Customer Reviews

The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison

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This message is for all those who want to explore Roy Orbison, but don't know which discs to buy first. I have checked out everything Amazon has to offer, and I will be straight foward. Most people consider Roy's "Golden" era to be the Monument Years ('60-'65). If you just want to spen... on one CD which gives you about 20 of the "common classics" from this era you could either buy this CD or one by RHINO called "For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits ('56-'64)." This RHINO CD is offered by AMAZON a little further down the inventory list, and I would recommend it above the disc you're looking at now. But truthfully, I would not recommend buying one 20 song greatest hits disc. If you truly want a solid collection of Roy's best material, do the following: On the Amazon inventory list (of 83 items!), scroll beyond the US Releases until you find IMPORTS. One of the first ones you will see is "Big O: Singles Collection" (for ...). This (50 songs) is the ultimate collection of A sides & B sides from '60-'65. If you seriously want to discover some precious Roy material, you should buy this and also a disc by RHINO which covers the MGM years '65-'68 (which for some bizzare reason is rare and untouched by all the hits collections). This disc is also availble on AMAZON (for ...), and you can find it close to the beginning of the U.S. Releases inventory list. It's called "The Classic Roy Orbison ('65-'68)." So if you buy the two discs I strongly recommend, you will have 70 songs from 1960 - 1968 (for ...), which includes the basic hits you would find on any Roy disc, PLUS tons of brilliant A sides and B sides which are harder to find and just as good if not better. I hope this message has help you.

In my estimation the best voice ever to grace the top 40 of rock 'n roll. There are only 2 or 3 on this CD of 20 songs that I would say were not really "hits" and only 2 or 3 more that were not smash hits. But so what -- Roy is singing, so they are all wonderful. I have always loved some of his "minor" hits like "Leah" and "Pretty Paper." Roy was no doubt one of the best rock song writers of all time -- phrases like "A candy-colored clown they call the sandman" is pure Roy! Candy-colored? How descriptive! He was a genius in voice and wrting. Get this CD if you even mildly like Roy.

It was once said that Roy Orbison's voice had a quality that made him sound like he was from another planet. The voice was so great and had such a unique quality as to make it almost surreal. With his three octave range he could be lighthearted as in "Pretty Woman" or tragic as in "Crying," "It's Over," and "Running Scared." His voice literally could give me chills. Orbison is a true rock n roll legend and a great anthology such as this one is an essential item in every rock lover's collection. His voice could produce raw emotion and this well selected collection demonstrates why so many consider Roy to be the greatest voice ever.

OK, this is a bit pricey, but it IS worth every penny. Roy's Monument period WAS his strongest, with his strongest songwriting, production and (of course) singing. It is no coincidence that he had his fantastic run hits during this period (1960-64)...and they are all here, in the best sound we are ever likely to get. If you really love Roy, this won't be enough, but if I could only have one Orbison album, this is it!

P.S. If you are an audiophile, take note. These early 60s recordings blow most modern recordings away! State of the art in ANY era!

This is a great CD. There are other more comprehensive Orbison collections which might fit well for those inclined to delve more deeply into his work, this one disc is the best place to start listening to the Big O.

Lots of folks in the '60's sang well. Not too many could be downright operatic in their range and tembre. One was Roy Orbison. He sang with passion, which most often translated into the pain of unrequited loves.

Back in the day, when things were not too cool with me and my honey (which seemed like a constant state of affairs for me in high school), I could not listen to "Crying" without wanting to. I think this was the greatest track he ever laid down. Roy was the only one who knew what time is was, as evidenced by "Only the Lonely". This album has just about every hit he ever did, with other highlights like "It's Over" and "Running Scared".

I pity anyone who had the experience to sing of this kind of pain. No one other than Roberta Flack sang so often of such delicious heartache.

As he mutters while lamenting the state of things with that classic "Pretty Woman": MERCY!

What can I say? One word comes to mind: WOW!

All 20 tracks were remastered directly from the recording sessions tapes. The clarity on Roy's vocals are unparalleled. You feel like you're in the studio. You can really notice the difference on Love Hurts. On the Sony pressing the vocal was almost buried under the Piano.

That's not the only reason to invest in this CD. It features the original liner notes, but adds additional notes and insights into the recordings, a picture of Roy, and reproductions of his Monument albums in full color that were not on the Sony version.

It costs twice as much as the existing CD and is worth every penny! Buy it!!

DCC does it again!!

There are a lot of Roy Orbison collections available today. There is at least one Roy Orbison collection more comprehensive than this collection. However, this collection, in spite of its name, is Roy's hits for the six years he was with Monument Records, 1960-1965.

Prior to signing with Monument Orbison was virtually unknown. Until working for Monument he was too shy to allow his three octave voice to take control of the songs he sang. However, when "Only the Lonely" hit the airwaves it was an instant success and Roy Orbison's career was launched.

Usually I talk about the songs on a CD in detail. However, these songs need no one to talk about them. These songs are that good. Admittedly, these songs are representative of but a short period in his career, and his latter years, including his work with the Traveling Wilburys, will have to be found in another collection.

