''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 Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...

went on to form

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

, while violinist

Darryl Way Richard Darryl Way (born 17 December 1948 in Taunton, Somerset, England) is an English rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their Progressive Rock seminal albums from 1970 to 1976. He is best kno ...

and lead singer

Sonja Kristina Sonja Kristina (born Sonia Christina Shaw; 14 April 1949) is an English singer, best known for starring in the seminal 1960s musical '' Hair'', and for being the lead vocalist of the 1970s progressive rock band Curved Air.''Rocking the Classi ...

both pursued solo careers. Bassist

Tony Reeves Anthony Reeves (born 18 April 1943, New Eltham, South East London) is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for his "distinctive and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects. Career As a teenager Reeves learned orchestral doub ...

and guitarist Mick Jacques both later became members of the semiprofessional band Big Chief.

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

as a songwriter. Around the release of ''

Midnight Wire ''Midnight Wire'' is the fifth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1975. It marked another line-up change in the band, with Darryl Way and Sonja Kristina recruiting new musicians after the end of the reunion tour marked by the ''Curve ...

'', he was informed about publishing royalties for songwriters, and responded by churning out compositions until the band accepted a few of his contributions.Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). ''L'Historia Bandido''. London and New York: Proteus Books. . p. 16. Producer Dennis McKay quit the project midway through recording, leaving the remaining four tracks to be produced by Curved Air themselves.

Reception

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.

Track listing

Music and lyrics credits per original issue on BTM records.

Personnel

;Curved Air *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, keyboards *

– bass, keyboards, double bass on "Broken Lady" *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

"heavy artillerie" * Mick Jacques –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s ;Guest musicians *

Robin Lumley Robin Lumley is a British jazz fusion musician, keyboardist, record producer, and author who was a member of the band Brand X with drummer Phil Collins, guitarist John Goodsall, and bassist Percy Jones. He is a second cousin of the actress Joan ...

– piano on "Broken Lady" *

Alan Skidmore Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. Career He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his care ...

– saxophone on "Hot & Bothered" * Henry Lowther – trumpet on "Hot & Bothered" *

Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...

– congas *

Jack Emblow Jack Alexander Emblow (born 27 June 1930) is a British jazz accordionist who is best known for his musical work accompanying the Cliff Adams Singers on BBC Radio. Biography Emblow was born on 27 June 1930 in Lincoln, England. His father sang a ...

– 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

*Nick Bradford - engineer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airborne (Curved Air Album) Curved Air albums 1976 albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios