Customer Reviews

Airborne

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Being slightly disappointed by "Lovechild" and "Second album", I wondered if I should buy another Curved Air record. Finally, I decided to get this one. Well, I have to say that this is a very good album, equally fine as their debut "Air conditioning". "Airborne" continues with the jazz-rock of "Midnight wire", but on a more melodic and less pretentious note. The playing of the band (once again featuring drummer Stewart Copeland who also co-wrote some songs) is tighter and more engaged. Without getting trite, the music flows like a well-oiled machine. The delicate pop song "Desiree" leaves you wallking on air for the rest of the day. Other standout tracks are "Kids to blame", "Hot and bothered", and "Baby please..", but everything here is good, even the 11-minute megawork "Moonshine". Unfortunately, this album failed to chart and Curved Air soon disbanded after its release.

Poorest starting point chronicling the seventies prog-pop band in final decline, but still captures enough magic to please a modest meshing of Rush & Heart fans.

Airborne was Curved Air's last studio Album, and shows them moving in a more radio-friendly direction. This is terribly ironic as it got precious little airplay in the US (a few more progressive rock stations where they already had fans the extent of it) and may have alienated some long-time fans. However song-for-song it stacks up very well against not only their previous work, but much of the music produced in 1976.

The album is consistently strong, starting off with "Deseree" an upbeat song about romantic impermanence. Sonja's voice is multi-tracked here (as it is throughout) to very good effect. "A Touch of Tequila" is a perfect summer song with evokes a sunny Caribbean afternoon. The eleven-minute "Moonshine" is the album's centerpiece, which has some very delicate moments, some nicely jazzy ones, and truly rocks at other times. And the original vinyl LP's closer "Dazed" is a melancholy look at life on the road.

The playing is top rate, and Sonja's voice has never been better--one complaint I had with the early Curved Air albums was how unnecessarily restrained her voice was. On Airborne she shines, her warm alto voice showing its full emotional depth. And finally there's the drummer, this Stewart Copeland fellow. Airborne displays all the greatness he was to win accolades for with his next band.