Orphan - Salute (1985) [2020 Rock Candy Remastered]

Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, ORPHAN was formed in 1982 from the ashes of the band The Pumps. After a locally successful debut LP, ORPHAN recorded their second album “Salute” with Englishman Phil Chapman (Eric Clapton, Corey Hart) & Jon Astley behind the desk. According to times – 1984-1985 – musically the band turned more mid-Eighties AOR-pumped oriented, extremely melodious and with a radio friendly Hi-tech touch.

The record oozes quality and class. Blessed with a polished sheen and a rich tapestry of songs the sound is highly reminiscent of equally impressive Canadian acts such as Red Rider, Honeymoon Suite and Streetheart.

But don’t go running away with any idea that they had mellowed out, alongside the ‘techie’ sound, there’s enough pulsating rock riffs to satisfy the most discerning heavy-leaning ear.

“Salute” is an impressive mid-Eighties album both in songwriting-style and production. In fact, ORPHAN sound huge here and one scratch its head wondering why these guys weren’t huge.

Tracks:

01 – Open up the Skies
02 – Lyin’ to Me
03 – Woman In Love
04 – Crazy for the Night
05 – Stand Up
06 – A Little Heart & Soul
07 – Old Enough to Know
08 – Uncle Sam Wants You
09 – Steel & Iron
10 – The Way It Should Be

Personnel:

Chris Burke-Gaffney – Bass, Lead Vocals
Steve McGovern – Guitar, Vocals
Brent Diamond – Keyboards, Vocals
Terry Norman Taylor – Drums, Backing Vocals