''Curly's Airships'' is a double CD by
Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...
, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". ''Curly's Airships'' tells about the
R101
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...
airship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
, crashing in France during its maiden overseas voyage in 1930. Amongst many others,
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
,
Hugh Banton
Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator.
Career
Banton was born in April 1949 in Yeovil, Somerset, into a ...
,
Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to:
Entertainment
* Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist
* H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor
* Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer
* Arthur Brown, ak ...
,
David Jackson,
John Ellis and
Pete Brown perform on the project.
Smith believes that the 2 hr 20 min work might be one of the largest and most ambitious single piece of rock music ever recorded.
Production
Smith worked on the project for many years, between 1993 and its release in 2000. The writing alone took two years.
Smith was able to finance the project thanks to a small grant from the National Lottery, distributed by the
Arts Council in a scheme called A4E, Arts For Everyone.
A part of the recording was done in the
Cathedral of Saint Pierre in
Beauvais, the city near the R101 disaster, where Hugh Banton played the organ. Another part was recorded in
Cardington parish church, which was the local church for the Airship Works, and yet another part was recorded inside the (extremely large)
R101's shed at Cardington.
Mixing and mastering of the album, by
David Lord, took almost a year to complete.
Release
On HTV, 10 July 1997, a documentary about the project was shown in the arts series Frieze Frame. The film contains parts where
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singl ...
can be seen, playing
Marthe, Princess Bibesco, who was Lord Thomson's lover. However, Lene Lovich/Marthe Bibesco does not perform in the songstory.
The release of ''Curly's Airships'' on 5 October 2000 coincided with the 70th anniversary of the R101 disaster of 1930.
On exactly the same point where the original airship crossed the English coast on its maiden voyage to India in 1930, some of the creators of ''Curly's Airships'' launched two model airships on their way to France, each one carrying a voucher for a free copy of the album.
Themes
Musically, ''Curly's Airships'' embraces rock, jazz, tango,
Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...
and eerie atmospherics, with repeated passages identifying key characters' appearances.
Basically, the line-up is vocals, guitars, organs, bass and drums, with some saxophone touches.
There is no rhyme and no regular metre, and the vocal lines of many sections are single, non-repeating tunes. This sets ''Curly's Airships'' musically apart from many "regular" rock or rock opera albums.
As for its subject matter, ''Curly's Airships'' sketches images of post-
WW1
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
bravery, obedience and stupidity, resulting in
the disaster. The events are seen through the eyes of Curly McLeod, a fictional aviator. Almost all other persons and events though are based on reality, like
Lord Thomson
Christopher Birdwood Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson, (13 April 1875 – 5 October 1930) was a British Army officer who went on to serve as a Labour minister and peer. He served as Secretary of State for Air under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and betw ...
, whose part is performed by Peter Hammill. The
libretto (a 44-page booklet) contains many 1920s slang words.
Cover art
The cover art was done by Glide Design of Eastbourne. The front cover shows a picture of Smith as Curly McLeod on fire in period airship officers' uniform. The double CD contains two booklets, one of 44 pages with the libretto, and one of 48 pages with essays, photos of all musicians in their persona, a glossary and bibliography.
Track listing
The track listing for ''Curly's Airships'' comprises twenty-six songs, divided into fifteen chapters.
Disc One
Chapter One: Curly Comes Through
# "Voices From A Crystal Set"
# "Walking Her Out"
Chapter Two: Curly's Conducted Tour
#
"Curly Takes Us Up"
# "Drifting About Like a Bad Smell"
Chapter Three: Curly In The Clouds
# "Curly In The Clouds"
Chapter Four: Catastrophe
# "A Capital Idea"
# "A Shrieking Of Aluminium"
Chapter Five: Curly On Civvy Street
# "Curly On Civvy Street"
Chapter Six: A Great British Compromise
# "That Imperial Airship Scheme"
# "From The Sidelines"
Chapter Seven: A Kindly Sort Of Cove
# "A Kindly Sort Of Cove"
Chapter Eight: Curly At Cardington
# "Curly At Cardington"
Chapter Nine: Lord Of A Continent
# "A Creature Of Grace"
# "A Byronic Sort Of Blighter"
Disc Two
Chapter Ten: Big Chief And Some Minor Bugs
# "Big Chief And Some Minor Bugs"
Chapter Eleven: Curly's Close Shave
# "The Canadian Run"
# "Conan Doyle & The Flying Sieve"
# "Horrors At Hendon"
Chapter Twelve: Cutting The Lady In Half
# "As Safe As A House"
# "A Ship Of Fools"
Chapter Thirteen: Curly Gets The Creeps
# "The Night Before"
# "The Morning After"
Chapter Fourteen: Curly Cashes His Chips
# "Bedford To Hastings"
# "Hastings To Beauvais"
Chapter Fifteen: Carry On Curly
# "The Muffled Drum"
# "The Final Taboo"
Personnel
* Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...
– vocals and bass & drum tracks
* John Ellis – electric guitars & EBow
The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...
, mandolin
* Hugh Banton
Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator.
Career
Banton was born in April 1949 in Yeovil, Somerset, into a ...
– organs & piano
* Pete Brown – percussion & vocals
* Rikki Patten – supplementary guitar
* David Jackson – saxophones & whistle
* Joe Hinchliff – accordion
* Ian Fordham – bass guitar & double bass
* René van Commenée – tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
, ghatam
The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ
''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம்
''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a variant ...
& tambura
* Tammo Heikens – sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
& tambura
* David Shaw-Parker – acoustic guitar, banjo, vocals & actor
* Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to:
Entertainment
* Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist
* H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor
* Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer
* Arthur Brown, ak ...
– vocals
* Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
– vocals
* Paul Roberts – vocals
* Paul Thompson – vocals
* Nick Lucas – vocals & actor
* Gwendolyn Gray – actress
* Mike Bell – actor
* The Mystery Marching Band
References
External links
Judge Smith (official site)
{{Authority control
2000 albums
Judge Smith albums
Albums about aircraft