The Hawaiians (1970) Tom Gries, Charlton Heston, Tina Chen, Geraldine Chaplin

Bread broke big with their second album, thanks to David Gates' sentimental soft pop classic, "Make It With You" – the song that set the standard for sensitive mellow pop ballads for the '70s and for years to come. Its pull is strong, but it's a bit misleading, since the group hardly just turns out a series of these lovely, luxurious pop tunes throughout the record. In fact, with the considerable assistance of Robb Royer and James Griffin, the group actually rocks it harder than Crosby Stills & Nash (if not CSNY, true enough), and they continue to show that the diversity and range of material they demonstrated on their debut was no fluke. If anything, "Make It With You" doesn't set the pace for the rest of the record, since even the softer moments, such as "Look What You've Done," isn't as lushly mellow as that – there is more coloring through the guitars, and the songwriting has more edge and melody than that.

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a new clamshell boxed set featuring all four of Curved Air’s classic albums recorded between 1970 and 1973. “The Albums” features newly remastered versions of “Air Conditioning”, “Second Album”, “Phantasmagoria” and “Air Cut”, along with bonus tracks ‘It Happened Today’ (single version), ‘What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up’ and ‘Sarah’s Concern’, all originally issued as singles.
Originally issued on the Warner Bros. label in November 1970, “Air Conditioning” showcased the highly innovative talents of Sonja Kristina (vocals), ex-Royal College of Music student Darryl Way (violin), former Royal Academy of Music student Francis Monkman (electric guitar, piano, mellotron, VCS3 synthesiser), Rob Martin (bass) and Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums)…

Mona Bone Jakon only began Cat Stevens' comeback. Seven months later, he returned with Tea for the Tillerman, an album in the same chamber-group style, employing the same musicians and producer, but with a far more confident tone. Mona Bone Jakon had been full of references to death, but Tea for the Tillerman was not about dying; it was about living in the modern world while rejecting it in favor of spiritual fulfillment. It began with a statement of purpose, "Where Do the Children Play?," in which Stevens questioned the value of technology and progress. "Wild World" found the singer being dumped by a girl, but making the novel suggestion that she should stay with him because she was incapable of handling things without him…

The Hollies' first album of original material following Graham Nash's departure was an attempt to regain the edge they'd had on Butterfly and Evolution albums, after the digression of the album of Dylan songs, the regrouping with Terry Sylvester in the lineup, and the unexpected hit achieved with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." It's a surprisingly strong album, not only in the songwriting (which includes the last Clark/Hicks/Nash song ever recorded, "Survival of the Fittest"), but also in the production, which isn't too far removed from what was heard on Butterfly and Evolution. There's no sitar here, but Tony Hicks – who is the real star of the group on this album – employs at least a half-dozen different guitars in uniquely fine voicings, and there is also some very striking use of orchestra, producer John Burgess making particularly fine employment of a string section as a lead instrument on the Allan Clarke/Terry Sylvester-authored "Man Without a Heart."