Customer Reviews

Essential

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The only compilation among a gazillion to span Orbison's Sun, Monument, MGM, and Virgin successes is a welcome add to the Essential series that now, post-merger, features RCA & Arista artists as well as Sony's. Roy Orbison is one of my absolute favorites. He simply may be the best rock 'n' roll singer ever.

Amazon really should update the track listing to reflect the few re-recorded versions. While the originals should be here, the remakes are a legitimate part of Mr. Orbison's career. Roy's popularity was at a deeply undeserved lull circa 1987, when David Lynch used some Roy songs in his classic/eerie film "Blue Velvet." In the wake of renewed public interest*, Roy released an LP of remakes called "In Dreams" (Virgin, 1987). It was very well done, an exception proving the rule that rerecordings are rubbish. The Wilburys, the live "Black and White Night," and "Mystery Girl" followed and the pop world was much better off for it. Then, tragically, Roy died in December 1988, rendering perhaps Rock History's best comeback bittersweet. "You Got It"'s ensuing Top Ten ranking in early 1989 is one of my all-time favorite chart events.

If I could, I'd dock this a half a star for not including the original of the #1 single "Running Scared." (Note definition of "essential.") It's just over two minutes long. Somehow they could have made room. But since it's Roy Orbison, I rounded back up to five rather than four.

*It seems Bobby Vinton did not enjoy the same resurgence. The reader may draw his/her own conclusions as to why.

Give Sam Phillips credit. His little Sun label in Memphis gave us Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Charlie Rich, among others. But there was another fellow, a shy Texan with the voice of an angel, who's humble beginnings with Sun were soon eclipsed in a Monumental way.

That fellow was Roy Orbison, a peerless vocalist in all of rock and roll, who's untimely death 18 years ago robbed our culture of one of its kindest, most gracious, and most talented artists. Now, Sony has given us a beautiful gift in the form of this ESSENTIAL 2-disc career overview.

His earliest hits were rockabilly gems, alternately rooted in twangy guitar and soaring high on Roy's celestial crooning. As he moved into the 1960s, his songs gained an added sophistication...a sweet confection of rock, pop, jazz, country, and symphonic lushness.

In my opinion, there are no moments of "filler" here on these fantastic sounding discs. Most of Roy's best-known and best-loved hits are here, but there are also a few songs that--while not as famous--are wonderful revelations in this sparkling new context. Of special note are the selections from Roy's amazing 1989 posthumous comeback album, MYSTERY GIRL, and it's fine follow-up, KING OF HEARTS. The Jeff Lynne-produced cuts magnificently captured the essence of Roy's sound, wrapping that God-given voice with timeless arrangements and instrumentation. The Bono-produced "She's a Mystery to Me" is an absolute tour de force. And, Roy's fans will be thrilled to find--for the first time on any Roy Orbison disc--his original, gorgeous collaboration with Emmylou Harris, "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again."

I have thoroughly enjoyed these discs and look forward to some major upgrading of Roy's catalog. I do wish that Roy's spine-tingling "Not Alone Anymore" from the out-of-print Traveling Wilburys VOLUME ONE could have been included here, but there is news that the Wilburys catalog is being overhauled for re-release soon.

Sony released this set in honor of Roy's 70th birthday this year. While his death continues to leave a canyonesque void in the music world, his music does live on, and will reach many new listeners, thanks to this stellar set.

By spanning Orbison's recordings for Sun, Monument, MGM, Virgin and some odds and ends from soundtracks and Oribson's own label, this 2-CD collection a broad look yet at his entire thirty-six year career. But even with this wealth of material, there are some Orbison essentials that are unaccounted for.

The choice to stick with solo-titled works leaves out Orbison's pre-Sun recordings with The Teen Kings (including the original Je-Wel version of "Ooby Dooby" - the remake for Sun is represented here) and later success with The Traveling Wilburys. More striking is the choice to include late-80s comeback remakes of "Running Scared" and "In Dreams" in lieu of the early-60s Monument originals. While there's academic interest in hearing Orbison recreate his early classics, it's no substitute for hearing the actual early classics. Also MIA are any tracks from Orbison's meager post-Sun output for MCA.

