AIRBORNE

Airborne was the final studio album that Curved Air released in the 1970's, and until last year's return with North Star almost 40 years later it was their latest. I have long been familiar with the band's first four albums, but I hadn't dug any deeper into their discography until recently. Airborne is an album very much of its time, a time as we all know that saw the first wave of progressive Rock in a gradual decline. There was an almost universal move in the genre towards more streamlined and commercial songs while still holding on to the core characteristics of classic Prog. Most of the tracks on Airborne are indeed more commercially oriented that what had gone before, but I must say that I enjoy most of them! Perhaps this is a bit of a guilty pleasure(?). And then there is Moonshine - an 11 minute plus epic that is a real gem and which alone makes the album worthwhile. In this respect it is a bit like Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's notorious Love Beach album.

When listening to Airborne I am reminded of late 70's/early 80's Renaissance injected with a Babe Ruth-like energy at times as Curved Air is as always more rocking than Renaissance ever was. Even though the folky side of the band is reduced here perhaps a bit of Steeleye Span can nonetheless also be detected in the latter's more Pop Rock moods.

Overall, I find this a decent album that - even though one track stands above all the others - keeps to a fair standard most of the time. There are a couple of weak, somewhat embarrassing moments, but these are outweighed by the better moments which just barely pushes this album into three star territory.

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