Airborne - Songs For a City

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Marie	03:05
	2	Someone Like You	03:20
	3	Old Man	04:19
	4	You	02:04
	5	Sail Away	03:33
	6	Loving You	02:48

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Never the Same Love	03:14
	2	Song for a City	07:23
	3	Dance, Lads Dance	02:37
	4	Lamplighter	04:47
	5	Someday (I'll Make It)	04:45

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Information/Write-up

There’s a certain kind of album that doesn’t announce itself with urgency but stays with you like a familiar street you didn’t know you missed. Songs for a City, the lone release by Vancouver’s Airborne, is one of those records. Everything about it—its pacing, its textures, even its cover art—feels rooted in a quieter conversation with its surroundings. If you’ve ever walked the seawall at dusk or watched the lights flicker on in the West End as fog settles in, this album understands you.

Airborne began as a trio in 1974—Darryl Bohn, David Giddings, and Ron Hjorth—trading songs and harmonies in coffeehouses around the city. Their acoustic guitars were the foundation, but it was the shared voices that carried the songs, especially once Bruce Johnstone joined and the group began to explore the possibilities of layered vocals. The addition of keyboardist Lorne Fiedler and bassist/vocalist Donn Tarris expanded the palette further, allowing the group to move beyond folk into something more fluid and ensemble-driven.

Recorded over three weeks at Ocean Sound in North Vancouver, Songs for a City was released in 1977 on the studio’s own imprint—Ocean Records—with a pressing of 2,000 copies. Most were sold locally, many by word of mouth. The lead track “Marie” received some airplay, but the album’s deeper appeal lay in its intimacy. Tracks like “Someone Like You,” “Never the Same Love,” and “Sail Away” don’t press for attention. Instead, they unfold patiently, shaped by acoustic textures, warm vocal blends, and the occasional accent of saxophone, lap steel, or harmonica. The musicianship is thoughtful, never showy, and always in service of the song.

A single cover on the album—Neil Young’s “Old Man”—is performed with a kind of inward steadiness that fits naturally among the originals. It’s not about homage so much as resonance. Airborne wasn’t trying to place themselves within any lineage; they were capturing their own moment.

The title track, “Song for a City,” stretches nearly eight minutes and serves as a kind of emotional centerpiece. It’s less a declaration than a meditation, offering a slow panoramic sweep over a city in motion. There are no slogans here, no sharp turns. Just melody and mood, carefully shaped and allowed to breathe.

The album art—a surreal image of a giant, nude guitar player seated over the Vancouver skyline, a dove resting in his hand—is oddly fitting. There’s whimsy in it, yes, but also a sense of reflection, of watching from a distance. It suggests a kind of affectionate remove, which is precisely what Songs for a City manages to express without ever saying so directly.

After the album’s release, Airborne appeared on CBC Vancouver’s What’s a Nice Show Like You...?, performing six songs, including a lighthearted take on “Copacabana.” They played Malkin Bowl with Valdy and closed out their run in March 1978 opening for Sammy Hagar at the Commodore Ballroom. But even at their peak, Airborne wasn’t chasing stardom. Their songs feel closer to letters than statements—written from inside the city, to whoever might be listening.

Years later, the album was quietly reissued on CD in South Korea and Japan, where its unguarded warmth and melodic patience found new admirers. These days, original pressings still circulate, often undervalued—perhaps because they whisper rather than shout.

But those who spend time with Songs for a City tend to return to it. It offers no manifestos, no polished illusions. What it gives, instead, is sincerity without spectacle. It’s a portrait of a place, a season, and a group of voices sharing space—and that might just be enough.
-Robert Williston

Donn Tarris: bass, electric 6 string, vocals
Darryl Bohn: acoustic 6 & 12 string, electric 6 string, vocals
Dave Giddings: acoustic 6 & 12 string, electric 6 string, vocals
Bruce Johnstone: vocals
Lorne Feidler: acoustic piano, rhodes, synthesizers

Guest Musicians:
Greg Kelly: electric 6 string, lap steel
Mike Zilber: saxophones
Dave Rodger: drums, percussion
Paul Sheck: harmonica
Kenny Gustafson: pedal steel
Ron Hjorth: harmony vocals
Doug Fitch: bass on "Loving You"
Bill Ayers: bass on "Loving You"

Produced by Donn Tarris & Dave Giddings
Engineered by Donn Tarris
Recorded at Ocean Sound, North Vancouver, British Columbia

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