That said, the sides that are included here are generally terrific. Disc 1 focuses on Orbison's first rush of fame, from his somewhat uncomfortable sides for Sun, though his incredible run on Monument into the mid-60s. The Monument sides are breathtaking, with co-writer Joe Melson and producer Fred Foster helping to create the pop-operatic style that would propel Orbison up the charts. Disc 2 includes a few of Orbison's mid-to-late '60s singles for MGM, but focuses more deeply on his late '80s comeback on Virgin. The balance actually works, as Orbison's Monument albums were often stacked with hits and lesser material; providing a deeper look at his comeback drives home just how strongly he held up as an artist.

Were it not for the glaring omissions of "Running Scared" and "In Dreams" in their original format, this would be five stars. Their replacement with comeback covers was a mistake, and leaves this collection without all of the essentials. Fans of Oribson's Monument catalog should look up the reissues of his three original Monument albums, each remastered in superb stereo and augmented with bonus tracks. Those wanting to cherry-pick the hits will enjoy this set, but may feel short-changed by the pair of remakes. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

The Essential Roy Orbison is the first full career overview of his career. That alone earns it its five stars in my book. Roy Orbison was without a doubt one of the most gifted performers and in Rock & Roll history. No one could write miniature opera's quite like he could. No debate is necessary here. The fact that it took until 2006 for a proper overview was a disgrace.

That is not to say these two discs are without problems aside from the obvious inclusion problems. Any serious fan will probably find some tracks missing. But compilations like this are not intended for them. So let's not dwell on that. The mayor problem is disc two. Disc one starts with a logical choice to this sort of compilation, the chronological one. Disc two suddenly abandons that approach. This unfortunately leaves a sloppy impression. The second problem is the inclusion of two eighties rerecordings, namely Running Scared and In Dreams. These eighties recordings have been plaguing Orbison fans since the eighties. There's not one good reason I can think of to include them here.

These are minor flaws in the end. The essential Roy Orbison proves once again the genius of Orbison. It leaves you churning out false notes trying to sing along with these classic songs, reminiscing, smiling, crying and dancing. It's pure joy. It's life in a three minute song. It's Rock & Roll.

As a new fan, I was looking for the best place to start my Roy Orbison collection and a remastered compilation set like this is a no brainer. The U.S. version of "Essential Roy Orbison" has an adequate track list that gives a broad retrospective look on Roy's illustrious career. Many reviewers complained that the inclusion of the "In Dreams" and "Running Scared" 1987 remakes instead of the original Monument Records versions is a sin. It does puzzle me that the record company would not include the original versions along with the remakes since there is plenty of space on disc 1. As a personal preference, I enjoy the remakes just as much as the originals but for a compilation entitled "Essential", it is a glaring omission. Still, the set makes up for these two flaws by providing hard to find tracks in remastered versions. The biggest rare inclusion for me is "Life Fades Away" from the "Less Than Zero" soundtrack. Co written by Glenn Danzig (one of the reasons why I started listening to Roy), "Life Fades Away" is a haunting and beautiful song. The fact that this lesser known track was included heightens all the positives this set has. This is an exceptional set to buy if you're a curious person or a huge fan of Roy Orbison.

Then why the 4 star rating? The U.K. version of this set has a slightly different track list that is better and overall more exhaustive.

The U.K. Set includes these exclusives;

Disc 1: Running Scared (Monument Records),
Disc 2: (From Roy's MCA Catalogue)"Too Soon To Know", "Unchained Melody", "Breaking Up Is Breaking up My Heart", & "Heartache". Plus, this set also includes Roy's duet with K.D. Lang for their cover of Roy's "Crying".

But the U.K. version omits songs from the U.S. version;

Disc 1: "I'm Hurtin'"(Monument Records),
Disc 2: "Communication Breakdown","Running Scared" (1987 version), and "Coming Home" ("King of Hearts" album).

Again, it puzzles me why all of these exclusives could not have been included on one exhaustive set since there is disc space for all of them. But, if I had to choose one version over the other, the U.K. version is the better of the two. Personally, I wish "Coming Home" was on the U.K. version too because it is essential.

As far as product packaging goes this deserves 5 stars for the remastered sound. 4 stars for the U.S. track list of this set and 4.5 for the U.K. version. 5 stars over all because this is Roy Orbison we are talking about here!

