Airwaves
album
by Badfinger
compiled by Tom Brennan
last update: July 23, 2023



AIRWAVES
October-December, 1978

Stickley Manor, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

David Malloy

U.S. release in March, 1979
on Elektra 6E-175.

released in the U.S. on CD on May 25, 1999
on Permanent Press Records.

Airwaves front coverAirwaves inner sleeve (Joey & Tom)Airwaves back cover

Airwaves photo collageAirwaves CD photo centerfold
Special thanks to Paul Ottaway for the scan of the Airwaves LP.

Side One:
Airwaves / Look Out California [promo film]
Lost Inside Your Love [promo film]
Love Is Gonna Come At Last [promo film]
Sympathy
Side Two:
The Winner
The Dreamer
Come Down Hard
Sail Away
CD Bonus Tracks (Permanent Press Records CD release only):
One More Time
Send Me Your Love
Steal My Heart
Love Can't Hide
Can You Feel The Rain


Cassette Tape
Elektra TC-5175

Airwaves cassette tape 1979


8-Track Tape
Elektra ET-8175
Airwaves 8-track tape
Program 1:
Airwaves
Look Out California
Love Is Gonna Come At Last
Program 2:
Sympathy
The Winner
Program 3:
Lost Inside Your Love
The Dreamer
Program 4:
Come Down Hard
Sail Away



Airwaves
(Evans/Molland)
Tom Evans - lead vocal
Joey Molland - Acoustic Guitar
Peter Clarke - legs, hands, and feet

Joey: "It is based on a guitar lick I've had for years, a nice funky riff."
Tom: "And I finished it, just juiced it up a little."



Look Out California (Evans)
Tom Evans - lead vocal, backing vocals, bass
Joey Molland - lead guitar
Joe Tansin - guitar
Ken Harck - drums
+David Malloy - backing vocals
+Duane Hitchings - synthesizer


Tom: "'Look Out, California' is just a song I wrote when I knew I was really coming over here. It was cold and raining in England at the time. California seemed like such a good idea at the time, so much to look forward to, you know? That's exactly what I feel... look out, I'm coming!"

Joe Tansin & Tommy Evans 1978
Joe Tansin & Tommy Evans, 1978

Lost Inside Your Love (Evans)
Tom Evans - lead vocal, backing vocals, bass
Joey Molland - lead guitar, backing vocals
Joe Tansin - guitar, backing vocals
+Nicky Hopkins - acoustic piano
+Andy Newmark - drums


Tom: Basically it's a love song and it's funny because it's a song I had running around in my mind for a time as a hate song! It was a downer song I'd written in a very bad period of my life. Once I got over here and I realized how everything was going to work out, it turned around in my head, became very positive."


Love Is Gonna Come At Last (Molland)
Tom Evans - backing vocals, bass
Joey Molland - lead vocal, lead guitar, backing vocals
Joe Tansin - backing vocals
+Steve Foreman - percussion


Joey: It's a song about hope - that's the real thing I get from it. It's something we believe. I think this one sounds most like the things we did in the past, brought up to date."


Sympathy (Tansin)
Tom Evans - lead vocal, backing vocals, bass
Joey Molland - guitar, backing vocals, electric piano
Joe Tansin - lead guitar
Ken Harck - drums
+Nicky Hopkins - acoustic piano
+Steve Foreman - percussion


Joey: "'Sympathy' started out as a 1958 Les Paul song, finally evolving into the point it could be played in discos."


The Winner (Tansin)
Tom Evans - lead vocal, backing vocals, bass, middle eight lead
Joey Molland - lead vocal, guitar, backing vocals
Joe Tansin - lead guitar, backing vocals, middle eight lead
+Andy Newmark - drums
+Duane Hitchings - sythesizer, acoustic piano


Joe Tansin & Joey Molland 1978
Joe Tansin & Joey Molland, 1978

The Dreamer (Molland)
Tom Evans - backing vocals, bass
Joey Molland - lead vocal, guitar, backing vocals
Joe Tansin - lead guitar
+Nicky Hopkins - piano, Hammond organ
+Steve Foreman - percussion


Joey: "It's like a story-song. Sometimes it seems to me to be about the music business and sometimes about life. I dream all the time, and this seems to be one of my dreams about the history of the rock musician. It began as a song about somebody who was fighting himself, and finally decided he could win."


Come Down Hard (Molland)
Tom Evans - bass guitar
Joey Molland - lead vocal, guitar
Joe Tansin - lead guitar
+Andy Newmark - drums


Joey: "It's a rock story-song about a chick and a guy, there's some two-timing in it. She has all her plans laid out, but it just doesn't happen that way. She comes down really hard, just facing the reality of the situation."


Sail Away (Evans)
Tom Evans - lead vocals, backing vocals
+Nicky Hopkins - acoustic piano
+David Cambell - string arrangement


Tom: "I think it's pretty, really pretty. The basic idea is when you feel fed up, what will you do? I think all of us just -- sail away!"

