Say Something Interesting about: Roy Orbison

LIFE FADES AWAY

a friend of mine recently picked up a tape at a carboot sale with "boy or bison" written on the inlay card. he thought it was a great bandname and bought it for that reason. he got home and it was, of course, a roy orbison compliation.

His late Sixties/Early Seventies Jimmy Webb-style Überpop-opera recordings for MGM-Monument are totally slept on.
― musicmope (musicmope), Saturday, November 8, 2003 11:40 AM (5 years ago)

On the basis of the copy of 'Memphis' (1972) I just picked up, this would appear to be true - amazing song called 'Run the Engine High' by jerry McBee, that sounds like it could be the Box Tops, a bonkers, phased I fought the Law, and an even more Bonkers 'Danny Boy'

"She's a Mystery to Me" is an obvious standout on Mystery Girl but this is a really strong album. The second half is particularly strong: "The Comedians" is excellent as is said above, as is "Windsurfer" and "Careless Heart" (the latter a Diane Warren co-write but let's not hold that against it).

Why do we always go for something we can't reach? Nobody ever really understands.

roy orbison sing it for the lonely

Yeah, I really enjoyed the fact that half the music business seemed to be behind him, determined to give him a hit.

So true.

You know someone who said something interesting about Roy Orbison is Alan Sparhawk in that NPR Fresh Aire interview linked from the Low thread.

christ, but Mystery Girl is a TREMENDOUS album. obviously I always loved "You Got It", but never heard the entire lp until I picked up a sealed copy for three bucks last weekend. so wonderful in every way. how sad that he wasn't around to bask in its glow.

i love roy orbison more than life

Something interesting. Hmmm...

I think I read somewhere that Elvis Presley got a phone call from somebody praising his new song, but it turned out to be one of Roy's singles.

Someone's face was red.

Roy Orbison was the first American rock musician to start using Marshall amps and bring them back to the USA after a UK tour.

always listen to roy orbison at christmas

No proper C/D thread, so...

I picked up the Bear Family "Roy Rocks" comp of his rockabilly and up-tempo material and it's just strength to strength. While I enjoy Roy's ballads more than most of his contemporaries I really appreciate this Rocks series approach, it concentrates on the stuff I like best.

My favourite is Running Scared, an extraordinarily tense song. One of the live albums I have, he ends it on that huge "...with MEEEEEE!!!" and the audience goes wild, and then he just sings the last couple of lines another half dozen times, putting more into it each time. It's fantastic.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, November 7, 2004 11:13 PM (6 years ago)

martin OTM. this has been one of my favorite performances (on the record, haven't heard the live version) for ever and ever.

Despite boasting an "anodyne" production (as I heard someone call Jeff Lynne's job last month), "You Got It" is such a remarkable piece of craft.

Back in around 2006 or 2007 the RnR Hall of Fame had an Orbison exhibit. Among the artifacts was a hand-scrawled memo to himself essentially telling him to pull his shit together, from the mid-80s or so. It was in list form, kind of like "1) Fire manager; 2) Get new band" etc.

that's interesting - i'd always chalked orbison's comeback to a confluence of factors: blue velvet, the showtime 'black and white night' special (this was a pretty big deal at the time), the 'crying' remake w/ kd lang and then the watershed w/ traveling wilburys and mystery girl. i'd never even considered that he might've been the active catalyst behind it.

Was the subject of a bizarro early attempt to create stereo LPs from old mono recordings when stereo became big in the mid-60s, which budget label Design Records did by putting the original recording on the left channel, and overdubbing new instruments on the right channel. Unfortunately, someone thought that a tambourine and harmonica were the ticket to modernizing O's early recordings. Here's the sorry result. LOLling at description "Design Records vs. Roy Orbison", like it was an intended mash-up.....

xp The memo definitely predated "A Black & White Night," the Wilburys, and the kd lang collaboration. It was pretty fascinating, like he was taking stock: where have I been, where am I now, and where do I want to be?

How could Orbison be a passive agent in his own comeback?

had one of his songs featured in popular British sitcom "Only Fools And Horses". It was sung by a character in the show that was an ageing binman dressed up to look roughly like Tom Jones, who couldn't pronounce his R's properly. Thus, the song in question became 'Cwying'.

He should be swtiched off immediately if in the vicinity of Dennis Hopper with an oxygen cylinder

It's 1976 and the Big O has the number one album in the UK. How did that happen? I try to find out why.

his hair could do the work of ten men.
― scott seward, Saturday, 8 November 2003 04:07 (8 years ago) Bookmark

My buddy in junior high got dressed up like roy orbison, and I photographed him eating from a bowl of banana pudding.

....

Maybe I should've posted that in the seran wrap thread.

Well basically my prime dread re: hooping kind of happened and for the first twenty minutes the pill burned in my ass in that nagging, infuriating way like when your belly-button ring accidentally gets yanked too hard. Would you believe it though, one of my friends took it upon herself to put a condom over her finger and re-orient the thing -- I hadn't the money for a second attempt -- after which I had a pretty good time. Not all it's cracked up to be, however, though it may be different for girls. I guess it's on you to find out for yourselves.

― DarrensCoq, Sunday, November 9, 2003 9:06 AM (8 years ago)

During recent Louvin Brothers jag discovered this pretty good Live From Batley Variety Club album: http://open.spotify.com/album/4LFrznrFAkcoprQqaWrCAc

Wait there's also Live from Birmingham, Live from Queen's Theatre, and Live from The Fiesta Club. Set Lists vary slightly. This one is the only one without "Leah," which is one of my favorites, although it is the only one with a cover of "When I Stop Dreaming," which is how I found it.

my god this concert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YG__LBJVZ0&feature=relmfu

'in dreams' is about the best song anyone ever wrote.
― cºzen (Cozen), Sunday, November 7, 2004 7:45 AM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Worth repeating.

I would not have expected the best song anyone ever wrote to start with the words "a candy-colored clown..."

...yet here we are.

Up until recently, I had discs from the box set in rotation in the car changer. I must say, all the superlatives thrown at the Monument stuff are true: amazing production elevating even the lesser material to stratospheric heights, and THAT VOICE. Interesting songwriting too. Have ya'll actually listened to "Leah"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Ib3_jMp9s

Pretty strange...everything...for a hit from '63 or so.

got sucked in again into watching the 'Give Us Money' presentation of Orbison's Black and White Night on PBS

TCB band backing him up, Bruce and Elvis Costello and Tom Waits and kd lang and bonnie raitt just chilling on stage and you can't for a second take your eyes off the Big O.

Blows my mind that that beautiful voice comes out of him so seemingly effortlessly, it just goes there

Otm

i haven't watched that show in a while, that's a good reminder to put it back in the queue.

it's so good

Something good in a similar vain is the one Dave Edmunds did with Carl Perkins.

wow never seen that. i'll def have to check that out

Got my favorite guitar duel of all time, on Pretty Woman, with Springsteen knowing better and just sitting back and doing his basic box of blues, vs James Burton tearing it up.

yes! i loved that

god those TCB guys are so tight

I adore his music.

Nice! I'm glad you put "Communication Breakdown" in there.

Roy is magical imo

VegemiteGrrl, you know what's magical?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5N9IHqqGcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tt5DE4hbYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ltMHQMUFE

Ha

Exactly

Eno sounds lovely here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPN0EHyy09Y