CURVED AIR - LIVE ATMOSPHERE
Curved Air Records

You have to give it to Curved Air for persistence – they've been knocking our their own brand of prog rock, on and off, since 1970, albeit with large breaks and changing line-ups along the way. For a band who are possibly best known outside prog circles for having released the first commercial picture disc (back in 1970!) and who I will happily admit to having only heard one track by before, it shows a certain dedication, and the band has, it seems, a small but dedicated following that allows them to keep touring.

Still fronted by Sonja Kristina (a rare female presence in a very male genre), the band certainly haven't compromised their prog sound, if this live recording from their 2010/11 tour is anything to go by. While I'd been expecting the band to come from the folkier side of the progressive scene, but despite the presence of violins, this is very much on the heavier side for the most part. And for the most part, it's a solid recording, with exemplary performances from the band (as you might expect – there's no room for sloppy musicianship in a prog band!). A spot of research confirms that Kristina's voice has, inevitably, taken a deeper tone in the last 40 years, but she's still capable of hitting the high notes and soaring out when needed.

Consisting mainly of tracks from the first three albums, the best stuff here is album opener Marie Antoinette, the folky Melinda – a nice respite from the sound and fury – and hit single Back Street Luv, a genuinely funky, groovy number that I suspect will be immediately recognisable for most listeners, no matter now unfamiliar they are with the band and here fleshed out with guitar solos that stay within the spirit of the song. Similarly, Stretch has a decidedly Sixties blues rock groove to it, and It Happened Today is another catchy, epic and operatic number that is not a million miles away from the female-fronted gothic metal acts of today. These last three tracks ensure the album ends on a high point.

Other tracks are an acquired taste I imagine – like the best (and worst) prog rock, the emphasis is on complexity rather than catchiness, and the album might be a struggle at times for non-fans – though of course, why anyone not into the band would choose to start with a 2012 live release is anyone's guess. I can confidently say that back in my days of gobbling up prog albums incessantly, this would've more than satisfied my appetite. I do think this sort of thing probably works better as a live spectacle than a recording listened to on a winter morning...

The album comes with a bonus DVD that is very much an add-on rather than an equal part, featuring about 20 minutes of footage from the tour. It's a nice sampler, and offers a bit of insight for non-fans like myself, but might seem like a bit of a tease for committed fans. I'm assuming that a full DVD will be forthcoming (if not already out).

I always felt that prog represented both the best and the worst of the 1970s, often at the same time – the ambition, the disregard for pop music restrictions, the bloody-mindedness, the self-indulgence and the pretensions both appealed and appalled. Curved Air, on this album, manage to avoid the latter excesses for the most part (if the band ever recorded anything as utterly ghastly as Tales from Topographic Oceans, there's no evidence of it here!) and if nothing else, this album has made me note them down in my 'to investigate further' list.

DAVID FLINT

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