For the Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits

Performer: Roy Orbison
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Roy Orbison (vocals, guitar); Johnny Wilson, Larry Parks (guitar); James Marrow (mandolin); Charlie McCoy (harmonica); Boots Randolph (saxophone); Floyd Cramer (piano); Jack Kennelly (bass); Billy Ellis (drums). Producers: Fred Porter, Sam Phillips. Compilation producers: James Austin, Gary Stewart. Recorded between 1956 & 1964. Includes liner notes by Todd Everett. The ghostly croon of Roy Orbison occupies a world somewhere between dreams and waking, where heartache walks hand in hand with happiness. This is the world Orbison inhabits in songs like "Dream Baby." The deceptively upbeat, Everly Brothers-style rocker wears an outward mask of confidence, but very close to the surface lies the desire-driven psychological turbulence that is Orbison's stock in trade. Similar turf is explored throughout this mighty compilation, on such indelible tracks as "In Dreams" and "Only the Lonely." Orbison's more straightforward rockabilly origins are represented by "Candy Man" (actually co-written by folk troubadour Fred Neil), "Ooby Dooby," and "Mean Woman Blues." FOR THE LONELY closes effectively with the classic "Oh, Pretty Woman," where Orbison turns his heartbreak around for once, aided considerably by a tough-as-nails guitar-and-drum riff.

Goldmine - Sound Quality - 5 Stars - Excellent

Roy Orbison, a seminal rock & roll singer who initially recorded for the legendary Sun Records, created some of the most enduring hits of the 1950s and '60s. His near-operatic voice and dark, broken-hearted songs influenced a generation of artists. His songs and arrangements, almost symphonic in scope, set the template for pop sophistication in the early-to-mid-'60s. After a late-'80s comeback that included collaborations with Bono and Elvis Costello and a stint with the rock super-group the Travelling Wilburys, Orbison died of a heart attack in 1988.

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