Year : 1983 (Rock Candy Remastered 2019)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , AOR
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 95 mb
Bio:
Orphan is a hard rock/AOR band from Winnipeg, that was formed in 1982.Most of the band had previously recorded as The Pumps.When the plug was pulled on The Pumps in 1982, it was after only one album, and after Polydor execs had lost faith in the Winnipeg group becoming the next great prairie find.By that time however, another popular group was making its way out of the local basement, and making noise along the way – Orphan. With guitarist Steve McGovern (ex of Stryder), Ron Boisvenue on drums, Dizzy Fingers Richards on bass, and Spaceman Paul on keyboards, they were expected to go far, and had even opened a couple of dates for The Pumps. So McGovern hooked up with Pumps frontman and bassist Chris Burke-Gaffney, and with Boisvenue and ex-Pumps keyboardist Brent Diamond, the old Orphan was dissolved, and a new one was born. They picked up where they’d all left off only a couple of months earlier, on the road anywhere there was a stage and writing material.Manager Eric Green helped land them a deal with Portrait Records (home of Burton Cummings, Aldo Nova, among others) in early ’82, who immediately had the band shipped off to New York.Recorded at The Power Station with producer Tony Bongiovi, LONELY AT NIGHT was released in the spring of ’83, smack dab in the middle of a million other melodic rock/metal albums at the time. Behind the single and accompanying videos for the title track and then “Miracle,” the record at times wove a spooky atmosphere into quality, radio friendly numbers like “Hello” and “What Kind of Love Is This,” and McGovern’s guitar spruced up Diamond’s occasionally gloomy keys and the record nearly went gold. Other noteable songs included “Saved By The Bell” and “Night Parade,” a pair of tracks left over from the final Pumps writing sessions that were co-written with then-guitarist Lou Petrovich.But Boivenue succumbed to cancer shortly after the album’s release, so they called on ex-Pumps drummer Terry Taylor to join the fold. Following over a year on the road that included stops with Platinum Blonde, they got back to the writing table to finish working on new material and were whisked off to New York’s Kingdom Sound Studios.Their follow-up was 1985’s SALUTE, marking the return of the production of Phil Chapman and John Astley. Their resume included Corey Hart, The Who, and Paul McCartney, as well as The Pumps. Critics praised the album prior to its official release early that summer. The lead single “Lyin’ To Me” worked its way up the charts, followed by “Open Up The Skies,” both hovering around the top 30 at home, thanks in part to MuchMusic and MTV both giving the video regular rotation. But a critic’s rave usually means less than stellar sales, as was the case here. Even a guest appearance by labelmate Aldo Nova, or “Uncle Sam Salutes You,” geared to hopefully get a pop on American radio, couldn’t stop Orphan’s descent.After a road trip that lasted nearly a year, they were dropped by the label by the fall of ’85. The members ventured off to their own projects, briefly resurfacing for a brief reunion in November of 1988. They drifted off and on again until 1991, when Burke-Gaffney and Taylor invented Dead Beat Honeymooners. They found a home at Anthem Records (Rush, Max Webster) released an eponymous album in ’93. The group disbanded, and everyone strayed off again, until near the end of the decade, when The Pumps got back together for a benefit show in Winnipeg to an overwhelmingly positive response.It wasn’t long before the second Orphan lineup (Burke-Gaffney, Diamond, Taylor and McGovern) decided to make a permanent part-time gig out of playing together, billed as ‘The Pumps and Orphan.’ In 2003, Escape Music re-released the two Orphan albums as a digipak. The best of The Pumps and Orphan made it to a Vatikan Records compilation disc in 2006 called IT’S A MIRACLE … THEY’RE STILL ALIVE!, with three new tracks – “The Pumps Are Back,” “Let Me Love You,” and “Rock Star.”
Album:
Formed in Winnipeg from the ashes of a band called The Pumps (who had links to obscure RCA act Max Damian), ORPHAN quickly signed to the Portrait label, an offshoot of CBS records, who were bathing in the recent and unexpected success of fellow Canadian group Loverboy.The first ORPHAN album “Lonely At Night” appeared 1983, and this Rock Candy Records specialists ‘Remastered & Reloaded‘ version is wonderfully done.With the record label deeming their name to be too new wave leaning, they switched to ORPHAN, according to record executives ‘a more conventional and less restrictive moniker‘.This pompy, keyboard filled radio-friendly beauty was recorded at the famous Power Station studios in New York. Co-produced by its owner Tony Bongiovi (cousin of Jon Bon Jovi) and Lance Quinn (Bon Jovi, Danger Danger), the album hits the radio-friendly new wave melodic hard rock nail firmly on the head.As one of the best Canadian albums of the era, the record embraces all the great elements that make for compelling listening; great hooks, unrelenting melody and musical ability that takes full advantage of clever arrangements.Catchy, plenty of harmony vocals and contagious choruses, “Lonely At Night” is a must for fans of the genre. It’s a similar, but not identical, sound to both Loverboy and Aldo Nova.Title track owns that unmistakable first half of the ’80s feeling akin Honeymoon Suite or Steelheart, followed by the harder and sharp “What Kind Of Love Is This” which remembers Americans AORsters Preview.The atmospheric midtempo “Miracle” recalls Arc Angel, but also has a lovable new wave touch, a characteristic that made Orphan so special. Then on “She Told Me” they sound typically Canadian, ala Loverboy. Those keyboards and chunky melodic guitar riffs… Love it.“Any Time At All” is another gem in a disc full of them: heavenly synths and vocals to die for. An AOR diamond if you ask me. And if it’s epic widescreen songs you like then look no further than “Night Parade”.On the faster “Hello” and the pompy “All Over The World” they sound more Americanized again, the latter bringing to mind Giuffria’s Angel or New England.There’s something unique about ’80s Canadian rock bands songwriting and musical style that sets them apart from their cousins in the USA. Orphan are a perfect example of this special ingredient, lending their music a magical appeal and a sound quite unlike anybody else recording at the time.There has been many bootleg version of this album, now this official remastered reissue by Rock Candy makes justice to this cult LP.
Line Up:
Chris Burke-Gaffney – Bass, Lead Vocals
Steve McGovern – Guitar, Vocals
Ron Boisvenue – Drums, Backing vocals
Brent Diamond – Keyboards, Vocals
Production:
Copyright © – Rock Candy Records Ltd.
Licensed From – Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited
Recorded At – Power Station
Mixed At – Power Station
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Ron Boisvenue
Guitar, Vocals – Steve McGovern
Keyboards, Vocals – Brent Diamond
Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar – Chris Burke-Gaffney
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Tony Bongiovi
Remastered By – Jon Astley
Tracklist:
01. Lonely at Night
02. What Kind of Love Is This
03. Miracle
04. She Told Me
05. Saved by the Bell
06. Anytime at All
07. Hello
08. All Over the World
09. Night Parade
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