Reviewed by Tom Mott
Released: 1980 Orleans Orleans Genre: Squash Rock Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: When Are You Comin' Home Orleans had two massive hits, Dance with Me (1975), and Still the One (1976), earning them a Double Foghat, and probably even a Rafferty or two. In 1977, their primary songwriter John Hall quit for a solo career, taking his writing partner Johanna Hall with him. They managed to eke out another hit in 1979, but by 1980, about half the band had quit. The remaining members brought in a couple of their brothers, and--amazingly--got all previous band members back into the studio for a track or two. They also managed to get pal Phil Collins to sing backing vocals on a song, as well as one of them Spyro Gyra fellas to play a sax solo. The results are competent but uninspired. No deep cuts I'd put on an 8-hour Soft Rock compilation. "Oughta Daughta" has some gross "I don't know if I oughta fool around with your daughta -- but I think I will." "When Are You Comin' Home" could be edited down to a 1-min theme song for a forgettable mid-season replacement sitcom. Too many cooks. But hey, did you know that Orleans was discovered at Max's Kansas City? And we should all be so lucky to have a quote like this in our bio: "After a swing through Europe playing guitar behind Karen Dalton on a Santana tour ...."
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