SECOND ALBUM

I had forgotten to review this album for some strange reason even though I've owned it for decades but here it is; Curved Air's second album called the Second Album because it was their second album and it was the follow-up to the great debut Air Conditioning. Once again it boasts one of the great collaborations with Monkman and Way who is outstanding on Violin as usual that most fans will remember until they dissolved their involvement a few albums later.

This second release has some great tracks such as Piece of Mind which was their effort to produce a mini prog epic. The classical influences are evident of course but the whole album is subjugated by and dominated by the one huge track that became a live staple in the set list Back Street Luv. It was this single alone that was enough to make the album a top seller and of course it was the groups biggest hit without a doubt but by no means their best track.

The main drawcard for most listeners including me was the beautiful Crystaline vocals of Sonja Kristina who is simply an outstanding performer. Overall the album is nowhere near as prog as subsequent releases such as Phantasmagoria, but it still has some nice moments. Some of the tracks are quite mediocre but the band was still yet to reduce their best work. The album finds the band in the early phase of its career, so this is generally a prog curio for all who dare to venture in.