Curve - Gift - 2001

Oh, this one brings back such memories, and none of them good.  When this one came out, I was working at literally the worst job I had ever had.  I was a kitchen manager for a steak house, and I was working for a General Manager and a District Manager who were both brutal.  They were the bosses that you would see on an Undercover World's Worst Bosses reality show.  Common names I was called by these managers were dumbshit, stupid fuck, lazy ass and the likes.  They were never ever nice.  I cannot remember them being polite without cutting you to ribbons in the same conversation. 

I also hadn't started my anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds yet.  I didn't know I needed them.  So I would have these anxiety attacks that were blinding and debilitating, while also wanting to cut my own neck.  Sad thing is, I'm not kidding or exaggerating, either.

My wife and I had our first child, and we had just moved back to her home town.  This album came out, and having not cared for Come Clean, I was a little apprehensive about it.  But, having purchased it, and driving to my most hated job, all I could think about was wanting to be back home with my wife and child.  I popped it in the CD player and turned that fucker up as loud as I could.  That CD did not leave my player for about 10 days.  I memorized it.

My favorite tracks are Perish, and the b-side Recovery remix.  I liked all of the tracks, but those two were particularly cathartic for me.  The extra tracks from the other artists that Toni guest-vocalled on I didn't know of at the time, but they fit perfectly with the collection.

It's actually difficult for me to listen to this CD even though I love it, specifically for the emotions, memories and feelings it stirs.  Memories, emotions, and feelings I try my damnedest to keep buried deep.  I hope that one day I can use it in a healing nature, instead of wounding.

Curve - Gift - 2001

Toni Halliday - Scylla - 1995

After the release of Curve's Cuckoo album in 1993, it appeared that Curve had decided to take a break.  In fact, I think most of us thought they had broken up.  As we all know, they returned in 1997 with Come Clean, but not before Toni worked on her own project called Scylla.

Scylla, a Greek character brought to life by Homer, Ovid and Keats, was best described, IMHO, as a beautiful nymph that is transformed into an ugly sea monster.  Click here for an excellent back history....  After learning more about the name, and applying it to the music that Toni performed in these tracks, I can't help but be mystified and awed by her and her work.

Toni worked on her Scylla project in 1994-95, but never released an album, and only released a single track which can be found on the Showgirls soundtrack.  There were also a couple live shows that happened in England back in 1995, as well.  I, personally, never even knew about the project at all until about 2006.  Finding these tracks that had been leaked on the internet back then, are near impossible to find now.  Best you can do is listen to them on Youtube. 

These are all the tracks I've ever been able to find.  I don't know if any more exist.  If you are a true Toni fan, you'll love them.  If you only know her through Curve, you might be taken aback, as the tracks are rather course and heavy.  But, it's still true Halliday material that I really love. 

Toni Halliday - Scylla - 1995

Curve - Cuckoo - 1993

When this album came out, I was already a huge fan of Curve, so this album came with high expectations.  Usually, high expectations in my life equates disappointment.  So, as I listened to this, I had high hopes, but I braced myself for a fall.

And was I ever wrong.  This album, as I listened to it once, then twice, then over and over, only got better.  To this very moment, as I type this, Superblaster is playing and I couldn't agree more with what I'm saying.  Right now, I feel that this is their best album.  Right now, if someone hadn't been Smashing Squashes or Smelling Teen Armpits, Curve might have actually been able to hit it big.  This was a total breakthrough album.

The b-sides don't seem to be b-sides, and are perfect additions to the album.  I put them in the middle, with the exception of Rising, which I set right before the album's huge 3-song send-off.  When the song Cuckoo ends, I recommend stopping the music before the SB Remix starts, and then let the album sink in and sing to your inner spirit. 

The cover is the same, but I added the single sleeves.  I wish I could have put a pic of Toni on there without it being too obvious.  But, alas, I could not.  She was at maximum hotness on this album, and I wished she was my girlfriend. 

I hope you love this album as much as I do.  It's in my personal top 20 albums of all time.

Curve - Cuckoo - 1993

Curve - Doppelganger - 1991

1991 was the year after High School, and my first year in College.  Lonely, afraid and wondering what the hell I was planning on doing with my life, I completely immersed myself in music.

1991 was good in the fact that New Wave had petered out, and Post Punk was actually mainstream.  Grunge was beginning to take hold in the US, and in Europe, Madchester was the rage, as well as Shoegaze, the British version of Grunge.

If Shoegaze had gone mainstream, it would've been lead by the likes of Curve.  Doppelganger, their first full length album followed 4 brilliant EPs.  The album and it's associated singles sounded like a mix of Grunge and Proto-Techno with a hint of Manchester Sound.  Layer Toni Halliday's voice over the top, and you have a lush (sic) and gorgeous album that can easily stay in your player for days without tiring.

I hated the original album cover, so I used the graphics from the Fait Accompli single from the album.  I then attached all of the b-sides on the end of the album, along with the mix of Horrorhead and the extended mix of Fait.

So lovely....  but wait until you hear Cuckoo...

Curve - Doppelganger - 1991