SECOND ALBUM

This was the first Curved Air album I ever owned and I loved it! Some people compares CA with Renaissance, something I always found ridiculous. Their sound and style were too different, the only striking similarity was the fact that they both had female singers. Granted, female singers in prog outfits were a bit rare by then, but still they had different voices and those bands had different approaches to music. Curved Air was always more electronic and experimental than Renaissance.

Second Album is my favorite Curved Air album also. Here they sound much more focused and interesting then their debut and even more so than this LP´s follow up, Phantasmagoria. At least three tracks are absolute prog classics: Young Mother, Everdance and the wonderful 12 minute epic Piece of Mind. Back Street Luv and Puppets are also highlights while You Know is a bit weak and Bright Summer´s Day 68 is too whimisical for my taste (great violin licks, though). The production is ok and the cover is only average. Sonja Kristina had a wonderful voice and a strong personality that worked well with the way she delivered her interpretations.

It was obvious that the the chemistry worked but the balance between such talented and ambitious musicians was always shifting. I think they never really reached the full potential such strong combination could have had. Which is quite unfortunate for everyone involved. Darryl Way and Francis Monkman were some of the best players around and their songwriting skills were outstanding. The band had it all, but somehow they couldn´t work together for too long.

Nevertheless they did left a good string of fine prog albums. This Cd is a good starting point for this interesting and underrated UK band that could have been much more well known, since they were one of the great prog acts of the 70´s. Four stars.