Roy's hits from that era are well represented. "Crying," "It's Over" and "Blue Bayou" shows his vocal range. "Mean Woman Blues" shows that Orbison could sing a faster-paced song. These songs have a timeless air to them as well. "Love Hurts" was also covered very well by Nazareth. "Pretty Woman" became the basis of and theme song for one of Richard Gere and Julia Robert's best movies.

I usually rely on my own words with brief quotes, but in this case I think Bob Dylan's words are appropriate: "Orbison...transcended all the genres...With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes...His voice could jar a corpse...His songs had songs within songs. Orbison was deadly serious...There wasn't anything else on the radio like him."

Roy Orbison could and did wring emotion from anything that he chose. His voice was one of the most powerful in rock history. Roy has had three songs (all in this collection) recognized by Grammy Hall of Fame Awards; "Oh, Pretty Woman," inducted in 1999; "Crying" inducted in 2002; and "Only the Lonely" inducted in 1999. Roy also received five Grammy awards between 1980 and 1990. "Rolling Stone Magazine" has listed these three songs and "In Dreams" on its list of the "Greatest 500 Songs of All Time." In 1989, Roy Orbison was posthumously inducted into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame.

No less a personage than Elvis Presley called Roy "the greatest singer in the world." Barry Gibb called Roy Orbison "the voice of God." In 1964 Orbison's single "Oh, Pretty Woman" soared to #1 on Billboard charts, displacing the Beatles. This record became the biggest selling single up to that point.

It is presumptuous of me to think that I could give Roy Orbison and his music any greater accolades than those who were his contemporaries and among some of the musical greats. Roy Orbison was a power in music. Buy this collection and you will see why.

As often happens, there are so many efforts to capitalize on Roy Orbison's premature demise that it is hard to tell what one is looking at when trying to select something truly representative of his work, both in terms of content and quality of the recordings. For those of you who prefer the original release hit versions of all of Roy's hits, this collection will serve nicely. Of course, for a performer who had several comebacks and an an extremely exciting revival in interest as well as a newfound appreciation for just how good he was in the years immediately preceding his death, a truly comprehensive collection will have to wait for a boxed set comprised of several CDs. But, in the mean time, what we have here is extremely good, and covers all of his major smash hits from the so-called "Monument years", before he changed labels and then faded from view for a while.

Here we have all the hits we danced to at the sock hops and listened for on the car radio as we rode up and down the main drag of the samll town that I grew up in, from "Only The Lonely" to "Blue Angel", from "Candy Man" to "The Crowd", from "Working For The Man" to "It's Over". of course, "Pretty Woman" is here", as is "Blue Bayou", "Crying", "Uptown"', "Dream Baby", "Running Scared" and a number of others. If you are looking for a single collection that best comprises the best of Roy Orbison's most formative years, then this is the one to go for. It is comprised of all of the original recordings, performed with the original backing band. I have listened to this album again and again, and am always amazed by just how terrific, and almost operatic a voice Roy had, and how well he fashioned it as an unrivaled instrument for the dramatic delivery of an astounding string of popular hits. It will make for endless hours of melancholy recollections with the singular sound and undisputed best voice in rock and roll, as Elvis Presley himself referred to Orbison. Enjoy!.

There are few surprises here: This 20 track, 2 volume in one CD is a first rate compilation of Roy's golden years with Monument records in the early to mid 1960s. Naming favorite tracks is highly subjective, for each of us has our pet choices. Roy had so many hits and most were done his unique triple octave voice that led up to climactic fadeouts or endings. (This reviewer does not actually know what a "triple octave" voice is but I have heard it used often in referring to Roy). The best goldies from this viewpoint are "It's Over" and the ultimate climax song "In Dreams". Who else could hit that high note? Who else would dare attempt it? This reviewer also liked "Blue Bayou" and "I'm Hurtin". And yes, "Pretty Woman" is here too. Some amazon friends have complained that none of Roy's selections from his later years are included but those are beyond the scope of this CD. It is vital to note that amazon has an extensive (!) selection of Roy CDs. I don't know of any that match the value of this particular one. Why keep scrolling down? Why wait? Hit the "add to shopping cart" button. It's difficult to end a positive review on a negative note but the skimpy and thinly written informational jacket insert is truly pathetic! Surely Roy derves more respect!

Roy Orbison is still curiously underrarted and under-appreciated. I was ecstatic when he went through a revival in the late 80's, but it was tragically cut short when Roy died, then his reputation again fell by the wayside. His voice remains the purest instrument in popular music in the last fifty years. Listening to these remastered recordings is an absolute joy because I'm accustomed to listening to these treasures on vinyl, with the typical pops, buzzes and surface scratches. All of that has been eliminated on this disc. The sound quality is exceptional throughout.

Included are all of Orbison's signature hits, from the classic "Pretty Woman" to the haunting "Crying" with the poignant tenor cry at the conclusion. My personal favorite Orbison song has always been "Running Scared," a sort of mini-opera, replete with the soaring, rather syrupy arrangements his songs are noted for. I admit many of these arrangements sound dated, but the voice is the primary instrument anyway, and the only one you'll care about. If Elvis was blessed with a gorgeous set of pipes, Roy was in another league entirely and his gift never diminished. If you are an old Orbison die-hard fan, or a newbie to this incredible man, this collection will do you nicely.