Here is, bar none, the most all-inclusive anthology ever assembled to honor the greatest singer ever considered to be a “Rock and Roll artist.” But Roy Kelton Orbison was so much more: behind his ever-present sunglasses and beneath his shock of raven-black hair, clad in black, he was rock’s Mystery Man, the possessor of the most glorious voice ever to soar on such signature songs as “Only The Lonely,” “In Dreams,” “Running Scared,” “Crying” and “Oh, Pretty Woman,” to cite a mere [Read More...]
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Even the seasoned Orbison fan will find themselves needing to get this set. I know that there has always been among the fans a huge dissapointment with re-releases, we’d get the same set of songs on ten different cds with different package titles.
Absolutely not the case here. You can tell instantly that love and so much care was put into this package from day one. Question is “How did they decide on what to put on this set?” ….considering Roys career spanned over 50 years and hundreds of songs. You will find right away from “Ooby Dooby” to the final track on Disc 4 “We’ll Take The Night” they covered every corner of his career when he was huge on Monumental Rds. through MGM, when he put out songs in the late 60s and 70s that failed to chart in America, yet was still big with fans all over the world.
The highlights of this awesome package is the twelve unreleased songs that come in the form of demos, concert performances etc. However, if you have never heard of “King Of Hearts” cd released in 1992, you are in for treat right there as there are eight of ten tracks from that cd on this package. The other huge highlights of this is the demo “Precious” that many knew existed but we never had the chance to hear it but through a Arlene Harden back in the 60s when she covered Roys tunes on an lp. The song is just Roy and his guitar which that alone is haunting. The other one would be “Its Over” from his final concert just two days before his voice would cease. It leaves you stunned teary eyed, but at the sametime you can hear in his voice that he was so happy again with the amazing comeback that was ahead of him, and the audience lets him know this instantly both at the start of the song and when he finishes. Roy shared with Tony Webber that night in his final interview just how great the show was with two standing ovations for “Crying” alone.
This package will blow the Bear Family set out the window both in price and in covering his career. It is absolutely worth the money, and the Orbison fan cannot be without.
Sadly the packaging may be a problem if you order by mail. The four disks are housed in cardboard slots. They can easily slide out (Two of the disks I received were scratched, one badly). You might be better off purchasing it at a store and have it opened before you buy. Somebody at Sony should have had the prescence of mind to design a more secure disk holder. Otherwise a great tribute to a great artist and a wonderful man.