – like every other male in the audience I was smitten. It took rather a long time to accept that beyond a couple of very catchy “tunes” there was nothing much there…
    I am tempted to fire up Air Conditioning but, nah, let’s leave me in the front row one Sunday afternoon in The Roundhouse, young and in love….

    • Like all the rock violin choices mentioned above, and Devil’s good too.

      Actually, L. Shankar never appeared on any pop hits but a great player nevertheless’ One of my favourite concerts ever was him on his amazing perspex instrument, double neck (flash bastard), accompanied by the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and the Indian tabla player Trilok Gurtu at Moers Festival, mid-80s.

      Here’s a little thing he and Zappa did together, some of you might like it. Widdle warning!

      PS Still play my old Air Conditioning and still admire Sonja, damn, there weren’t many girls around in bands in those days. As for comparing her to Joan Baez, well her one-dimensional trill might have been “good” singing, never did anything for me though. Julie Andrews was fine though, tainted by association with the appalling Dick van Dyck. Suspect you were being facetious Retro, or too young to get it.

      • Too young? How droll.
        I confess to being intrigued my the gap between what is deemed good and what I like to listen to. I always thought SK nowt special vocally, yet she was apparently a professional voice coach in her post Curved Air years, pre-reforming. Maybe this explains why so few good vocal bands emerged from the college she worked at.

        • Think Sonja was just as adequate technically as anyone else in pop/rock, meaning not very, 15-year-old males (me) very much their target group. Really enjoyed your review in fact, do more, until you hot-buttoned me with Baez, who has always irritated me.

          Lots of Sonja interviews on YT too, she can fair talk. But how does one recognise her Essex accent?

          • Hah, Retro, just listened to Air Conditioning again. First track, side 2, Propositions, she really does do that soprano trill thing that Baez does (in her case, in every line of every song unfortunately). That’s where your impression comes from, I’ll wager (“slaps thigh”). Fair cop, guv. Next time I’ll be listening out for Julie parallels.
            😉

  10. I know you’re all expecting me to post something involving the Mahavishnu Orchestra – which, naturally, in either of its incarnations (1971-73, 1974-75) is the greatest use of violin in rock. But let’s not forget the Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ with that bloke from East of Eden (whose PPL payments are, I suspect, significantly greater than those of other EoE members).

    And let’s not forget this sensational 1969 version of ‘Tired of Waiting’ by the Flock:

    PS Sonja Kristina – she couldn’t really sing. But she’s still giving it a go.

    • Prompted by this thread, I was watching a live YouTube clip of The Flock a couple of nights ago, as it happens.
      Very nice violin/guitar duet, unaccompanied. Then the bass, drums etc. came in, still OK. And then the guitarist began singing and I had to kill it off pretty sharpish.

      I saw a rare appearance of Jerry Goodman with Saucey’s old pal Gary Husband at Ronnie Scott’s a good few years back. He very much still had it.

  13. Bass players were expected to play violin in those days, from Family, Slade, Rod Clements in Lindisfarne, Dave Pegg in Fairport (Bridge over the River Ash), Chas Hodges in Head,Hands & Feet, the list is endless. Is is similar finger work on the frets or something?

    • The only immediate similarity is in the number of strings.
      No frets on a violin and the 4 strings are tuned GDAE – 7 semitones apart –
      whereas a bass guitar’s strings are tuned 5 semitones apart, to EADG.

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