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Orleans

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Album: Waking and Dreaming
Artist: Orleans
Genre: Rock/Pop

As with previous Orleans albums, Let There Be Music, from earlier in 1975, and the self-titled 1973 disc on ABC records, the majority of the music on Waking and Dreaming is from the pens of John Hall and Johanna Hall. "Still the One" was the big hit, its inverted Chuck Berry riff embracing a timeless sentiment every lover wants to hear: "We're still having fun -- and you're still the one." The sounds shift on the album, working best when themes of love come into play, the touching "If I Don't Have You" being a real standout. While the late Wells Kelly provides one of the weaker tracks, "The Bum," a collaboration by Larry Hoppen and Marilyn Mason, the album's closing song, "Spring Fever," is a real sleeper. It's an indication of the duo's songwriting skills which led to 1979's big hit, "Love Takes Time," providing evidence that the Hoppens had a right to carry on with the band name despite John and Johanna Hall having such a lock on the songwriting. Charles Plotkin's production works, especially on the hit and "Golden State," a laid-back folky/jazzy understated ode, while the title track shows potential but drifts off into a jam. The biggest problem with Waking and Dreaming, outside of the dreadful album cover of the not very photogenic longhairs posing seemingly naked for the camera, is that the band moves away from its area of success, the tight vocal harmonies and the cousin-to-the Eagles soft rock sound that was perfect for Asylum records. When the band gets heavy, as on the AOR-styled '70s funk of "What I Need," Orleans loses its identity. "Still the One" is as hard as this band should've rocked with John Hall at the helm, light enough for soft rock, strong enough to dance to. The reggae of "The Path" is a nice diversion, but the folky sounds of "Sails" is the kind of album track the fans expect, and it delivers the goods. It is John Hall at his isolated finest, the keyboards building with the singer, creating a niche for the voices to come in and fill. "Sails" is short, sweet, and magical, the kind of number that Waking and Dreaming should have had more of to surround the rare jewel of a hit song that "Still the One" is. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

History: America's Greatest Hits
Artist: America
Community Score: 7.01

Mirroring the cover art depiction of America's dual life in England and the U.S., History: Greatest Hits perfectly spotlights both the polished and layered production of British studio legend George Martin and the West Coast tones of the band's folk-pop style. Featuring the group's many chart toppers from the first half of the '70s, this... Read More

Andrew Gold
Artist: Andrew Gold

An abundance of riches can be heard in Andrew Gold's first solo album. There are great Beatlesque melodies here, as well as heartfelt love songs that are Gold's specialties. Playing nearly all of the instruments himself makes this a truly "solo" effort. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide Read More

Young Men Gone West
Artist: City Boy

On this album, the band focuses on the glam rock sound of the mid- to late-'70s (swirling guitars, high-pitched harmonies) on tracks like "Dear Jean (I'm Nervous)" and "The Man Who Ate His Car," but City Boy maintains its soft rock sound with light keyboard touches and soft vocals on songs such as "One After Two" and the title track. Young Men... Read More

Singles (1974-1978)
Artist: The Carpenters

Toto
Artist: Toto
Community Score: 8.92

It's as easy to see why radio listeners loved Toto as it is to see why critics hated them. Toto's rock-studio chops allowed them to play any current pop style at the drop of a hi-hat: one minute prog rock, the next hard rock, the next funky R&B. It all sounded great, but it also implied that music-making took craft rather than inspiration and... Read More

Endless Flight
Artist: Leo Sayer
Community Score: 10.00

Richard Perry's production on Endless Flight, coupled with the tremendous song selection, makes it superior to the 1977 follow-up, Thunder in My Heart (also produced by Perry, but with not as much heart), with this project remaining big through most of that same year. The two number one hits, a catchy Vini Poncia/Leo Sayer co-write, "You Make Me... Read More

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Artist: Elton John
Community Score: 9.11

Sitting atop the charts in 1975, Elton John and Bernie Taupin recalled their rise to power in Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their first explicitly conceptual effort since Tumbleweed Connection. It's no coincidence that it's their best album since then, showcasing each at the peak of his power, as John crafts supple, elastic,... Read More

Rumours
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Community Score: 8.79

The new lineup that Fleetwood Mac successfully unveiled with their eponymous 1975 album became even more successful with the multi-platinum Rumours, which became the band's most celebrated album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. To be sure, this was a very different sounding Fleetwood Mac than the blues-rock outfit of the late... Read More

Fleetwood Mac
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Community Score: 9.00

"Monday Morning," a sunny slice of folk-rock with Beach Boys harmonies, opens Fleetwood Mac and makes it clear that the band is no longer a blues-rock outfit. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were the catalyst for Fleetwood Mac's successful re-emergence as a mainstream pop/rock band. While Buckingham only contributed three songs, he helped... Read More

Minute by Minute
Artist: The Doobie Brothers
Community Score: 10.00

With Tom Johnston gone from the lineup because of health problems, this is where the "new" Doobie Brothers really make their debut, with a richly soulful sound throughout and emphasis on horns and Michael McDonald's piano more than on Patrick Simmons' or Jeff Baxter's guitars. Not that they were absent entirely, or weren't sometimes right up... Read More

Chicago IX: Greatest Hits
Artist: Chicago
Community Score: 9.17

Does anyone need another Chicago album besides this one? For the casual fan, the answer is definitely no. The 1975 blockbuster includes all the band's hits from its prime. And while tracks like "Wishing You Were Here" and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" have worn a wee thin over the years, most of the cuts here are still topnotch. Standouts include... Read More

Christmas Portrait
Artist: The Carpenters
Community Score: 10.00

An essential album for your fireside Christmas, it sold a million in 1978 and contains the classics "Merry Christmas, Darling" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." ~ David A. Milberg, All Music Guide Read More

Spirits Having Flown
Artist: The Bee Gees
Community Score: 6.38

Spirits Having Flown is regarded today as something of a letdown, representing the tail-end of the Bee Gees' period of greatest success, perhaps because it preceded a two-year layoff that, in turn, heralded a decline in their fortunes. At the time, however, no one heard anything less than what they expected -- beautiful slow dance numbers ("Too... Read More

Melissa
Artist: Melissa Manchester

Fired by Columbia Records in 1973, Clive Davis took over tiny Bell Records in 1974 and turned it into Arista, determined to re-establish his record-selling credentials. One beneficiary of this was Melissa Manchester, who had made two good, but poor-selling albums for Bell. Davis turned on the money tap, and the result was this L.A.-recorded Vini... Read More

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Waking and Dreaming - Orleans - Similar Albums

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