Francis Monkman -- 21st Century Blues (AFKM Records, AFKM 1)
What happens when the most gifted keyboard player in rock music (or classical, for that matter)
decides to pick up his Fender Strat and Gibson SG? The progressive faithful receive over 80 minutes of
pure adrenalin rush, that's what. Monkman, you may recall, was composer, keyboard player
and guitarist with the legendary Curved Air in the seventies as well as with the classical
progressive band Sky. The sheer volume of his studio work is astounding, with contributions
to albums by Darryl Way, Camel, Kate Bush, Renaissance, Phil Manzanera and 801, the Alan
Parsons Project, and literally dozens of others. His only solo projects include "Energism,"
"Dweller on the Threshold," "Virtual Classics," and several music library albums recorded in
the seventies and eighties for private labels.
Those of us fortunate enough to find this gem of a CD on his website have been basking in it's
brilliance for several months. Lovingly produced by George Chkiantz and the man himself,
"21stCentury Blues" is a thoroughly modern and original take on progressive rock and the
blues — often in the same track — often in the same breath. The production is thick, rich,
crisp, and begs for high volume.
Although credited to the Virtuous-Realiti Band, I suspect it's primarliy a one-man show —
although Mr. Monkman won't confirm or deny. According to the liner notes, Curved Air's
original drummer, the ultra-talented Florian Pilkington-Miksa, donated some cymbals for
the sessions, but other than a thank you to guitarist Michael Gore other musicians are not
mentioned. Vocals on the album are supplied by Monkman's close friend Julia "Jools" Rathbone,
and by Francis himself. His vocals are growled, whispered and distorted in the traditional
"21st Century Schizoid Man" way (perhaps very appropriate to this project), and buried in the
mix. Repeated listenings bring forth more snippets of lyrics, but I would be hard-pressed to
provide a full libretto.
Obvious highlights for this reviewer are the opener "Poisonality," "Train dun gone crazy,"
"Harvest Time," "Found in Space," and "iftruth." Not to slight the remaining ten tracks on
the album, by any means. "Poisonality," is a raucous, guitar-riffing stunner. The extended
instrumental break crawls around inside you, eats you alive, and spits you back out completely
exhausted. "Train..." follows immediately, briefly bringing to mind Eric Clapton circa Cream
and Blind Faith, one of the very few directly recognizable influences, other than pure blues,
on the album. "Harvest Time" is simply gorgeous — a tumbling, cascading, looping swirl of
guitars and synths. "Found in Space" is a moody, flowing piece. The final track, "iftruth,"
is pure blues deposited in a progressive environment with extraordinary results. This track
also contains the immortal line, "If truth came home to roost, where would it lay it's head?"
Curved Air -- Alive, 1990 (Mystic Records, MYSCD141)
Once in a while you get what you ask for. And now, after yours truly and several other
Curved Air diehards have engaged in some energetic poking and selective prodding of a certain
Mr. Monkman for a couple of months, a genuine recorded treasure will soon emerge from
hibernation.
In 1990, the seminal progressive band Curved Air regrouped, ostensibly to perform a televised
concert at the Town & Country Club for the BEEB. Although this concert (and a second at the
Dome, Tufnell Park) was in fact recorded off the mixing desk, the filming fell through and the
project was shelved, permanently it seemed at the time. Canterbury music fans will be familiar
with related reunion concerts staged during the same period by Caravan and Hatfield and the
North.
Francis Monkman has produced an extraordinary document of the event — a powerful album which
rivals, and on some tracks surpasses, the original classic Curved Air recordings. The sound
is much fuller than the studio albums thanks both to advances in recording technology and to
Monkman's sequencers, which provide the bass lines and some subtle keyboard flavoring. Only
Francis, Florian Pilkington-Miksa, Darryl Way, and Sonja Kristina perform on the majority of
the tracks, and no overdubs were made. Rob Martin, the original bassist for the group, appears
on one track, the perennial crowd-pleaser "Vivaldi." The material is drawn from the first
three albums, Air Conditioning, The Second Album, and Phantasmagoria. Unfortunately, "Twenty
Years On," a new song written specifically for the reunion and the first song of the set, was
not recorded by the tape operator. However, one intrepid fan thankfully was compelled to smuggle
a cassette recorder into the venue and captured the song for posterity. It has been cleaned up and added to
the beginning of the CD.
Some fifteen years plus had gone by since the original band had played together, and as would
be expected a few missed cues and botched notes are evident. But very few. The band was tight
and obviously well-rehearsed for this concert.
Highlights: The first track, "It Happened Today," is stunning. Sonja Kristina's vocal talents
are at their pinnacle as she delivers a passionate performance on part one. Part two features
Darryl Way's lovely violin solo floating gently atop Francis Monkman's gorgeous keyboards.
It's genuine magic. "Marie Antoinette" is the show-stopper. Gone is the bouncy feel from
earlier performances, and in it's place is pure riffing adrenalin. This time when Sonja sings,
"We are the people of France..." the effect is utterly chilling.
Florian Pilkington-Miksa is incredible throughout, particularly on "Situations," "Everdance,"
and "Marie." An underrated talent, he
clearly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Bill Bruford, Carl Palmer, Andy Ward,
and Pip Pyle. Darryl Way, always masterful on the violin, shines on the wonderful and rarely
performed "Hide and Seek," and of course on his showcase, "Vivaldi." Francis Monkman rips
through "Young Mother" and "Propositions" with a vengeance. His "Everdance," one of three
encores, is given a new and superior treatment; it's a standout track. Sonja Kristina's voice
has taken on a new life since Curved Air disbanded in 1976, as fans of her solo material are
well aware. On this album her voice is full and deep, powerful and assured, and simply
beautiful. The band finishes the set with a rather jaunty encore version of their hit "Back
Street Luv," with fans in the front row shouting out the chorus lines.
This disk is an historic document which should be number one on every progressive music
fan's list to purchase.