Joe Tansin: "Sail Away was my idea to do with just piano; they added the strings. Tom sent that song to Joey and me from England before he came over. I remember hearing his rough piano vocal demo on a cassette. I loved the song instantly. We recorded a demo at Sound City. The Airwaves version was better. I remember watching the orchestra cut their parts at Capitol Studio B. What a memory. That song always had a beautiful sadness about it."



One More Time (Tansin) - Airwaves Outtake
Tom Evans - backing vocals
Joey Molland - lead guitar
Joe Tansin - lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar
Ken Harck - cardboard box
+a cricket


thanks to David Der for summarizing session information
Tom's and Joey's comments about the songs are from the Elektra/Asylum Records press release from February, 1979.

Tommy Evans & Joe Tansin (Airwaves rehearsals)
Tommy Evans (on Hofner bass guitar) & Joe Tansin


WEA product facts sheet (Germany)


Ads:
Full page ad

Articles:
Badfinger has reassembled from The Atlanta Constitution: Aug. 19, 1978
Badfinger now recording at the Annex from The Chicago Tribune: Oct. 04, 1978

For the Badfinger band, the bad times may be over (part 1) by Lynn Van Matre, from Chicago Tribune Arts & Fun: April 15, 1979 Article from Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph: May 12, 1979

Newmark, Tansini, Molland, Evans, Hopkins 1978 Dec.
Badfinger picking the finished tracks for the album: from Cashbox magazine, 1978 December 16


Album Reviews:

Muncie Star, Indiana: March 11, 1979
Badfinger down to two from The Greenville News and Piedmont: March 18, 1979

Review by Joel Selvin from San Francisco Examiner: March 25, 1979
Courier News, Blytheville, Arkansas: March 31, 1979
Whitehorse Daily Star, Whitehorse, Yukon, CANADA: April 06, 1979

Hartford Courant: April 8, 1979
thanks to Kenneth Tomasi
The Heights review by Tom Gilroy: April 23, 1979

Trouser Press review by Peter Olafson: May, 1979

Review by Pam Fruehling from Cedar Rapids Gazette: May 31, 1979

Kensington Tharunka, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA: June 11, 1979

Review by Lee Branst from News-Pilot, San Pedro, California: June 22, 1979
Review by Terry Jordan from St. Joseph News-Press, St. Joseph, Missouri: June 23, 1979
Here's another attempt to rise from the ashes of adversity

Lolling Stoned, 1979



News from the time of the CD's release
Ray Paul Klimek of Permanent Press Records has recently paid Joe Tansin an undisclosed sum of money in order to gain full interest in the Airwaves license and project. A future re-pressing of the CD will have the Joe Tansin bonus tracks removed. Joey Molland will most likely be more involved this time around and more closely consulted for any bonus track ideas.
update from Randy Justesen, April 14, 2000

The CD reissue of "Airwaves" on Permanant Press Records was released on May 25, 1999, and sells at a list price of $15.98. The CD features the classic Evans and Molland songs, "Lost Inside Your Love", "Sail Away", "Love Is Gonna Come At Last", and "Look Out California." A total of 5 bonus tracks are included: "One More Time", an outtake from the original album sessions by Joe Tansin (with Tansin and Tom Evans on vocals), "Send Me Your Love" and "Steal My Heart", both written during the sessions by Tansin but not recorded until the mid-'80s, "Can You Feel The Rain", a new track written by guitarist Joe Tansin in 1994, and also included is Joey Molland's recently recorded track (1998), co-written back in the late '70's with Joe Tansin, called "Love Can't Hide". The liner notes were written by Joe Tansin and Joey Molland and are part of a 6 page booklet including photos taken during the rehearsals for the album. Lyrics to songs on Airwaves are available on this web site.
story courtesy of ICE and Permanent Press Records

News about the proposed 2nd LP for Elektra (originally titled "LOVE IS EASY REVISITED")
Recording sessions at Ratts in Los Angeles featuring the Airwaves touring band of Tommy Evans, Joey Molland, Tony Kaye, and drummer Peter Clark have been recently discovered. An energetic remake of "Love Is Easy" and two other unreleased songs are said to be in excellent condition and sound, including excellent performances by Tommy Evans.
The songs come from sessions that were intended for the 2nd Badfinger LP for Elektra, but were scrapped when the label dumped the group in the fall of 1979.
New information from Raz indicates that there is an 11 track CD in the works featuring 7 songs by Badfinger (with the above line-up, featuring the "Airwaves" touring band) including "Love Is Easy" and an outstanding rocking version of "Little Darlin'" (the Natural Gas song) and also 4 Natural Gas demos: "St. Louis Blues", "Dark Cloud", "The Right Time", and "Once Again, A Love Song". No word on whether Joey will try to release it or not.
story courtesy of Randy Justesen, July 7, 1999, updated August 4, 1999 thanks to Raz


AIRWAVES REISSUED
The "Airwaves" album is being re-released on CD, this time on the CD-only reissue label Wounded Bird Records (WOU-175 $10.98). This time, there are no bonus tracks, just the original track listing. All the bonus tracks previously added to the Permanent Press Records CD release have been removed. U.S. release date is September 21, 2004.

Joe Tansin Library


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