![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/curved_air_airwaves.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Not to take anything away from the impressive achievements of The Police<\/strong> (their dubious 21st<\/sup> century reunion<\/a> notwithstanding), but it’s long been a source of some amusement among rock historians to point out the band’s pedigree. Though they were (and remain) darlings of the so-called new wave movement of the late 1970s and early 80s, and despite the undeniable fact that they introduced reggae textures into rock music in a way few had done before, each of the trio had a musical background that might make new wave\/punk purists squirm. Sting<\/strong> (ne\u00e9<\/span><\/span> Gordon Sumner) had previously played stand-up bass in a jazz band. Guitarist Andy Summers<\/strong> learned his craft alongside friend Robert Fripp<\/strong><\/a>, played soul jazz in Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band<\/strong>, psychedelic guitar in Dantalion’s Chariot<\/strong> (see \u201cMadman Running Through the Fields\u201d on Nuggets II: British Empire and Beyond<\/em>) and then briefly psych-jazz in Soft Machine<\/strong> before playing rhythm & blues in a later lineup of The Animals<\/strong>. And master drummer Stewart Copeland<\/strong> \u2013 the band’s sole American member \u2013 had been a roadie for UK progressive outfit Curved Air<\/strong>, eventually playing drums for the group.<\/p>\n And though Copeland’s time with Curved Air was relatively brief \u2013 less than two years \u2013 it’s upon his high-profile name that Airwaves<\/em>, a new collection of Curved Air BBC sessions builds its buzz. That’s not really necessary, as (a) while Copeland’s drumming is superb, it’s not the centerpiece of Curved Air’s music , (b) Copeland is on less than half of the tracks and (c) the music stands quite well on its own without the hype.<\/p>\n Three BBC radio sessions are the source for this thirteen-track archival release: a pair of dates from Top Gear<\/em> in 1970-71, and a BBC Radio in Concert<\/em> date from 1976 featuring Copeland on drums.<\/p>\n With a sound built around the piecing vocals of Sonja Kristina<\/strong> and the electric violin of Darryl Way<\/strong>, Cruved Air’s approach might be described as Jefferson Airplane<\/strong><\/a> meets Jean Luc Ponty<\/strong> (one of the few 1970s exponents of the electric violin).<\/p>\n As often as not, Way’s violin takes the role normally assigned to a lead guitarist in a rock band. That’s certainly true on \u201cIt Happened Today,\u201d one of three tracks dating from the band’s first Top Gear<\/em> sessions, before they even had a record deal. Kristina’s vocals are very much out front, displaying the strident, assured approach of a Grace Slick<\/strong><\/a> leavened by the British folk vibe of Annie Haslam<\/strong> of Renaissance<\/strong><\/a>. The band’s progressive sensibilities are offset by a winning sense of pop melodicism. The band’s manic approach on \u201cPropositions\u201d echoes East of Eden<\/strong>‘s work circa Mercator Projected<\/em>; Curved Air’s style will also seem warmly familiar to fans of Jethro Tull<\/strong><\/a>, though sonic similarities between the two bands are actually quite few.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/icon_twitter_small.jpg\"){kind=icon}
Twitter<\/a> and get notified