Roy Orbison Albums (23)
'Combo Concert 1965 Holland'
Release Date 10/19/2004
Tracks 14
Label Eagle
See Album Tracklist and Review
'In Dreams: Live'
Release Date 6/29/2004
Tracks 19
Label Castle Pulse
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What The Critics Say
A dozen obscurities, most from the early- and mid-'60s Monument era. "(I Get So) Sentimental" and "Born on the Wind" count as some of his better unknown tunes from that time. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'A Black and White Night Live'
Release Date 10/23/1989
Tracks 16
Label Atlantic
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What The Critics Say
The best recorded Roy Orbison live disc ever issued, taken from the soundtrack of the HBO concert from the 1980s with VIP guests like Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. This was a sort of magical video, and the performances are splendid, along with the good feelings involved. On the other hand, the performances are extremely reverential to the established studio versions of the songs (all of the hits are here), and intended to mimic them, so this isn't quite the same as a live album as it would have been done back when. The pity is that neither Monument nor MGM ever taped any complete concerts by Orbison from the 1960s, and all we have are the TV appearances from Europe. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although it had been years since his last recording, Roy Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Perhaps as a result of the newfound interest in his music, he was invited to record with the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. Roy Orbison had a renewed sense of purpose, and also began recording material for a new solo album. Collaborating with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, Roy Orbison recreates the feel of his old recordings while sounding modern. His voice sounds as strong as ever, and he is still able to hit the high notes that convey a sad, lonely ache. The highlight of the album is "She's a Mystery to Me," a haunting ballad penned by U2's Bono and the Edge that perfectly plays to all of Orbison's strengths as a singer. Released in the months after his death, Mystery Girl was the highest-charting album of his career and spawned the hit "You Got It" -- it is a shame that Orbison was not around to experience his success. This comeback album represents Roy Orbison at his best. ~ Vik Iyengar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Milestones was hardly that, at least artistically. Indeed, that it comes off as well as it does is amazing, considering that Orbison was merely trying to fulfill the basic terms of his original MGM Records contract and leave the label -- thus, he didn't want to commit any really good material he might've been working on that could go more profitably elsewhere, but he also had to record a proper, releasable album. Even under those circumstances, he couldn't resist putting his best effort into the vocals on some of the material that was here, which included a lot of excellent covers, among them "Sweet Caroline," "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)," "Drift Away," and the Bee Gees' "Words." John D. Loudermilk's "I Wanna Live" was the single, issued in August of 1973 and also opening the album, which disappeared without a trace, but did its job. Orbison had fulfilled the terms of his contract and was able to prove that none of his albums had received the promotional efforts promised (mostly because the MGM Records presidency had become a revolving door job for the duration of his time there), thus precluding the label from holding onto him. He would return to Monument Records in coming years, and then move on to record for Elektra and Virgin. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's difficult to say exactly what Roy Orbison was doing with the Memphis album, although one wishes he'd done another album's worth of material like it. On one level, it shows his rock & roll batteries recharged with the opening number, "Memphis, Tennessee." But then it moves on to more familiar sentimental country-pop territory of the kind that Glen Campbell had been charting with and filling his albums with for a few years -- and after that comes a hot, beat-driven, chorus-laden, big-sounding number. Further down the line is a carefully understated interpretation of Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You" that shows how less can be more with a voice like Orbison's, and then there's the pop/rock country "Run the Engines Up High," which incorporates some heavy, rock-style fuzz guitar, and a version of "I Fought the Law," complete with phased drums, that is as good as any you'll ever hear this side of Bobby Fuller's single. Perhaps this was intended to be Orbison's answer to the pair of albums that Elvis Presley had generated out of Chips Moman's American Studios in Memphis in 1969-1970, except that Orbison didn't need the "comeback" -- he hadn't squandered time and years on bad movies (except one) and bad soundtrack songs; he just needed to sell some records, which this didn't really do. So what we have here is Orbison veering very successfully between rock & roll, country, and pop, with excellent production by the singer and Joe Melson. Reissued by Edsel Records in 2004 as part of a two-CD package with killer sound. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As though to distinguish it from his previous ballad album (The Many Moods of Roy Orbison), Roy Orbison opened The Big O with a rousing, upbeat, rhythm-driven number, "Break My Mind." The Big O has the distinction of being the only Roy Orbison album never to get a U.S. release -- it was actually a substitute for an intended live album that didn't quite come off, recorded at the Batley Variety Club. That tape was eventually released as part of a live anthology on Orbison, but for the album, he made a series of studio recordings encompassing some of the same oldies, mostly in a rock & roll vein, including "Help Me Rhonda," "Money," and "Land of 1,000 Dances," that were part of his concert set, broken up by originals such as the highly charged and exciting "Down the Line." MGM in America apparently had no enthusiasm for the record and passed on it, which was a pity, as it turned out to be one of the best albums that Orbison had cut in years, and a superb vehicle for his rock & roll singing (as opposed to the ballads that he'd loaded onto his prior album). The only bizarre moment comes, ironically enough, with the single from these sessions, "Penny Arcade," which sounds more like the kind of song you'd hear at a beer hall than a rock & roll single. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
