THE ALBUMS: 1970-1973

Esoteric do a fine little line in simply-presented boxed sets from prog groups who didn't quite hit the top tier of the genre in terms of commercial success or critical acclaim, but remain worth a listen by fans. Curved Air fits that description to a tee, and this boxed set offers nicely remastered versions of their first four albums - a good thing since early CD releases were a bit patchy (especially when it comes to the debut, where I suspect some CD releases just sourced the sound off the vinyl rather than going to the master tapes, a particularly bad call since as an early picture disc that album had notable sound issues in its original release).

Some might query the inclusion of Air Cut, arguing that the original incarnation of Curved Air only really lasted for three albums, with most of the founder members departing after Phantasmagoria leaving Sonja Kristina as the only original member of the group, and the sound of Air Cut was very different from the original trilogy. That said, I think Air Cut was a valiant attempt to keep the group going, and the nice-sounding remaster on here presents it in a good light. After this, the band would disband fully, only to be dragged back together to resolve an awkward tax issue, so from that perspective drawing the line after Air Cut feels more sensible.