Airborne (Curved Air album)

Airborne is the sixth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1976. Like their last few releases, it was not a significant commercial success. After a follow-up non-album single, "Baby Please Don't Go" b/w "Broken Lady", the group disbanded. Drummer Stewart Copeland went on to form The Police, while violinist Darryl Way and lead singer Sonja Kristina both pursued solo careers. Bassist Tony Reeves and guitarist Mick Jacques both later became members of the semiprofessional band Big Chief.

Airborne
Studio album by
Curved Air
Released1976
RecordedSpring 1976
StudioTrident Studios, London
GenreProgressive rock, folk rock
Length39:40
LabelBTM
ProducerDennis MacKay, Curved Air
Curved Air chronology
Midnight Wire
(1975)		 Airborne
(1976)		 Lovechild
(1990)

The Police covered "Kids to Blame" in early performances, using a stripped-down punk arrangement of the song. Stewart Copeland also reused a guitar riff from "Desiree" in his solo single as Klark Kent, "Don't Care".

Background and recording

The album sessions marked the debut of Stewart Copeland as a songwriter. Around the release of Midnight Wire, he was informed about publishing royalties for songwriters, and responded by churning out compositions until the band accepted a few of his contributions.[1]

Producer Dennis McKay quit the project midway through recording, leaving the remaining four tracks to be produced by Curved Air themselves.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Allmusic described Airborne as an overlooked record and "a strong summation of all that made the group so important in the first place." While appraising the album as a whole as weaker than their first three, claiming it veers towards generic 1970s rock, they regarded "Desiree" and "Heaven (Never Seemed So Far Away)" as equal to anything on the band's strongest releases.[2]

Track listing

Music and lyrics credits per original issue on BTM records.

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Desiree"Stewart Copeland, Sonja KristinaMick Jacques, Stewart Copeland3:12
2."Kids to Blame"Norma TagerCopeland3:19
3."Broken Lady"KristinaTony Reeves3:13
4."Juno"Darryl WayDarryl Way3:23
5."Touch of Tequila"KristinaJacques, Reeves3:49
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
6."Moonshine"WayWay11:36
7."Heaven (Never Seemed So Far Away)"Copeland, Stuart LyonsCopeland3:18
8."Hot and Bothered"TagerJacques2:53
9."Dazed"WayWay4:17
Bonus track on CD issues
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."Baby Please Don't Go"Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe Williams2:31

Personnel
Curved Air
Guest musicians
  • Robin Lumley – piano on "Broken Lady"
  • Alan Skidmore – saxophone on "Hot & Bothered"
  • Henry Lowther – trumpet on "Hot & Bothered"
  • Frank Ricotti – congas
  • Jack Emblow – accordion on "Broken Lady"
  • Bob Sargeant – organ on "Desiree" and "Kids to Blame"
Additional credits
  • Tracks 3-5, 7, and 8 produced by Dennis McKay
  • Tracks 1, 2, 6, and 9 produced by Curved Air
  • Track 10 produced by Tony Reeves
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References
  1. Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). L'Historia Bandido. London and New York: Proteus Books. ISBN 0-906071-66-6. p. 16.
  2. Thompson, Dave. Airborne at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
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