Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) - Roy Orbison, Walker, Cindy
Blue Angel - Roy Orbison, Melson, Joe
Working for the Man - Roy Orbison, Orbison, Roy
Candy Man - Roy Orbison, Neil, Fred
Running Scared - Roy Orbison, Melson, Joe
Falling - Roy Orbison, Orbison, Roy
Love Hurts - Roy Orbison, Bryant, Boudleaux
Shahdaroba - Roy Orbison, Walker, Cindy
I'm Hurtin' - Roy Orbison, Melson, Joe
Mean Woman Blues - Roy Orbison, Demetrius, Claude
Pretty Paper - Roy Orbison, Nelson, Willie
The Crowd - Roy Orbison, Melson, Joe
Blue Bayou - Roy Orbison, Melson, Joe
Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison, Dees, Bill
It's a measure of Roy Orbison's classics that even some of the uptempo songs that break up the dominant balladic mood of this 20-song collection are themselves fairly melancholic. Rarely does Orbison allow himself the outr... more »ight celebration of something like "Mean Woman Blues," more often going for the shades of gray that slip into "Blue Angel" and "Leah." Few could do what he achieves on these singles, and not just because few are gifted with such a voice. The biggest achievement of all may be Orbison's ability to make a devastated cry like "Only the Lonely" sound somehow peaceful. --Rickey Wright« less
It's a measure of Roy Orbison's classics that even some of the uptempo songs that break up the dominant balladic mood of this 20-song collection are themselves fairly melancholic. Rarely does Orbison allow himself the outright celebration of something like "Mean Woman Blues," more often going for the shades of gray that slip into "Blue Angel" and "Leah." Few could do what he achieves on these singles, and not just because few are gifted with such a voice. The biggest achievement of all may be Orbison's ability to make a devastated cry like "Only the Lonely" sound somehow peaceful. --Rickey Wright
"This message is for all those who want to explore Roy Orbison, but don't know which discs to buy first. I have checked out everything Amazon has to offer, and I will be straight foward. Most people consider Roy's "Golden" era to be the Monument Years ('60-'65). If you just want to spen... on one CD which gives you about 20 of the "common classics" from this era you could either buy this CD or one by RHINO called "For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits ('56-'64)." This RHINO CD is offered by AMAZON a little further down the inventory list, and I would recommend it above the disc you're looking at now. But truthfully, I would not recommend buying one 20 song greatest hits disc. If you truly want a solid collection of Roy's best material, do the following: On the Amazon inventory list (of 83 items!), scroll beyond the US Releases until you find IMPORTS. One of the first ones you will see is "Big O: Singles Collection" (for ...). This (50 songs) is the ultimate collection of A sides & B sides from '60-'65. If you seriously want to discover some precious Roy material, you should buy this and also a disc by RHINO which covers the MGM years '65-'68 (which for some bizzare reason is rare and untouched by all the hits collections). This disc is also availble on AMAZON (for ...), and you can find it close to the beginning of the U.S. Releases inventory list. It's called "The Classic Roy Orbison ('65-'68)." So if you buy the two discs I strongly recommend, you will have 70 songs from 1960 - 1968 (for ...), which includes the basic hits you would find on any Roy disc, PLUS tons of brilliant A sides and B sides which are harder to find and just as good if not better. I hope this message has help you."
Maybe the greatest voice in the history of rock
David E. Levine | Peekskill , NY USA | 01/28/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It was once said that Roy Orbison's voice had a quality that made him sound like he was from another planet. The voice was so great and had such a unique quality as to make it almost surreal. With his three octave range he could be lighthearted as in "Pretty Woman" or tragic as in "Crying," "It's Over," and "Running Scared." His voice literally could give me chills. Orbison is a true rock n roll legend and a great anthology such as this one is an essential item in every rock lover's collection. His voice could produce raw emotion and this well selected collection demonstrates why so many consider Roy to be the greatest voice ever."
If you love Roy Orbison HITS -- this is the ONE for you!
Lauren Kennison | Brooklyn Park, MN. USA | 05/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In my estimation the best voice ever to grace the top 40 of rock 'n roll. There are only 2 or 3 on this CD of 20 songs that I would say were not really "hits" and only 2 or 3 more that were not smash hits. But so what -- Roy is singing, so they are all wonderful. I have always loved some of his "minor" hits like "Leah" and "Pretty Paper." Roy was no doubt one of the best rock song writers of all time -- phrases like "A candy-colored clown they call the sandman" is pure Roy! Candy-colored? How descriptive! He was a genius in voice and wrting. Get this CD if you even mildly like Roy."
Simply the best
gordon@ruraltel.net | 02/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"OK, this is a bit pricey, but it IS worth every penny. Roy's Monument period WAS his strongest, with his strongest songwriting, production and (of course) singing. It is no coincidence that he had his fantastic run hits during this period (1960-64)...and they are all here, in the best sound we are ever likely to get. If you really love Roy, this won't be enough, but if I could only have one Orbison album, this is it!P.S. If you are an audiophile, take note. These early 60s recordings blow most modern recordings away! State of the art in ANY era!"
It just gets no better than this!
Eric V. Moye | New York, by way of Dallas | 10/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great CD. There are other more comprehensive Orbison collections which might fit well for those inclined to delve more deeply into his work, this one disc is the best place to start listening to the Big O.Lots of folks in the '60's sang well. Not too many could be downright operatic in their range and tembre. One was Roy Orbison. He sang with passion, which most often translated into the pain of unrequited loves.Back in the day, when things were not too cool with me and my honey (which seemed like a constant state of affairs for me in high school), I could not listen to "Crying" without wanting to. I think this was the greatest track he ever laid down. Roy was the only one who knew what time is was, as evidenced by "Only the Lonely". This album has just about every hit he ever did, with other highlights like "It's Over" and "Running Scared". I pity anyone who had the experience to sing of this kind of pain. No one other than Roberta Flack sang so often of such delicious heartache.As he mutters while lamenting the state of things with that classic "Pretty Woman": MERCY!"