Curved Air

From England.

Curved Air I (1970 - 1971)
  • Sonja Kristina - vocals - b. April 14, 1949, Brentwood, England.
  • Darryl Way - keyboards/violin
  • Francis Monkman - synthesizer
  • Ian Eyre - bass
  • Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
Albums:
  1. "Air Conditioning" (1970)
  2. "Second Album" (1971) - Single: "Back Street Luv"
Curved Air II (1971 - 1972)
  • Sonja Kristina - vocals
  • Darryl Way - keyboards/violin
  • Francis Monkman - synthesizer
  • Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
  • Mike Wedgwood - bass
Album:
  1. "Phantasmagoria" (1972)
Curved Air III (1972 - July 1973)
  • Sonja Kristina - vocals
  • Mike Wedgwood - bass
  • Kirby - guitar
  • Eddie Jobson - violin/synthesizer - b. April 28, 1955, Billingham, England.
  • Jim Russell - drums
Album:
  1. "AirCut" (1973)
  2. "Lovechild" (1991) - recorded in 1973.
Group disbands.  Eddie Jobson joins Roxy Music.
Curved Air IV (1974 - 1975) (reformed)
  • Sonja Kristina - vocals
  • Darryl Way - keyboards/violin
  • Francis Monkman - synthesizer
  • Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
  • Phil Kohn - bass
Album:
  1. "Live" (1975)
Curved Air V (1975 - 1977)
  • Sonja Kristina - vocals
  • Darryl Way - keyboards/violin
  • Mick Jacques - guitar
  • Tony Reeves - bass - formerly with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Colosseum, and Greenslade.
  • Stewart Copeland - drums - b. July 16, 1952, Alexandria, Egypt.
Albums:
  1. "Midnight Wire" (1975)
  2. "Airborne" (1976)
Group disbands.  Stewart Copeland later joins The Police. Tony Reeves later rejoins the reformed Greenslade.

Curved Air VI (1990) (reformed)
  • Sonja Kristina - guitar/vocals
  • Darryl Way - keyboards/violin/vocals
  • Francis Monkman - guitar/keyboards/bass
  • Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums/percussion
Album:
  1. "Alive, 1990" (live) (2000) - On September 23, 1990, Curved Air reformed for a concert at London's Town and Country Club 2...this CD, published by Mystic Records, is a record of that event and features songs primarily selected from their first three albums.  Don't judge this live performance by the audio quality of the first track, "Twenty Years On (Intro)", a new song written specially for this reunion concert; this intro track was taken from a mono cassette recording from the audience.  Although I was a little leary of this approach at first, I'll have to admit a certain charm in hearing this song just as it was heard by the fans.  I was particularly impressed with the way the start of the second track, "It Happened Today", synchronizes with the much-improved audio quality recorded from the sound board.  I really like this CD, from the boogie-feel of "Stretch" and the moodiness of "Hide and Seek" to the lovely "Melinda (More Or Less)".  Sonja Kristina's lead vocals are strong and distinctive, the guitar work from Francis Monkman is impressive, and Darryl Way's violin playing is a joy to hear (with the exception for the feedback/screeching portion of "Vivaldi"...not a problem, since it doesn't last too long), and the percussive work from Florian Pilkington-Miksa keeps everything moving along.  This is a very good live recording of a very tight band.  Curved Air reminds me somewhat of what Kansas (one of MY favorite bands) might have sounded like with a female vocalist.  Having seen Curved Air play live in Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 1970s, it was refreshing to hear this music again, and it brought back a lot of pleasant memories from the concert.  Fans of the band will definitely want this recording, and if you haven't heard the music of Curved Air before, you need to hear this.  Highly recommended.
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Last Revised:  February 20, 2001
Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Gary S. Hartman.  All rights reserved.