[3] Smith stated she was told to replace the word "heroine" with a synonym because of issues with radio airplay, but she objected the decision since she actually intended the lyric to reference the female equivalent of hero.

Patti married Fred on March 1, 1980 and spent many years in semi-retirement from music following the birth of their children, Jesse and Jackson, until her return as a solo singer with Dream of Life (1988).

[6] Tom Carson of Rolling Stone also negatively likenened Wave to Radio Ethiopia, concluding that the record "is too confused and hermetically smug to be much more than an interesting failure.

"[3] The Globe and Mail determined that "Rundgren handles the production chores with remarkable restraint as he showcases Patti Smith the suicidal torch singer, admirably backed by her resident group of musicians.

"[1] In a 2019 review for PopMatters, Matt McKinzie dubbed the album as the singer's "most unapologetically-pop effort" where she "reject[s] the idea that her genre capabilities begin and end with th[e] four-letter word [punk].