Customer Reviews
ORBISON at his best
Both artists, Orbison and Presley, were at the very peak of their talents; the song selections are inspired, the playing and production as fine as anything either artist would ever release. LONELY and Blue is one of the two perfect pop albums to be released in 1960; the other is Elvis Is BACK. Its entirely possible that the Blue Angel single itself might be Roy's finest moment. As for the remastered reissue, buy it: it sounds wonderful and it includes the B-side Pretty One, a gift from the gods that has haunted my dreams for 40 years. .
Two fantastic singles and lesser album tracks
This 1960 debut LP for Monument hit the ground running at full speed with his signature "Only the Lonely. After breaking-in as a proto-rock 'n' roll and rockabilly singer at Sun Records in the '50s, Orbison found his calling with the intense operatic pop ballads for which he's so fondly remembered. " Orbison lays out the bittersweet sorrow that would mark many of his greatest works, with an orchestral arrangement whose dramatic starts and stops propel the vocal to stratospheric falsetto.
The album's second hit single, "Blue Angel," has Orbison's protagonist lending his expertise on lost-love, rather than (for once) being the subject of his own heartbreak. The arrangement continues to wed doo-wop backing vocals with sophisticated violins and Orbison's emotional dagger of an upper register. Beyond the two hits, Orbison's debut includes several covers ("Bye Bye Love" "Cry" "I Can't Stop Loving You") that venture into the sort of countrypolitan sound (replete with the Anita Kerr Singers) then popular in Nashville.
More interesting than the contemporaneous covers is the Buddy Holly styled waltz "Raindrops" (written for Orbison by frequent Orbison co-writer Joe Melson), and Gene Pitney's forelorn "Twenty-Two Days. " Orbison's own contributions include the "Only the Lonely" styled "Come Back to Me (My Love)," the mid-tempo rock "I'm Hurtin'," and the original album's blue "I'll Say It's My Fault. "
Legacy's reissue adds a quartet of bonus tracks to the original dozen, including Orbison's unrequited-yet-hopeful 45 "Uptown," its B-side ballad "Pretty One," and Gene Pitney's optimistic "Today's Teardrops. " Sound quality is top-notch stereo, and the booklet reproduces both the front and back cover (with Boudleaux Bryant's original liner notes rendered more readably within the booklet). Orbison's album tracks don't measure up to the hits, but there's plenty here to interest anyone who wants to travel beyond the regulation anthologies. [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com].
Roy Orbison's Monument Records Debut
It's delight to listen to and finally own a copy of Roy's first hit album after many years of wondering what this incredibly gifted vocalist-songwriter's groundbreaking recordings sounded like as intended album packages. A sincere "Thank You" to Barbara Orbison for reissuing her beloved late husband's and deeply adored singer, ROY ORBISON, first Monument Records album in a pristine remastered edition with 4 "bonus" tracks. While I've had his late 1950's SUN RECORDS recordings in my personal collection for years, Roy Orbison's MONUMENT RECORDS album catalogue is the most coveted of his entire career. Anyone from a casual fan to a collector will pointedly inform you that those are the treasured recordings most ultimately desired from this superb artist. This is the profound era of Roy Orbison 'coming into his own' as an artist - he'd honed his sound to perfection and was at the summit of a decade long plateau peak, the subsequent MGM Records years notwithstanding any major hit singles or albums. [Sometimes I wonder if record companies 'buy out' or lure an artist with a lucrative contract simply to control/limit their radio/chart successes. For example, look at relationships between John Mellencamp & CBS - Ricky Nelson & Decca who both left their hit making record companies only to slide into semi-obscurity. Were they intentionally drowned out of the spotlight? Nevertheless, both artists remained highly talented powers. ]It's difficult to find Roy's vintage vinyl LPs without paying a hefty price, let alone finding one in near mint condition for my collector's hobby purpose - and I am very picky on that front. His great "hits" will always please, but, the tracks waiting to be rediscovered and heard on his full length albums are the real gems. And, what grand treasures they are! It's wonderful to see Roy Orbison documentaries and concert shows on PBS, in keeping his memory and legacy alive for generations to come, but, finally, more of his classic recordings are being made available to be cherished by his legions of long time and new fans who hunger for more Roy Orbison music than the common reissues already on the market for dozens of years. The mystery of these long sought after recordings are seeing the light of day after decades of gathering dust in record company vaults or some of which were only available in highly priced CD imports. During his lifetime, Roy Orbison delivered some of the finest Pop-Rock-Country recordings from exhilerating 'cover' versions to his own immaculately executed original musical concepts, and he remains one of the very few ultimately breathtaking vocalists of modern music history. He remains an imposing and unforgettable force in modern music, and rightfully so. .
. You can see a complete list of all Roy Orbison discography, or go back to the Roy Orbison tabs
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