CURVED AIR LIVE

Curved Air Live was my first entry into this fine underrated british prog band. It was recorded when four of the original members reunited for a short come back tour (according to legend, because of unpaid back taxes), which ended up delivering this album. Whatever the reasons for the reunion, it would be a short lived one, since only Kristina and Way stayed on for the next studio release, Midnight Wire. Still, this is a fine display of how good this group were on stage. All band members are in top form and new bassist Philip Khon fits in very nicely.

The album starts with a powerful, better then the studio version, rendition of It Happened Today (fantastic violin and wah wah guitar duet at the beginning, with a wonderful violin solo by the second part). Then comes one of their most celebrated songs, Marie Antoinette. Kristina´s voice is a bit too aggressive on this album, for she used to be more soft and warm on the original recordings, but nothing that spoils her fine perfomance anyway. She was one of prog´s great female singers. Back Stree Luv works very well live while then on the band starts to jam more, as it clear by the nest tune Prepositions (a bit overdone and self indulgent I must admit, but still good). Side two of the vinyl started with Young Mother, another of their classics. Then comes Darryl Way´s tour the force, a 9 minute version of Vivaldi. Way always impressed me, he is one of the most skilled violinists I ever heard in rock format and this track was always a favorite. It includes the traditional ´A Sailor´s Hornpipe´ in the middle, that works just fine (you can hear the audience loving it! And pay atention to Kohn´s great bass countermelody in this segment). Then comes what I think it is the best moment of all, the great Everdance (that includes the Vivaldi theme at the end). Fantastic!

I was a little disappointed that the CD version of this album did not include any bonus tracks, for they might have played more songs during the show. It is still good, but surely it could be improved and Curved Air fans deserved something extra. It would be even greater, because it was very well produced and, for the time it was recorded, has an excellent sound. Curved Air´s music was quite unique and this live CD captures a very nice perfomance. Highly recommended.