The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Cmg Mkt Group
• ASIN: B0000026T0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,834 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > Rock > Oldies & Retro > Rockabilly

Track Listings

1. Only The Lonely - Roy Orbison

2. Leah

3. In Dreams

4. Uptown

5. It's Over

6. Crying

7. Dream Baby

8. Blue Angel

9. Working For The Man

10. Candy Man

11. Running Scared

12. Falling

13. Love Hurts

14. Shahdaroba

15. I'm Hurtin'

16. Mean Woman Blues

17. Pretty Paper

18. The Crowd

19. Blue Bayou

20. Oh Pretty Woman

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's a measure of Roy Orbison's classics that even some of the uptempo songs that break up the dominant balladic mood of this 20-song collection are themselves fairly melancholic. Rarely does Orbison allow himself the outright celebration of something like "Mean Woman Blues," more often going for the shades of gray that slip into "Blue Angel" and "Leah." Few could do what he achieves on these singles, and not just because few are gifted with such a voice. The biggest achievement of all may be Orbison's ability to make a devastated cry like "Only the Lonely" sound somehow peaceful. --Rickey Wright

Product Description

1989 recording *** please read this *** Ships from Ohio - no marks - next day shipping - tracking provided - acd796

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

321 of 330 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars DON'T KNOW WHICH ROY CD'S TO START WITH? READ ME March 31, 2001

By "wudawuda"

Format:Audio CD

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.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love Roy Orbison HITS -- this is the ONE for you! May 23, 1999

By L. D. Kennison

Format:Audio CD

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.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the greatest voice in the history of rock January 27, 2001

By David E. Levine

Format:Audio CD

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.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars simply the best February 2, 2000

By "[e-mail]"

Format:Audio CD

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!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It just gets no better than this! October 1, 2000

By Eric V. Moye

Format:Audio CD

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!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best sound on this best Roy Orbison anthology September 24, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

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!!