Francis Monkman was an English rock, classical and film score composer. He attended the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Raymond Russell prize for virtuosity on the harpsichord and became a member of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Wanting to experiment with more spontaneous music forms, Monkman learned how to play guitar and was a founding member of the progressive rock band Curved Air followed by the classical/ rock fusion band Sky.
After leaving Sky, Monkman intended to concentrate mostly on television and soundtrack work, although at around the same time, he resumed performances of classical harpsichord music. That proved unsuccessful leading to what became a 20 year hiatus. Aside from a few reunions with Curved Air, he released no new material until 21st Century Blues which was originally released in 2001. The album was considered a surprising release at the time given its very guitar-oriented feel coming from a classically trained keyboard player.
All compositions were written by Monkman except ‘At the Court of the King’ written by the legendary Country Joe McDonald, which is actually taken from ‘Section 43’ on the all time classic album ‘Electric Music for the Mind and Body’. Half of the tracks featured fall into the prog rock/ art rock category, while the other half take the shape of blues rock numbers.
TRACKS:
1. Poisonality
2. Train Dun Gone Crazy
3. Delta Bitstream Blues
4. Another Day
5. Heard In Dreams
6. 21-Bar Blues
7. “At the Court of the King”
8. The Four Guitarists of the Apocalypse
9. Harvest Time
10. Rinky-Dink Public School
11. Acid Casino
12. Found In Space
13. Dispossession Blues/ Small Planet Blues
14. Iftruth