AIRCONDITIONING

This is a very enjoyable debut album. Air Conditioning is by no means masterpiece of rock music but Curved Air did managed to maintain enough momentum here to please both the fans of folk and progressive rock.

The music and particularly the production of this album sounds exactly as it should for a 1970-release with a slightly higher emphasis on great songwriting. These compositions are the sole reason that make me want to revisit this album time and time again. It all starts with the wonderful album opener It Happened Today with its rock-oriented guitar intro which eventually settles in a much cozier folk rock territory during the verse-section.

I remember that I listened to a lot of Pavlov's Dog material at the time so when I first heard the vocals on this first track I immediately thought of David Surkamp! This error had to do with me not reading up on Curved Air before listening to their music. Sonja Kristina has a lovely voice that fits perfectly with the tone of the music and I especially enjoy it during the more subtle moments. Blind Man is a great example of that type of composition.

Vivaldi is this album's most apparent connection to the realm of progressive rock and Darryl Way's violin work is captivating to say the least. It's a pity that his work wasn't incorporated even more into the overall sound of the band. If it wasn't for the electric violin and sight touches of Mellotron here and there I'm sure that this music would even be classified as eclectic. Then again, if that was the case then I probably wouldn't even have heard of this band, so there is definitely no criticism on my part.

Air Conditioning is a nice little record that is well worth seeking out for fans '70s rock music.

***** star songs: It Happened Today (4:55) Vivaldi (7:26)

**** star songs: Stretch (4:05) Screw (4:03) Blind Man (3:32) Hide And Seek (6:15) Propositions (3:04) Rob One (3:22)

*** star songs: Situations (6:17) Vivaldi With Cannons (1:35)