Curtiss

Curtiss Maldoon explores a fairly laid-back, folky realm colored by a little early-'70s British hard rock. "I'm waiting for the man from Afghanistan to come, I've got a kilo in the bottom of my suitcase in a cabin trunk" they nonchalantly note on "Man from Afghanistan," setting the late-period hippie tone. Oh, those permissive early '70s! The throat-stretching vocals and organ on "Long Long Time" show a Dylan influence, and perhaps a Gary Brooker/Procol Harum one, too. Madonna obsessives, as unlikely as it seems, might want to track this down for the presence of "Sepheryn," which she worked over into "Ray of Light" in 1998; it's a little more emotional and melodically and lyrically sophisticated than their typical tunes. Steve Howe plays guitar on "Warm on the Ridge; " Howe, Tony Ashton, and Roy Dyke (from Ashton, Gardner & Dyke) play on "Find a Little Peace."