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US AND THEM - 1973
- Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
- Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
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"...Curly-Haired Elfin Boy..."
One of the great Prog crimes
of the early Seventies (and I can count a few) was the critical and
commercially reaction to Curved Air's fourth album "Air Cut".
Unleashed by Warner Brothers
on a largely disinterested UK public in April 1973, it genuinely should have
amounted to accolades galore and a tippity-toppity chart position - but
misery-guts to all involved - received neither. Thankfully, time has been
kinder to its complicated soundscapes and fans have dug deeper, because in my
book this is undoubtedly one of the greats of the Prog Rock genre and an
overlooked Rock Album gem from the period.
Esoteric Recordings of the UK
(part of Cherry Red) seem to think so too because this rather brill little CD
Reissue and Remaster has done our curly-haired Elfin boy proud. Even without
extras, the Audio is fantastic and the presentation pleasingly in-depth (and
with enthusiastic band involvement). So if you'll forgive me yet another Vidal
Sassoon scissors pun, let's get our 'air cut' (oh dear)...
UK released Friday, 26
January 2018 - "Air Cut" by CURVED AIR on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC
2617 (Barcode 5013929471740) is a straightforward CD Reissue and Remaster of
the original 8-Track 1973 LP that plays out as follows (40:06 minutes):
1. The Purple Speed Queen
[Side 1]
2. Elfin Boy
3. Metamorphosis
4. World [Side 2]
5. Armin
6. U.H.F.
7. Two-Three-Two
8. Easy
Tracks 1 to 8 are their
fourth album "Air Cut" - released April 1973 in the UK on Warner
Brothers K 46224 (no US equivalent). Produced by MARTIN RUSHENT - it didn't
chart. Track 1 written by Kirby Gregory and Sonja Kristina, Tracks 2 and 8
written by Sonja Kristina, Track 3 written by Eddie Jobson and Sonja Kristina,
Tracks 4 and 7 written by Mike Wedgwood, Track 5 written by Eddie Jobson, Mike
Wedgwood, Kirby Gregory and Jim Russell with Track 6 written by Kirby Gregory
CURVED AIR was:
SONJA KRISTINA – Lead Vocals
and Acoustic Guitar
EDDIE JOBSON – Electric
Violin, Piano, Mellotron, Organ, VCS3 Synthesiser and Electric Piano
KIRBY GREGORY – Guitar and
Vocals
MIKE WEDGWOOD – Bass Guitar
and Harmony Vocals (“Easy”)
JIM RUSSELL – Drums and
Percussion
The card digipak is very
pretty, its inner spread mimicking the lovely Ian Fink drawing of the band that
graced the gatefold of the original 1972 LP – all five sat like cartoon hippy
minstrels around harps and flowers and rivers and flitting hummingbirds (yeah
baby). Better lies inside the 24-page booklet – concert memorabilia from the
period – live photos – Sounds Magazine reviews – the lyrics to all seven
singing tunes except the instrumental "Armin" – and even a rare
Malvern Winter Gardens gig with the Gary Moore Band as a support act, the
stunning Irish guitarist no doubt plugging his similarly Proggish album
"Grinding Stone" out around that time on CBS Records. There are
contributions from Sonja and Mike – both clearly proud of their accomplished
fourth album work and glad it has received reappraisal across the decades – but
the AUDIO is the big draw…
Repertoire of Germany did a
CD Remaster of "Air Cut" in 2006 in a card digipak but I can’t help
but feel that this BEN WISEMAN 2018 version trumps the Audio on that in every
way. This transfer is from the first generation tapes and man you can hear it
(a first officially). What is also more evident now is the Producer. MARTIN
RUSHENT would of course go on to have huge late Seventies fame with Punk, New
Wave and Electronica acts like The Stranglers, The Buzzcocks and Human League –
but back in the early part of the Seventies his Prog/Folk-Rock pedigree read
like a virtual whose-who of names. He’d been involved in two solo albums for
Jonathan Swift on CBS Records – T.Rex and "Electric Warrior", Gentle
Giant on Vertigo, Badger and Johnny Harris on Atlantic, Darien Spirit on
Charisma, Osibisa on MCA and oodles more. Its clear that as the lovely Side 2
finisher "Easy" plinks its little-boy-with-a-troubled-mind piano
notes out through your speakers – soon joined by guitars and superbly
complimentary harmony vocals from Mike Wedgwood – that Rushent knew how to mix
it all into one cohesive sound.
