The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Cmg Mkt Group
• ASIN: B0000026T0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,421 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

278 of 286 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" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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.

32 of 32 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	Lauren Kennison (Brooklyn Park, MN. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

46 of 49 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 (Peekskill , NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.