Search - Roy Orbison :: Live at Austin City Limits

The Luminous Orbit of Roy

R. J MOSS | Alice Springs, Australia | 02/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How preposterous, billing the 'O' as support for the Rolling Stones. There he was at The Palaise, Melbourne ca 1964, an impressively immobile, lone figure seemingly summoning the celestial gods before Jagger and co. raised the planks from the underworld. His absolute stasis served to drill attention to the essence of his act. No amount of rhythmic grind and thrust could dissipate Roy's presence. His notes still riffed around the rafters. Certainly he made his debut, which he plays for us in this concert, as an aspirant rocker. 'Pretty Woman' not withstanding, Orbison rocking out? It never really fits. Not, at least along side the signature operatic pop ballads, where, to put it coyly, he found his voice and metre. Like many artists with auspicious early 60s careers, Orbisons' seemed to stand as still through the 70s as his demeanour at the microphone. This Austin City concert marked his re-emmergence after a lengthy reclusion. It is exactly what fans desired - a total recapitualtion of stellar moments, superbly arranged and timed, the voice in full throttle. 'Leah' and,'Working for the Man' are often missed on collected hits. I've loved these as much as the paranoid driven majesty of,'It's Over', 'Cryin', 'and 'Running Scared', the last two which are graced with reprise treatment. While,'In Dreams' acknowledges the source of his imagery he never evoked it as poignantly as on,'Leah' where we plunge the depths with the helpless diver for pearls. (Flo and Eddie/Turtles lightly invoked the song with, 'Nikki Nikki Hoy' on their self-titled disc). Needless to say, Roy presented us with the pearls despite the perils of his searching. This concert must have been a sublime occasion. There was probably no inkling of the second-wind cameo with The Wilberrys, of the incandescent,'Black and White Night' or the curtain call,'Mystery Girl' in the remainder of the decade. So this may be considered as a re-affirmation of a unique gift and confirmation for the artist that high-octane fuel was on tap. May he orbit amongst the most luminous constellations long after this record orbits in my player."