It's impossible to talk about Roy Orbison in any depth in my small speck of text buried away on the internet.
From his first solo album 'Lonely and Blue' in 1961 to the latest 'Unchained Melodies' with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra released in 2018 Roy's body of work is extensive and on the whole, magnificent.
When we emigrated from England to Australia in 1964 we were at sea for a full 5 weeks. We spent 2 weeks going across the Indian Ocean with no sign of land. As we started getting closer and closer to Australia, heading for the Port of Fremantle, I took my trusty transistor radio on deck and tried daily to pick up a signal. Eventually, when we were close enough for the radio waves to defeat the ocean waves, I got a faint, familiar sound coming through ... it was Roy Orbison singing 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. We were approaching civilization !!!
I'm going to refer to Bob Dylan to give his description of Roy's voice. He should know, they were together for the 'Traveling Wilbury's' recordings. To quote Bob ...
"With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. With him, it was all about fat and blood. He sounded like he was singing from an Olympian mountaintop. After 'Ooby Dooby' he was now singing his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal ... His voice could jar a corpse, always leave you muttering to yourself something like, "Man, I don't believe it"."
Roy needed no help in performing, but on this album he has backup to the hilt. The list of people on stage with him is just incredible and speaks to the respect and regard he was held in. Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. Lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Jennifer Warnes. If you are fortunate enough to find the DVD of the show, you'll also spot Sandra Bernhard, Patrick Swayze and Kris Kristofferson in the audience. I'm adding a link to the 'Oh, Pretty Woman' YouTube clip from the show and the eagle-eyed among you will catch Billy Idol in the crowd loving every minute of it.
Recorded in September 1987 just over 1 year before Roy's death at the too-young age of 52, this live album displays his talent, voice and charisma to the full. Singing his classics like 'Only the Lonely', 'In Dreams', 'Blue Bayou', he appears in his trademark dark glasses and dark clothing, owning every song and standing taller than his actual height with his peers on stage.
There's no anecdote I can write that hasn't been written, no personal tragedy of Roy's that hasn't been documented and no accolade that hasn't already been given.
All I can say, in a world of musicians who strive to achieve greatness, Roy Orbison is the yardstick to be measured against.
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