Curved Air – Live

Curved Air – Live was the first official live album by the British progressive rock band Curved Air. It was recorded on the band's reunion tour in December 1974 and released in 1975.^[1] 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 and Florian Pilkington-Miksa to again leave the group.^[2]

Curved Air - Live
Live album by Curved Air
Released	February 1975
Recorded	4 December 1974
Venue	Cardiff University and Bristol Polytechnic
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	47:07
Label	BTM Records Ltd.
Producer	David Hitchcock for BTM Records
Curved Air chronology
Air Cut (1973) Curved Air - Live (1975) Midnight Wire (1975)

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.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

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.^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"It Happened Today"	5:25
2.	"Marie Antoinette"	6:45
3.	"Back Street Luv"	3:43
4.	"Propositions"	7:42
5.	"Young Mother"	8:56
6.	"Vivaldi"	9:00
7.	"Everdance"	5:36

Personnel

Curved Air

• Sonja Kristina – lead vocals
• Darryl Way – violin, keyboards, backing vocals
• Francis Monkman – lead guitar, organ, VCS3 synthesizer
• Florian Pilkington-Miksa – drums
• Philip Kohn – bass guitar

Recording details

• Recorded live at Cardiff University and Bristol Polytechnic^[4] in December 1974 with the Manor Mobile
• Re-mixed at Air London Studios
• Produced by David Hitchcock^[4] 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^[4]
• Design and Artwork Liz Gilmore
• Photography Michael Allard for BTM design
• Special thanks to Ben Mullet and Yamaha for stage equipment

References

1. Thompson, Dave. Curved Air – Live at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
2. Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). L'Historia Bandido. London and New York: Proteus Books. ISBN 0-906071-66-6. p. 16.
3. "Cherry Red TV interview". Cherry Red Records. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
4. "allmusic ((( Live > Credits )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 May 2009.

External links

• "Curved Air - Live (CD) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 3 May 2009.