Phantasmagoria

Artist: Curved Air
Label: Collector's Choice
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 617742016024
EAN: 0617742016024
ASIN: B0000584US

Release Date: 2001-02-13

Phantasmagoria

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Tracks:

Marie Antoinette
Melinda (More Or Less)
Not Quite The Same
Cheetah
Ultra-Vivaldi
Phantasmagoria
Whose Shoulder Are You Looking Over Anyway
Over And Above
Once Always A Ghost

Similar Items:

Second Album
Air Conditioning
Air Cut
Airborne
Midnight Wire

Product Description

1. Marie Antoinette
2. Melinda (More Or Less)
3. Not Quite The Same
4. Cheetah
5. Ultra Vivaldi
6. Phantasmagoria
7. Whose Shoulder Are You Looking Over
8. Over And Above
9. Once A Ghost, Always A Ghost

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Life Begins in a Thousand Years.......2007-03-18

The journey of discovering the sweetness of Curved Air was slow motion for me. I heard bits of "Over and Above" on an AM radio station in Dallas around 1973 and was hooked. Now that I've listened to the song more closely, it's easy to understand why: An alluring Avante Garde intro, great arrangement with xylophone, violin, horns and rather spooky albeit beautiful vocal harmonies, long jazzy solos with vibraphone and synth keyboards... Unfortunately, the DJ got the name of the group wrong and my quest for the album ended in disappointment. The song stuck with me though and on a whim I recently entered the one lyric I'd remembered into a search engine ("life begins in a thousand years ") and scoured through the links. One of them was a web site dedicated to the somewhat obscure psychedelic art-rock band, Curved Air. When I heard an excerpt of the track I'd heard 33 years earlier, it was like turning the key to a door that opened into another world. Even after decades, the music stands distinctly on it's own, offering a remarkable experience for all who would listen. I'm really glad this CD is available! :-)

(Techno-Nerd Suggestion: If you are so inclined, you can use a parametric EQ to reduce low end at around 100Hz to effect a more balanced bass. Not every song will require the same equalization, so use your ear!)

Haunting Classic.......2005-10-27

This is a great album. It has a supernatural atmosphere to it that makes it different from anything else I've ever heard. Done a little differently, this would not be my cup of tea, however, the way they execute the music sold me from the first strains of Mary Antonette. It is mood music, to be sure, and it is certainly not heavy. However, it is great music and brings back memories of Spain in the early seventies. I think despite the rather primitive electronics (by today's standards, maybe) this album would do well today. Then again, it is probably not bland enough to be a hit album! Highly recommended.

The air is always curved if you choose to see it.......2005-09-15

The third album follows the tradition with some refinement. Born from the British group Sisyphus in 1968, the core of Frances Monkman (Guitar), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (Drums) and Rob Martin (Bass) met up with another visionary, Darryl Way (Violin, Keyboards) to form Curved Air. Very shortly, they were joined by Acoustic Guitarist/Singer Sonja Kristina. A milestone in the Progressive/Folk Rock genre had surfaced from the psychedelic mold, and Curved Air was still making mega-leaps in song construction and complexity. Personnel change for this album brought Mike Wedgewood in as Bassist. From the beautiful Marie Antoinette to the straightforward pop tune Phantasmagoria to relentless Cheetah, the quality just kept coming. The complexity and continuous changes in tone and beat set the mark for other Prog Rock groups to emulate in songs like Over and Above with its multiple layers of sound. More electronic and synth experimentation on this album than the others - Ultra Vivaldi and Who's Shoulder Are You Looking Over Anyway? - Highly recommended, of course.

An excellent Curved Air album.......2004-12-14

I am not quite sure why it took me so long to "come around" to Curved Air - this is fantastic English progressive rock that holds a great deal of interest for me. Released in 1972, Phantasmagoria comes close to the glory of their debut album and is probably their most musically involved and "proggy". After this album, the band pretty much fell apart leaving only lead vocalist Sonja Kristina and bassist Mike Wedgewood to carry on with the Aircut album (1973).

The musicians on Phantasmagoria include Sonja Kristina (lead vocals; acoustic guitar); Darryl Way (violin; piano); Francis Monkman (guitar; Hammond organ; synthesizers; mellotron); Mike Wedgewood (electric bass; backing vocals); and Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums and percussion). Guest musicians include Frank Ricotti (xylophone and vibes) and several horn players that are not credited. All of the band members are fantastic and some even received formal musical training at the Royal College of Music (Daryl). I think however, that I appreciate the lead vocals of Sonja the most. After all, women in progressive rock were a rarity and it is a real treat to hear Sonja's light and airy vocal style in this context.

Musically, this is full blown progressive rock that mixes classical, rock, and experimental approaches together. There are also some delicate moments too, which is especially evident in Sonja's delicate and haunting tune Melinda (More or Less). Francis Monkman's brief instrumental ode to Vivaldi is also interesting and was played entirely on synthesizers. Darryl Way also has an instrumental piece that features the violin as a solo instrument with excellent accompaniment by the entire band. The centerpiece of the album however is the 19'29" epic, four part Phantasmagoria suite which was written largely by Francis Monkman with contributions by Sonja. This is a decent large-scale composition that boasts some exceptionally intricate time signatures and fantastic ensemble playing. There are some psychedelic experimental passages here and there that really add a lot to the suite.

This CD reissue by Collector's Choice Music is just OK and has a few informative liner notes that discuss some historical tidbits, along with specifics about the Phantasmagoria album itself.

All in all, this is another great album of progressive rock by Curved Air that is highly recommended along with Air Conditioning (1970); and Second Album (1971).

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