I must say I'm sorry that I haven't heard the CD version of "Airwaves". But... the original release is a very special recording that makes my heart strings go "ZING". What makes this record wonderful is what was based around this records' history. Yes, we all know the tragedies from that time period. Joey had left to form Natural Gas. Tommy had to take a non-music job for a period of time and thought for a long while he'd never regain the position of world class status bass player/songwriter again. I know the story of how everything came into focus up to the recording has been documented. Especially in Goldmine Magazine, and possibly in the liner notes of the CD. But here you have two artists Joey & Tom. I have always viewed this album as theirs. A re-birth. A new hope of restarting a partnership and of playing music again and another chance of recording for Warner Brothers. Elecktra is a subsidiary of WB records. We all know the history behind that story too. Listen to the first track "Back on the airwaves". If that doesn't say it all then the point has been missed. "Love is gonna come at last", wonderful playing. Wonderful guitar, Wonderful vocals, wonderful delivery. "Lost inside your love":Is of course a plea for forgiveness and acceptance. The hardcore fans know the story behind this song too. But, Tommy's writing and vocals are right on. "Sympathy": Same idea. Although throughout the record especially on the song it has late 70's pop production on it. Ala record companies pressure to compete with disco & Bee Gee oriented pop flair for a hit. Primarily because it was released in 1979! "The winner": interesting because they had a song called "The winner" on "Ass" a few lp's earlier. Which again refurther proves the point that Joey & Tommy are happy to be playing again together and making their point. Regardless of whether they are singing of their personal lives and beliefs or a fictitious person doesn't matter. "I'm gonna be a winner...This time"! Says alot doesn't it? "The Dreamer": one of my all time favorite songs in any style of music. Powerful lyric, powerful melody, powerful backup. "Come down hard": just proves that Badfinger could play some kick ass rock & roll. And they did. "Sail Away": Sums the whole record,and the history of negativity around you/them up. Whether they're talking personally or not this is one of the finest works of music Tom Evans ever wrote. This too is one of my favorite tracks ever in the recorded world of music. A powerful statement. Although the original lp had 9 tracks didn't matter. This lp is just as strong and easily falls into the category as a viable Badfinger classic. Uprightly just along with the previous 6 lp's. The Ivey's don't count as a BF lp. Now as for the CD as I said I haven't heard it yet. But over the years with my association of the band I have heard a few of the tracks. Or alternate tracks. But being uncertain I choose to remain silent. I will be in tune with them soon. I am pleased to see this record finally released again. "Say No More" will be a fun piece to see released and I'm sure we'll be able to review it as well. Until then I'll wait and say no more. But in summary, My personal feelings about this album, when, why and the reasons for recording it along with the music, the performances and the message make this lp a 5 star quality lp. Take a strong and serious listen to it. Not while you're doing laundry or cleaning house or any extra curricular activity. But when you have the time to listen to it with open ears, open heart and open mind. Then.... you'll know what I mean and why I feel the way I do about this record. Thanks Morten, for the opportunity to share with the world. Sail on.

After 5 years of waiting true Badfinger fans would have liked ANYTHING from the band. An objective evaluation gives this album only 2 stars. But, as a die-hard fan, even after listening to it, I would have paid anything to own it. Why 2 stars? A few reasons. First, the original album only had 7 original Molland or Evan tunes. That's barely half an album! In fact, all 7 tracks could have fit on one side of an LP disc. The non Molland/Evan tracks are good but should not appear on a "Badfinger" album" because the songwriters were not original "Badfinger" members and did not possess the distinctive Badfinger sound. Like an opening act at a concert, I listened politely but I really wasn't interested in hearing them. Second, the album lacks the powerful production found on "Wish You Were Here". That album rocked with an musical (and lyrical) intensity rarely found in rock music. Songs like "Look Out California" and "Come Down Hard" are good but don't have the punch the songwriters intended. The guitar work on "Look Out California" is passable at best. Third, the entire effort suggested there were many more songs written but left out of the effort. It appears the album wasn't finished when the decision was made to release it. The 2 stars are earned by some outstanding tracks. Notably, "Sail Away", a sequel to "Carry On 'Till Tomorrow" is one of Tom Evan's best songs. It is the standout track of the album. The other good tracks, "Lost Inside Your Love", "Love Is Gonna Come At Last" and "The Dreamer" suggest that "Airwaves" was on the right track to becoming a great Badfinger album but for reasons unknown, it was cut short. One suggestion: why not re-record some of the missing "Head First" tracks to fill out the album? In the end, 2 stars for half an album.

Airwaves from 1979 was the first Badfinger album to be released without Pete Ham, who tragically committed suicide in 1975. Of course he is sadly missed on this album, which only feaures two earlier members ; Tom Evans and Joey Molland. After Pete’s death the group has disbanded and both Tom and Joey had been in other bands. In 1978 they felt like reuniting and drummer Mike Gibbins had also been at a rehearsal before this recording. Unfortunately Mike quickly left again and he is therefore not on this album. The line-up is: Tom Evans: bas vocals; Joey Molland: guitar, vocals; Joe Tansin: lead guitar; Ken Harck: drums; Andy Newmark: drums and Nicky Hopkins: keyboards. Ken Harck left during the recording and he was replaced by Andy Newmark to finish the album. Joe Tansin left soon after the final recordings. Nicky Hopkins only work a session musician; he was not a member of the band. The popular pop/rock music had changed during the 5 years sinse the last Badfinger album, so obviously the album had to be a lot different from their earlier albums. Producer David Malloy has often been critizised for poor production on this Badfinger album. “He had not been able to find the real Badfinger-sound”. I think that’s an unfair and wrong evaluation. Actually a lot of the album is pretty good. Tom Evans’ songs Lost Inside Your Love and Sail Away are true highlights. Joey’s Love is Gonna Come at Last is a very commercial number and it was released a single; it did not do ver y well, though. The Dreamer, also by Joey, is a nice ballad, a track you may not discover the two or three times you listen to the album; but it gets better every time. Joe Tansin wrote two songs for the album; Sympathy and The Winner. Sympathy is too commercial for my taste, almost disco-like; The Winner is a rocker similar to many of Joey’s songs. Tansin shows on several tracks that he’s a fabulous guitarist and some of the weaker tracks are helped a lot from his guitarplaying. The playing time is rather short, so luckily the CD version feature 5 bonus tracks.

The bonus tracks: One More Time is an outtake from the original "Airwaves" sessions - It should have been included in the first place; it would have been nice ending to side one on the original LP. It's an acoustic song beautifully sung by Joe Tansin and Tom Evans - Beatles/McCartney-inspired. A highlight. Send Me Your Love A fine catchy pop ballad by Joe Tansin - it was written in the "Airwaves" days but recorded later by Tansin. When I first heard the guitar intro, I was sure that this was the "Molland" tune which I knew would be there. Steal My Heart Another Tansin song from the "Airwaves" days recorded later. An uptempo poptune - not very interesting. Love Can't Hide A Molland/Tansin collaboration. The sound of the rhytm guitar is very poor. Incredible that the sound could not have been improved. Molland is credited as the producer of it. The song is good - the lyrics sound familiar. Can You Feel The Rain This last tune was recently written by Tansin to the memory of Tom Evans. A fine song, though a bit far from the original album.