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Curved Air are a pioneering british progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians who came from quite different artistic backgrounds, classic, folk, and electronic sound, which resulted in a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Along with High Tide, It's A Beautiful Day and East of Eden, Curved Air were one of the first bands after The Velvet Underground and It's A Beautiful Day to feature a violin. Considered (according to AllMusic) "one of the most dramatically accomplished of all the bands lumped into Britain's late-'60s prog explosion", Curved Air released eight studio albums (the first three became the UK Top 20 hits) and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart.

Band history

The group evolved out of the band Sisyphus which was formed by Darryl Way (who studied violin at Dartington College and the Royal College of Music) and Francis Monkman, a member of Academy of St. …

A number of masterpieces (or close) that deserve to be vastly better known than they are:

Ruben Gonzalez - Introducing...Ruben Gonzalez
Style: Cuban Son
Stand out tracks: Cumbranchero, Mandinga, Como Siento Yo

One of the least well known pianists that a great number of people will already have unwittingly head, Ruben Gonzalez was invited to make this album after spending so much time improvising about during the making of the Buena Vista Social Club album. I bought the album on the basis of the quote from Ry Cooder, declaring him 'the best pianist I ever heard'. I don't think I'd be able to agree with that myself (Fiorentino, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Gilels etc.), but nonetheless what we have here is a wonderfully simple and elegant Cuban son album with Gonzalez's piano taking centre stage. There is always something particularly wonderful about hearing good pianists in their old age as their playing becomes imbued with a sort of noble understatement; this album is precisely one of those sorts…

Deep Purple / Child in Time / In Rock (3) / Jun 1970

Favorites of 1970 - Day 3: Honoring the great year of 1970 with a week's worth of selections (almost all) from that year!

Deep Purple In Rock is the fourth DP studio album but the first of the classic Mark II lineup, recorded mostly after they got Jon Lord's Concerto For Group and Orchestra performed & recorded in September 1969, beginning in August and wrapping in February 1970. Vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover had just joined the band in June.

While the albums of the Mark I lineup were more psychedelic or grooving late 60s boogie rock and included covers, this is the first record of all-original material fully written by the five members of the band, and marks the emergence of their most popular hard rock style. In fact, I've previously proclaimed it one of a trio of 1970 albums that could be considered the cornerstones of heavy metal.

"Child in Time" is DP's distinctive take on progressive…

1942 - Born on this day, Mike Vickers, Manfred Mann.

1944 - Born on this day, Skip Spence, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane. He died on 16th April 1999.

1958 - Born on this day, Les Pattinson, Echo And The Bunnymen.

1964 - Born on this day, Mark 'Bez' Berry, Happy Mondays, Black Grape.

1964 - The Beatles appeared on the UK TV comedy program The Morecambe and Wise Show, playing ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and also participate in comedy sketches with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. The Beatles also held the UK and US No.1 position on this day with 'Can't Buy Me Love'.

1969 - Lulu married Bee Gee Maurice Gibb, Brother Barry was the best man. The couple split in 1973.

1970 - Born on this day, Greg Eklund, drums, Everclear.

1970 - Appearing at London's Royal Albert Hall, Santana, Taj Mahal and It's A Beautiful Day.

1974 - Born on this day, Mark Tremonti, Creed.

1975 - Four Bay City Rollers fans were taken to hospital and 35 others required…

* Iron Savior
On guitar - Kai Hansen

- Iron Savior 1997


* It's A Beautiful Day
Violin and beautiful voices made this sound fresh.

- It's A Beautiful Day 1969
Listen to Bombay calling an you know why there is - a child in time -

- Marrying Maiden 1970
Very different to the first album - not this progressiv sound.

This is a list of the records I got in Japan in three cities. I saw plenty of other stuff but I only got the bargains mainly.

Kyoto - Joe's Garage
Tony Rice - Cold on the Shoulder - Has Vassar Clements and Bela Fleck on it so I took a chance - about £2
13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere - about £8
Jerry Garcia - Garcia- about £5
It's A Beautiful Day - Choice Quality Stuff... Anytime - Forgot price

Kyoto - Jet Set Records
US 69 - Yesterday's Folks - repressing, forgot price
My Generation - A Mod Compilation, but it has The Action and The Locomotive on it - about £5

Hiroshima - A Random Vintage Shop - All these records were for promo playing in a radio station, they have interesting comments written on the covers.
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Country Cassanova- about £1.50
Townes Van Zandt - The Late Great Townes Van Zandt - about £1.50
Goose Creek Symphony - Do Your Thing Don't Touch Mine - about £1.50

Hiroshima - Groovin' Records Fair
Hot Tuna - First Pull Up, Then Pull Down - about £5
…