With Violinist Darryl Way and
Keyboardist Francis Monkman having jumped ship after the third album
"Phantasmagoria" (released in April 1972) – the remaining three
re-grouped and got real lucky. Eddie Jobson's band Fat Grapple had supported
Curved Air at a Newcastle Mayfair gig and despite his youth - the 17-year olds
playing stunned (a little like Gary Moore in fact). Alternating between Violin
and Keyboards – Jobson filled in two gaps. Second up was ace-axeman Kirby
Gregory who had been in a band called Armada with future Stretch buddy – Elmer
Gantry. Curved Air now had the players and the material…
Musically "Air Cut"
feels like this new line-up of Curved Air was channeling Queen, Rush, Genesis,
Yes and em - Curved Air - all in the one place. Not only are many of the pieces
Gentle Giant-complicated - they are beautifully played. This is a band on its
fourth outing and not the naivety of a debut. With the new bloods Eddie Jobson
and Kirby Gregory – they hit exceptional-players pay dirt big time. Jobson would
go on to Roxy Music after the failure of "Air Cut" (not surprising
they wanted him), but what is shocking is that he was only 17 going on 19 when
CA got hold of him. And with guitarist Gregory – they were and still are quite
rightly proud of the results.
The music quickly switches
from Rush guitar-riffage in "U.H.F" to "Foxtrot" piano pretty
in the same song. The 10:40 minutes of the Side 1 finisher
"Metamorphosis" written by Sonja Kristina and Kirby Gregory is very
"The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" a year before it happened and
contains some of the most accomplished and moving keyboard solos by a
staggeringly young Eddie Jobson. For instance at about 3:15 minutes into
"Metamorphosis", Sonja and the band's Prog rhythms give way to
beautiful grand-piano runs by Jobson - the passage has musicality that would
make Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson sit up, fidget and call their therapists in
a lather of worry-sweat. As Sonja comes back in with sweetly judged lyrics, it
feels "Selling England By The Pound" good. For sure the
"Two-Three-Two" tune features lyrics that grate and emotionally
upset, but apart from that - the only other real downside is the lack of
outtakes - session eavesdrops and alternates fans would now dearly love to
hear.
When "Air Cut"
failed and the band fizzled out - Gregory left and along with his old band-mucker
Elmer Gantry formed Stretch who actually did score a sizeable No. 15 chart hit
with their "Why Did You Do It" funkster on Anchor Records in late
1975. But my heart lies (like my sagging waistline) with the air that curved...
A superb reissue and one of
so many reasons as to why bands and collectors alike look to Esoteric
Recordings of the UK with such affection…
2018 CURVED AIR
Reissues on Esoteric Recordings
Francis Monkman and Ben Wiseman Remasters
Nos. 1, 2 and 3
are 'Expanded Editions' - No. 4 is album-only
1.
Airconditioning (November 1970 UK Debut LP)
2CD Remaster UK
released 26 January 2018 on Esoteric Records PECLEC 22616 (Barcode
5013929471641)
2. Second Album
(September 1971 UK LP)
CD + DVD Remaster
released 24 August 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22637 (Barcode
5013929473744)
3. Phantasmagoria
(April 1972 UK LP)
CD + DVD Remaster
released 27 July 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22638 (Barcode
5013929473843)
4. Air Cut (April
1973 UK LP)
CD Remaster (no Bonus
material) released 26 January 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 2617 (Barcode
5013929471740) First Use of Original Tapes
