Golden Days

Artist: Roy Orbison
Label: Sony
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 5099747751523
ASIN: B000005RUR

Release Date: 1997-11-12

Golden Days

Related Categories:

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Contemporary

| Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Rockabilly

| Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock

| Imports | Stores | Music

Pop

| Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

Oh, Pretty Woman
Running Scared
Falling
Love Hurts
Mean Woman Blues
I Can't Stop Loving You
Crowd
Blue Bayou
Borne on the Wind
Lana
Only the Lonely
It's Over
Crying
Pretty Paper
All I Have to Do Is Dream
Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
Blue Angel
Working for the Man
Candy Man
In Dreams

Album Details

Australian Only Compilation, Including 20 of his Greatest Hits. Tracks Include: "oh Pretty Woman", "Love Hurts", "Only the Lonely", "i Can't Stop Loving You" and More.

Customer Reviews:

A good sampler.......2006-07-24

To me, Roy Orbison sometimes sounds like Elvis Presley, until he lets his voice take off into the stratosphere, both in pitch and in power. He has a very clear, pure voice, and does very well with songs that feature one or more of the following:

One or more crescendos, as several of the songs on this CD do.

Songs of pain, melancholy, longing, yearning, or plaintiveness.

SONG-BY-SONG COMMENTS:

Oh, Pretty Woman - This is one of Orbison's best-known songs. I have heard others sing it well, but no one does it quite like Roy Orbison. I love how he works it the wolf-like growling and makes it fit perfectly with the song. In some ways, this is an ode to superficiality, as the singer "loves" the Pretty Woman for no reason other than her appearance. Ah, but that is reality, at times.

Running Scared - Ah, here we have a song of crescendos, and no one can sing such songs like Roy Orbison, as it gives him free rein to take his voice as far as it will go, and it goes really far. The theme is uncertainty over whether a man's love-interest will stay with him, or go off with another man. The drums and guitar accompaniment enhance the longing tone of the song.

Falling - A song about falling in love, which is not as original or distinctive as most of the others in this collection. It also does not give Orbison as much of a chance to show his full range as many of the other songs do.

Love Hurts - A plaintive song about the painful aspects of falling in love. The messages and analogies in the lyrics have meaning, but it is another in this selection that is not as distinctive as some, and does not give Roy Orbison a chance to vocally climb into the sky.

Mean Woman Blues - This one is likeable but different from the others. It's kind of honky-tonk blues, about a man in love with a remarkable but not particularly nice woman. But she is a woman who cannot be ignored! The back-up singers, though, add some silliness to the song and, for me, detract from it.

I Can't Stop Loving You - Many have sung this song, and this is one where Roy Orbison sounds a bit like Elvis. It is okay, but just doesn't stand out for me.

Crowd - I honestly didn't know this song, before hearing it on this CD. I like it, but I wouldn't call it great, like I would a few others in this collection.

Blue Bayou - I really like this song, no matter who sings it. Crystal Gayle, Mireille Mathieu, and Nana Maskouri have all great renditions, with Mireille Mathieu's probably my favorite. I have heard Roy Orbison do a great rendition of this song, but this is not it. It's okay, but the back-up singers, for me, spoil it, by making it too light-hearted. It's a song about someone longing to go home, and not sure he'll ever get there. The back-up singers turn it toward fluff.

Borne on the Wind - This is another one that I had not heard before hearing it here. I love it! It's perfect for Orbison, with its crescendos, its wistful tone, the acoustic guitar thrumming, and the opportunity for Orbison to let his voice soar make it perfect for him

Lana - Take it off the CD! Skip it! Do something to make it go away! It's way too silly for me. I really dislike it (in case you couldn't tell).

Only the Lonely - Many singers have sung this one. Some have song it as well as Roy Orbison, but none sing it the way he does. This might be the song where his voice is most clearly displayed as different from others.

It's Over - Wow! This is a perfect song for Roy Orbison, with its powerful crescendo of pain, over losing the love of one's life (and wondering what's left). I can listen to it over and over.

Crying - Another amazing song. Don MacLean, Rebecca Del Rio (in the movie "Mulholland Drive") and others, have done very good renditions of this song, but this is a song where Roy Orbison just lets his voice loose and soars into the sky, while clearly expressing seemingly-intolerable loss and yearning. "It's Over" and "Crying" back-to-back? They blow me away!

Pretty Paper - After being chastised for misinterpreting this song, I listened to it again, and agreed that I had indeed missed the point. This song is an ode to desperate people trying to survive by doing somewhat pitiful but harmless things to earn a living, as in selling cheap wrapping paper and pencils at Christmas-time. In some ways, it is akin to Bobby Darrin's "Artificial Flowers." I still think that it does not fit Roy Orbison's voice well, but it is a better song than first I thought.

All I Have to Do Is Dream - Again, I have heard others do good renditions of this song. While this Roy Orbison rendition is not spectacular, it is very good, and a pleasure to listen to.

Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) - I like this one, right from the beginning, as it is a song of yearning for an idealized lover. I would still prefer it as a solo, minus the back-up singers, but they don't detract as much from this song as they do from "Blue Bayou."

Blue Angel - It's okay, but I sometimes skip it. It just doesn't fit Roy Orbison well, for me.

Working for the Man - This could be viewed as a sequel to Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons." It is a strong song about doing hard work for a hard boss, in order to survive and make a living. It is not a typical Roy Orbison song, but he does it well, even though it's too fast and wordy to let him make full use of his voice. I'd like to hear Roy Orbison singing "Sixteen Tons."

Candy Man - Blues, honky-tonk, harmonicas, and Roy Orbison with a deeper pitch, almost sounding like someone else. I need to listen to it a bunch more times, before I can figure out whether I like it. But, I like it well enough to listen to it a bunch more times.

In Dreams - Quiet, a touch sad, and then a crescendo, talking about dreaming about being with a loved one who is not around. This will strike a chord for those who experience unrequited love, who have lost a loved one, whose loved one dumped them, or whose loved one is away. Very nicely done.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

All the Best Pipes of Scotland ~ Various Artists

Close to You ~ David Hazeltine

Heart of the Immigrants ~ Al di Meola's World Sinfonia

Flight to Paradise ~ Nova Menco

Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang ~ James Brown

Blasta! The Irish Traditional Music Special ~ Various Artists

Convivendo, Pt. 2 ~ Antonacci Biagio

I Get Evil: Classic Blues Collected ~ Albert King

Domenico Modugno: Los Más Grandes Exitos ~ Domenico Modugno

Shinjuku Nishiguchi Matenro ~ Ohno Kiyofumi