Audio CD review:
Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl

Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl

Band: Roy Orbison Title: Mystery Girl Rating: Release Date: 25 October, 1990 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: You Got It 2: In the Real World 3: (All I Can Do Is) Dream You 4: Love So Beautiful 5: California Blue 6: She's a Mystery to Me 7: Comedians 8: Only One 9: Windsurfer 10: Careless Heart

Customer Review Roy's swan song is a winner God decided he wanted the angel in black by his side. The great Roy Orbison was on the brink of a MAJOR comeback when he was taken from us, much too early. Released posthumously, the "Mystery Girl" album lived up to the promise that this great artist would show us much more. The CD opens with the hit "You Got It", which was a breath of fresh air on the airwaves at the time. The lyrics to the next track, "In the Real World", turned out to be so prophetic, if this song doesn't move you, you're made of stone. "(All I Can Do Is) Dream You" is a slice of rockabilly harkening back to Roy's mid-50s roots, punchy and raucous. "A Love So Beautiful" tells of a love gone wrong, one of the subjects Roy sang of with authority. "California Blue" is an ode to the home he was spending an increasing amount of time away from, the song soaring and satisfying. The "title" track, "She's a Mystery to Me", tells of a love not quite as sunny as one might want, but nonetheless accepts on its own terms. "The Comedians" is so close in form and subject to "Running Scared", but ends differently than that classic, in performance just as satisfying. Of the last three songs, only "Windsurfer" stands as a "throwaway", but to my ears, it still satisfies with Roy's soaring vocals (how to describe his voice without using the word soaring??)and some sprightly guitar. "The Only One" tells of a breakup, and Roy was the expert on breakup songs, but on this one, he is looking on, and comes across with some sage observations. The CD ends with "Careless Heart", this time Roy is on the receiving end of a heartache, and of course, delivers hindsight as to why. There was one more CD cobbled together after this, "King of Hearts", but it is only a collection of songs finished in the wake of his untimely death. "Mystery Girl", though only 37 minutes, is one of the most satisfying albums ever made by ANYONE, and certainly hints that Roy had a lot more in him, had he lived. If you can get it on the cheap, more's better, but if you loved Roy, this is a stellar example of his craft, easily sitting in the company of his classic Monument albums of the 60s. . You can see a complete list of all Roy Orbison discography, or go back to the Roy Orbison tabs