History
Following the "hold" placed on the last Badfinger album, Head First, and the suicide of group co-founder Pete Ham in 1975, Badfinger disbanded, and the remaining members joined various other groups or dropped out of music for the next two years.
At the behest of Chicago musicians Joe Tansin (guitar/vocals) and Kenny Harck (drums), the then-unemployed Joey Molland formed a new group with the duo in Los Angeles. Molland later enticed his fellow former Badfinger member Tom Evans to also join the unnamed band.
After the band shopped demonstration records around the L.A. area, they discovered they would have more marketing power if they revived the Badfinger moniker. Although the name helped the group open doors to potential record labels, it also caused an inequality and friction between old and new Badfinger members within the band. As recordings commenced for the album, Harck was released by the band. Former Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins auditioned for the group but was not hired, and session musician Andy Newmark was finally brought in for the drum tracks. Tansin, whose songs were largely bypassed during production in favour of Evans and Molland tunes, quit the group immediately upon the album's completion.
With a short running time and basically only eight songs, Airwaves did not leave a strong impression on music reviewers upon its release. Critics also complained about the album's "West coast" production and the loss of the famous Badfinger sound. Molland, however, has often defended the album and its production. The band toured frequently in support of the album, but sales figures failed to garner optimism with Elektra and the label passed on issuing a follow up LP.
Two singles were released from the album. "Lost Inside Your Love" did not enter the U.S. charts, "Love Is Gonna Come At Last" managed a peak position at #69 on Billboard. The actual album peaked at #125 in the US charts.
Read more about this topic: Airwaves (album)
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