Forever (Orleans album)

Last updated

Forever
"Forever" album cover (1979).png
Studio album by
Orleans
ReleasedJanuary 1, 1979
RecordedOctober – December 1978 [1]
Studio
  • Record Plant
  • Bearsville Studios
Genre Soft rock, pop rock [2]
Length39:32
Label Infinity
Producer Roy Cicala, Orleans
Orleans chronology
Waking and Dreaming
(1976)		Forever
(1979)		Orleans
(1980)
Singles from Forever
  1. "Love Takes Time" / "Isn't it Easy"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Don't Throw Our Love Away" / "The Flame and the Moth"
    Released: 1979
  3. "Forever" / "Keep on Rollin'"
    Released: 1979

Forever is the fifth studio album by American rock band Orleans, released in 1979 on Infinity Records.

Contents

It is the first album without John Hall, with keyboardist Bob Leinbach, and only album with multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Robert "Bobby" Martin (credited here as "R.A. Martin") as an official member. [2] [3] Both Martin and Leinbach would leave the lineup before the next album, though they still featured as supporting musicians on it. [4]

Background

The lineup change saw the group going in a different direction sonically, with newcomer Bob Leinbach handling most of the lead vocals. Little of the album’s material consists of the folk/soft rock aspects from the band’s previous efforts (the main exception being the title track) and instead employs a more rock- and beat-focused sound.

Leinbach, Larry Hoppen, and Wells Kelly had previously played together during Hoppen's tenure in the band Boffalongo, [5] of which Wells's older brother Sherman Kelly had also been a part.

This is one of two albums by the group where Wells Kelly is featured as a member but does not contribute any lead vocals, the other being 1975's Let There Be Music .

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Music Week gave the album only two out of four stars, but wrote that it "sounds like the Doobie Brothers on a good day." [6] The Hartford Courant deemed it "lively without being lightweight." [7]

Joe Viglione opined for AllMusic that the album had "not a bad track" and called it "pleasant and valuable work," noting aspects of blues, gospel, and Southern rock throughout. He also complimented its "sterling vocals" and described "Everybody Needs Some Music" as being "very cheery", "Slippin' Away" as "brilliant", and title track "Forever" as something that "really should have followed 'Love Takes Time' up the charts." [2]

Record World called the title track a "pretty love song" that "opens with a soft acoustic guitar and touching vocal that build in drama and intensity via a soaring electric lead bridge." [8]

Cash Box said of the single "Don't Throw Our Love Away" that it is a "smart, rock-tinged pop song, with some neat lead and slide guitar work." [9]

Track listing

Credits adapted from LP liner notes. [1]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Love Takes Time" Larry Hoppen, Marilyn MasonLarry Hoppen3:51 [a 1]
2."Don't Throw Our Love Away"Larry Hoppen, Bob Leinbach, MasonLarry Hoppen4:50
3."Keep On Rollin'"LeinbachLeinbach, R.A. Martin 5:28
4."I Never Wanted To Love You"Larry Hoppen, Leinbach, MasonLeinbach4:38
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."Everybody Needs Some Music" Kal David, Larry Hoppen, Leinbach, MasonLeinbach4:45
6."Slippin' Away"David, Larry Hoppen, Leinbach, MasonLeinbach5:00
7."The Flame And The Moth"MartinMartin3:55
8."Isn't It Easy" Sherman Kelly, Wells Kelly Leinbach4:17
9."Forever"Larry Hoppen, Leinbach, MasonLarry Hoppen2:48
Cassette listing [10]
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Love Takes Time"3:51
2."Everybody Needs Some Music"4:45
3."Forever"2:48
4."I Never Wanted To Love You"4:38
5."The Flame And The Moth"3:55
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Keep On Rollin'"5:28
7."Isn't It Easy"4:17
8."Don't Throw Our Love Away"4:50
9."Slippin' Away"5:00

Personnel

Orleans
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Album
Chart (1979)Position
US Billboard 200 [11] 76
Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1979"Love Takes Time"US Billboard Hot 100 [12] 11
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [13] 13
Canada RPM Top Singles23
Australia Kent Music Report90
"Don't Throw Our Love Away"U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [14] 92
"Forever"US Billboard Adult Contemporary [15] 24

Notes

  1. ↑ This is the length printed on the LP sticker, whereas the liner notes label the song as lasting 4:03. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Forever (album). Orleans. New York, New York: Infinity Records, Inc. 1979. INF-9006
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Orleans - Forever". AllMusic . Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "High Fidelity: Vol. 29, Issues 7-12". ABC Leisure Magazines. 1979. p. 83. Retrieved February 8, 2020– via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Orleans (album). Orleans. Universal City, California: MCA Records, Inc. 1980. MCA-5110
  5. ↑ "Forever (1979) - Orleans". December 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Album Reviews: Orleans — "Forever"" (PDF). Music Week . Gwent: Pensord Press Ltd. May 12, 1979. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.com.
  7. ↑ McNulty, Henry (April 8, 1979). "Without Leading Lights". Hartford Courant. p. 7G.
  8. ↑ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. September 22, 1979. p. 28. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 7, 1979. p. 18. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Forever (album). Orleans. New York, New York: Infinity Records, Inc. 1979. INFC-9006
  11. ↑ "Forever". Billboard . Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Love Takes Time (Hot 100)". Billboard . Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Love Takes Time (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard . Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-08-18.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  15. ↑ "Forever (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard . Retrieved February 8, 2020.
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