What's not to like? Sure, it's not definitive and only 27 minutes long, but for a budget-priced compilation, it's got all you could want. You can shuffle, but you shouldn't skip.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Let's rank 'em!
10. Workin' For The Man (#33, 1962)
9. Running Scared (#1, 1961)
8. I'm Hurtin' (#27, 1960)
7. It's Over (#9, 1964)
6. Blue Angel (#9, 1960)
5. In Dreams (#7, 1963)
4. Blue Bayou (#29, 1963)
3. Only the Lonely (#2, 1960)
2. Crying (#2, 1961)
1. Oh, Pretty Woman (#1, 1964)
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I can't even begin to count the number of times I've tried (and failed) to duplicate Orbison's signature falsetto. Whatever that number is, add a few more attempts this morning while listening and singing along to this compilation.
Also, the 1988 Cinemax special Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night is one of the best of its kind and rightfully introduced a new generation to this music. Since I was yet to be born when these songs were on the radio, this special always come to mind when I remember Orbison and his immediately recognizable voice.
Some nights I sit on the back porch and just listen to Orbison's sad songs, several of which you mentioned above. His well-voiced pain makes me feel better. And his voice just seems to sound better beneath the cover of night, echoing out into the ether. If there was other intelligent life in the universe, they would have surely come by now just to hear Orbison sing.
ReplyDeleteWanna hear Roy go disco?
I do not.
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