Curved Air - Phantasmagoria 1972

Phantasmagoria is a Progressive rock, art rock album by Curved Air.
 It reached No. 20 in the UK Charts and is notable for its
early use of the EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer to process
lead singer Sonja Kristina's voice on the second side.
Unavailable for many years, the album was reissued on CD in April 2007.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria_%28Curved_Air_album%29]
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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website:
    
5 stars This band is definitely more than Art Rock - much, much more. I understand that their music is very hard to categorize - there are elements of jazz, symphonic prog, classical, folk etc. But above all, it's "powered by" a supercharged progressive engine that's usually in overdrive, if I may permit myself this metaphor.

This said - what a fantastic album, the quality of the music is so high, the compositions are so original, the execution so flawless, and the vocals are absolutely wonderful - the girl has talent and attitude - she has my vote for the best progressive female vocalist. No two songs are alike on this album, there are always surprises around the corner, and when it's over, you want to hear it again and again.

If you like classic prog, this album will not disappoint, but you have to have an open mind - this is different.
EMinkovitch | 5/5 | 2006-7-7
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Track listing


1. Marie Antoinette (6:20)
2. Melinda (More or Less) (3:25)
3. Not Quite the Same (3:44)
4. Cheetah (3:33)
5. Ultra-Vivaldi (2:22)
6. Phantasmagoria (3:15)
7. Whose Shoulder are You Looking Over Anyway? (3:24)
8. Over and Above (8:36)
9. Once a Ghost, Always a Ghost (4:25)

Total Time: 39:04

Personnel

    Sonja Kristina – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Melinda"
    Francis Monkman – keyboards, electric guitar, percussion on "Over and Above" and "Once a Ghost, Always a Ghost"
    Florian Pilkington-Miksa – drums, percussion on "Once a Ghost, Always a Ghost"
    Darryl Way – violin, keyboards on "Marie Antionette" and "Not Quite the Same", tubular bells and melon on "Marie Antoinette"
    Mike Wedgwood – bass, vocals, acoustic guitar on "Phantasmagoria", electric guitar and percussion on "Once a Ghost, Always a Ghost"

Guest musicians

    Annie Stewart – flute on "Melinda (More or Less)"
    Crispian Steele-Perkins – trumpet
    Paul Cosh – trumpet
    Jim Watson – trumpet
    George Parnaby – trumpet
    Chris Pyne – trombone
    Alan Gout – trombone
    David Purser – trombone
    Steve Saunders – trombone
    Frank Ricotti – xylophone, vibes
    Mal Linwood-Ross – percussion
    Colin Caldwell – percussion
    Jean Akers – percussion
    Doris the Cheetah — vocal on "Cheetah"

>Curved Air - Phantasmagoria 1972<