rockofallages81-tvgda

Adding to my disclaimer at the end of the previous post, 2112 by Rush is nowhere on the 1976 year-end. Instead, we have this.
Between 2007 and 2011, Democrat John Hall served as the House representative for New York’s 19th congressional district. But decades earlier, he was a founding member of the pop rock band, Orleans. They had two or three big hits in the Seventies. The one that charted the highest on the Hot 100 was “Still The One,” from their fourth album, Waking And Dreaming. Released in August 1976, Waking And Dreaming boasts an album cover that has to be seen to be believed. It isn’t anything shocking in theory – just a photo of the band members together – but in practice, the band members are all shirtless. I’m not body shaming or calling anyone ugly here. They’re just average looking white guys, not male models. I don’t imagine most people would want to see men like that shirtless. Then again, the photo was still publicly available when John Hall ran for office and he still won, so let’s not dwell on it. After all, voters can apparently overlook far, far worse. -_-
As I said, “Still The One” was a big hit. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I used to get this song confused with “You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain. But speaking of Orleans and women with country hits, Linda Ronstadt sang backing vocals on the country/soft rock ballad “If I Don’t Have You.” I don’t know why that wasn’t a single. Linda Ronstadt had a Platinum album in 1976, and it featured a song co-written by John Hall and his wife Johanna, no less. It’s so easy to imagine Orleans and/or their label Asylum wanting to cash in. But that didn’t happen, so let’s talk about Waking And Dreaming as it is.
The album opener and second single, “Reach,” was not a hit, which is a shame because it is a great track. “What I Need” offers some excellent funk and disco with a sick guitar solo to boot. The title track is divided into two sections: the “Waking” section is slow-paced but nice, then the funky “Dreaming” section starts around the 1:50 mark and goes on for the rest of the song.
Side B opens with “Still The One,” and I guess the band figured people would stop listening after that, so Side B is where the album gets weird.
Following “Still The One” is “The Bum,” written and sung by another band member named Wells Kelly. It feels a lot like a Frank Zappa song, which isn’t necessarily good or bad – just very different from the rest of the album. Then that’s followed by a slow, jazzy ballad about California called “Golden State.” Guys, you’re on the wrong coast. Still a good song, though. After that is a reggae song called “The Path,” and then the album closes with its third and final single “Spring Fever.” That one isn’t weird by any means, as it’s the same funky soft rock that filled Side A.
All in all, I do recommend Waking And Dreaming. It is a great record and a prime example of the adage “if you can’t do anything new, then do everything right.” Having said that, I won’t be surprised if you skip “The Bum.”