If you do not mind spending the extra cash to import, the U.K. version is the way to go and can be found on Amazon's U.K. site. Here's the link;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Roy-Orbison/dp/tracks/B000F2BXNG/ref=dp_tracks_all_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1200519383&sr=8-3#disc_1

If not, the U.S. version will suffice and opens up a new world for the avid music fan. You will never hear another angelic voice like the one Roy Orbison had ever again. Do not hesitate, buy today!

What it lacks in content it makes up in sound quality. I'll talk about the sound quality first. I can not believe how this sounds. How they managed to get this quality I'll never know. So rich and full sounding you won't believe your ears. Clear as a bell no tape hiss you really need to listen to this. It is just fantastic. Now the content, The little yellow sticker states All of Roys biggest hits, Thats would not be my opinion. All the Monument is on the first CD and there is alot missing. Not quite all of his biggest hits, Not Close, Running Scared a #1 hit is not here, In Dreams a #2 hit not here, Mean Woman Blues a # 5 hit not here.. All his newer stuff is on the second disc. There is realy only a couple of hits, 2 top 40 thats it. Lots of fillers. But to be fair That sound quality is great. It's worth the price for the songs that are on here they, Sony has really raised the bar. Hopefully someone will fill in the missing songs with as good a sound quality in the future.

As a Roy fan for the past 20 years. I am always excited when I hear about a new release or just stumble upon some obscure cd by Orbison. I agree with other critics that the second disc seems to loose the "Journey" through Roy's career and just seems to put in some songs that are just mediocre. Several people are not happy with the 80's versions of In Dreams and Running Scared. I find that the In Dreams version is very well produced and not a let down at all. Running Scared though, seems to lack the power that Roy is capable of using in the song's amazing ending. Also, the remakes of theese two songs seem to lack in the orcestra. The violins are a bit too weak compared to the originals.

The pictures that were a selling perk were not that great. I think the packaging could have been a lot nicer, but most true Roy fans forget about that and just get lost in the music.

The addition of Life Fades Away is great and wraps up the cd in an eerie manner. The only song properly placed on the second cd.

All in all the cd still gets my 5 stars. It has most of the greats and you will not have to flip through several cd's to hear the songs you like.

There are several complilation CDs of Roy Orbison
this is the latest one 2 CDS has classic
Sun Monument MGM + latter day nudges
Previous complilations concentrated on Sun and Monument hits. This is the first one that has Roy's 50's 60's 70's 80's ache/grin/sunglasses on.

This double so-called "Essential" misses some early hits found on LPs and 45s and beloved by his fans. It has rare beginings like "Ooby Dooby" and the edge of Rockabilly. Most fans have all that. It misses favorites like "In Dreams" and others that fans would shout "Essential!"

But..it also has each 60's hit and the reason that Bob Dylan/BruceSpringteen/GreenDay/Bono/U2/ all agree that Roy had that Operatic voice that could suffer/soothe and excite
No heart was ever broken so perfectly so aching so wanting to hear it again over and over

Roy had no top 40 hits after signing with MGM in 1966. He waited it out and ..
finally..
All realized the depth and breath of his vocal and passion

Then a concert where Roy was told just how much he was beloved. It is still being shown on PBS stations as a way to get folks to join up!


Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a fine tribute
but those of us who love
know deeper

in dreams

This 2 CD has an included booklet that has hardly any history, few comments , no incisiveness.
and anyone who wants to know more should study.

The sound is as good as it it gets. Nicely done!

I just wanted to clear up something in Clyde's review. "Mean Woman Blues," "Running Scared" and "In Dreams" are all included. "Running Scared" and "In Dreams" are not the original singles, but recordings done in the 1980s. They're essentially carbon copies, and show how Roy's voice retained its power, but I can understand that some would prefer the originals. "Mean Woman Blues," however, is the 1963 version. I'm not sure how Clyde missed it. Also, by my count there are 20 Top 40 hits included, counting the re-recordings of "Scared" and "Dreams."

This double disker from Roy Orbison puts me at ease. I've listened to this album (all songs) for hours and hours since purchasing it a few weeks ago. Roy Orbison's voice - amazing. The lyrics - classic. The tunes - stellar. How can someone go wrong listening to this multi-decade master of music? It's an easy buy and at such a reasonable price.