Roy the Romantic
 Feb 8th, 2001
Advantages:
One of the greatest voices - and 41 tracks
Disadvantages:
Lack of date information for tracks [see text]
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency of tracks
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money
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  JOHNV
About me:
Not around a lot these days, though as you might see I have popped back after a long absence. Other...
Member since:13.07.2000
Reviews:244
Members who trust:42
Review rated by 5 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
Anybody who doubts that 'The Big O' had one of the finest voices of the last century has probably somehow missed hearing it. This 41-track feast mixes old and new songs together, and in doing so shows that he retained that astonishing vocal range right up to the end of his career, even when he was within weeks of his untimely death. Although there is a bewildering assortment of Orbisong compilations around, this is one of the best I've seen so far. Most of the old favourites are here, like the vintage 60s songs 'Only The Lonely', 'It's Over', 'Too Soon To Know', 'In Dreams', 'Blue Bayou', and of course 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. We also get two versions of 'Crying', a solo rendition and the re-recorded duet with k.d. lang. A word of warning, though - these are largely mid-80s re-recordings, made shortly after he signed to Virgin Records, and although he repeats his vocal performances faultlessly, you can notice slight differences in the musical backing if you know the originals well. Placing these more or less back to back with late hits like 'She's A Mystery To Me', the peerless 'You Got It', and the excellent 'I Drove All Night', makes you wish that he hadn't been virtually lost to the recording world for so long.
But this collection unearths a few lesser-known gems. Do you remember 'Claudette', which he wrote in the 50s and was originally recorded by the Everly Brothers, or 'Penny Arcade', an uncharacteristically up-tempo pop number written by British songwriter Anthony King, and incidentally his last UK hit of the 60s? Did you know he also recorded 'I Can't Stop Loving You' and 'What Now My Love', songs usually associated with Ray Charles and Shirley Bassey respectively? If not, this will surprise you, though personally I'm not over-keen on these two songs and would much rather hear him on his own material. In fact, this collection is so diverse that I find myself wondering how appropriate the title 'Love Songs' is. Especially when it includes his versions of 'Land of 1000 Dances' and 'Run Baby Run'. Roy Orbison sings Wilson Pickett and the Newbeats? Well, yes - and very well too. But love songs? Er, let's not split hairs.
What I will register a (little) whinge about is the packaging. Several of these recordings are listed in the booklet as being © 1997 or 2000. Are they all remixes? All right, I know that a lot of people who buy love song compilations may not be unduly bothered about such niceties, but Roy died in 1988 and I for one would have appreciated knowing the date they were originally made. Never mind, I expect there's a website somewhere which will tell us...excuse me while I go and look. That apart, the songs are (nearly all) superb - five stars on musical content, which is after all the main thing. With that voice, what further recommendation do you need?
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