The last of three records by the Orleans while John Hall was in exile, the band goes for a harder-edged sound with the Empire Project's Don Silver producing this release on Radio Records/Atlantic. When they do get mellow, as on their version of a hit already covered by the Everly Brothers, Betty Everett/Jerry Butler, Glen Campbell/Bobby Gentry, "Let It Be Me," it is without the charm that made earlier Orleans so radio friendly. Willie Nelson charted with his remake of the same song this very year, 1982, and the difference between the two renditions is the difference between success and failure. Larry Hoppen's "I Found Someone" almost makes it, while the Hoppens Brothers' "Beatin' Around the Bush" shows why this new formula just didn't have enough of that intangible element that brings OK music to the level of greatness, a level much of this ensemble achieved with "Love Takes Time." As the Forever album dipped into the world peopled by the likes of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, "One of a Kind" goes after the Doobie Brothers' 1976 "Takin' It to the Streets" style of white urban rock & roll. It sounds forced, especially the title track and "I Found Someone," attempting to rewrite Robbie Dupree's 1980 hit "Steal Away" -- itself a steal of Michael McDonald's "What a Fool Believes" sound of 1979. Lance Hoppen and Larry Hoppen then take the Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight" motif and give it the sentimentality of John Hall's "Power" for "Save Our Planet," even saying "harness the power." The album cover is one of Orleans' best: snowflakes over an ocean sunset (or sunrise), with the same tone Firefall put on their album jackets. Side two fares better, Larry Hoppens' "Keep On Shining" perhaps the album's best track. "Gotta Lotta Money (Big Deal)" and "Give In to It" sound like the Doobie Brothers (that piano) meets Pablo Cruise. Wells Kelly had passed away by the time this album was released, so Jerry Marotta provided the drums, Lane Hoppen performing on piano with Larry Hoppen. It's Larry's album, as he wrote or co-wrote all nine originals, the ballad "Circles" being adequate, while "Move On," the final tune and one of three co-written with brother Lance Hoppen, is just too little too late. It's watered-down "Love Takes Time" referencing Pablo Cruise's "love will find a way" with the lyrics as an earlier song referenced that group with guitar lines. This was the big opportunity for Larry Hoppen to shine while away from John Hall's songwriting dominance, but it is so derivative it shows the band aimlessly seeking direction, something that they would only find when Bob Leinbach from 1979's Forever and co-founderHall returned to the fold. Orleans would release live versions of past glories on their Major Label imprint, the band stronger and more focused joining forces after all the time apart, but the disappointment of One of a Kind is that with stronger production and more careful song selection, it could have been so much more.