Customer Reviews

King of Hearts

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Roy Orbison fans who cannot get enough of his music will find this CD a delightful find. And we should all be grateful to Barbara Orbison for producing this recording for our enjoyment! It includes the duet of "Crying" with kd Lang (maybe the only place it's available), the original demo of "Careless Heart," and what are probably initial attempts at songs-in-progress. Some of Roy's music friends took these unfinished songs and added additional arrangements to give them a finished sound. Remarkably, and because Roy's voice was so good, even when he was just laying down vocal tracks for demo tapes, most of the material is as good as anything in "Mystery Girl." "Heartbreak Radio" is a great rocker; "Love in Time" a haunting ballad; and "Coming Home" an unusual departure for Roy, with a stunning arrangement and vocal performance.

This album is made up of songs that had been previously released by Orbison on soundtracks and demos with arrangements subsequently added to them.

From this album came three United Kingdom Top Twenty Hits - Crying, Heartbreak Radio and I Drove All Night.

The last was the biggest hit, reaching #2, and shows Orbison in a driving rock style only hinted at on his previous album "Mystery Girl". Heartbreak Radio is a similar song, although of lesser quality. But the highlight of the album is the duet with kd land on Crying. Recorded in 1987 for the film "Hiding Out", this may be one of Orbison's best performances ever. Despite serious health problems, he overshadows lang without any production tricks - the quality of his voice is truly heartbreaking to behold.

The album also contains a demo of "Careless Heart", which some say is better than the studio version on "Mystery Girl". It has several nice ballads such as "Coming Home". But one of the best is "Wild Hearts Run Out of Time", recorded in 1984, and the start of Roy Orbison's Virgin style, although recorded before he joined them. Here was the first hint that a once great name could be great again, and so it proved.

If you enjoy this album, you will want to check out the soundtracks to "End of Violence" and "Lezz than Zero", both of which feature superb Roy Orbison material from the same period.

I just bought this; all I can say is wow; every song is great.
Crying, and I drove all night, are songs I had heard before and why I bought it. I particularly liked; Your the One, We'll take the Night,After the love has gone, and Careless Heart.
If you can find this pick it up.

there are a lot of great songs like love in time, crying, wild hearts, careless heart, we'll take the night and others. roy's voice feels very strong, and the musical arrangements very contemporary.

I didn't realize that the person my mother sang with on the stereo was great until I saw him with George Harrison on television. Then, I started to appreciate how effortless he reached notes my mother worked to achieve. I started to listen to the music, words and arrangements and was truly amazed. This CD is different from the 50/60's Roy, but still great. We get the duet with k.d. lang on Crying and other newer songs. His performance rivals Cyndi Lauper on I Drove All Night and I prefer Roy's. When I play this CD at work, it runs through a few times before I change to another one. All of the Orbison fans know what we are missing with his passing. We are fortunate to have vinyl, CD and DVDs to show us how great Roy truly is. I can't even begin to sing with Roy, but his music makes you want to sing, cry and dance.

This album was released over three years after Roy Orbison died. It consists mostly of material he was working on at the time of his death, some of which was unfinished. So, they went ahead and finished the songs without him. But they still didn't quite have enough material, so they reused his old hit "Crying" (the duet version with k.d. lang from a Jon Cryer movie) and "Careless Heart" from the Mystery Girl album. But those songs were great in the first place, so it's nice to hear them again. Most of the other songs on the album are good, but a few fall a little flat. My personal favorite is "I Drove All Night" (which previously was a hit for Cyndi Lauper). Roy's fans should enjoy this album.

I purchased this album in spring 99...and I can not get enough of it...it contains some of Roys' best work!

This album was released poshumously after Roy's sudden and unexpected death in 1988.My favourite track on this album is "I Drove All Night" which demostrates his exquisite vocal range. Other artists have covred this song but none of them match Roy's version. The Angels in Heaven now have a new voice to add to their Choir. You are sadly missed and I too would drive all night to see you perform one more time.

John Baranyai

Loved the cd. Another great cd from my favorite artist of all times, Roy Orbison!! Both he and his music are timeless!!!!!! Any Roy Orbison fan should get this cd. If had lived, he would have ruled the 1990's.

I've always been a fan of Roy's "Mystery Girl" album, and I can't believe that I didn't even know this album existed! Though I don't think this album is quite as good as "Mystery Girl", (This album has some great tunes, it's just too short, which is obviously because Roy died much too soon.) if you like this album, I think you'll LOVE "Mystery Girl"!

Link to Mystery Girl