Roy Orbison: The MGM Years and One of the Lonely Ones

Roy Orbison
The MGM Years
One of the Lonely Ones
(Roy’s Boys/UME)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (Both)

It would be a challenge to find serious music lovers, or musicians, who don’t consider Roy Orbison to be one of the top 10 greatest singers in pop history. Most slot him as Top 5, and many have him holding the number one position.  So it may come as a shock that the songs, over 150 of them, he recorded during the nine titular years on the MGM label have been difficult, and in some cases impossible, to find for decades.  

Enter Universal Music who, with substantial assistance from Roy’s sons (now under the umbrella of the “Roy’s Boys” logo), rounded up all 12 albums recorded for the label, remastered them, added an additional batch of rare B-sides and singles, and packaged the lot in a lavish — and not surprisingly expensive — box. A 68-page book with notes penned by son Alex Orbison is also included; it adds comprehensive, occasionally excruciatingly detailed, historical background not only to this era in Orbison’s life, but for each recording.  While it’s not the Holy Grail, there is no doubt this box is the last word on what can be considered Orbison’s forgotten years. The releases — all in their original often schlocky packaging — have been painstakingly buffed for an audio experience that comes close to what those in the studio heard.  

Musically, it’s a mixed bag. Orbison, who was a hot commodity in 1965 after scoring popular and ultimately legendary chart  hits such as “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Blue Bayou,” “In Dreams” etc., was wooed away from Monument label to MGM, in large part due to the latter company offering him a film career à la Elvis. That yielded one movie (the lamentable The Fastest Guitar Alive, whose soundtrack is here), and contracted him for nearly three sets of new material a year, with Orbison maintaining creative control. No one shy of the Beatles could have churned out quality product consistently on that schedule, especially with some devastating life problems (Orbison’s wife Claudette died in a 1966 motorcycle accident, and in 1968 his two sons were killed in a house fire), thrown in. The resulting collections were generally short (even with a dozen cuts, 1965’s There is Only One Roy Orbison, his first under the new contract, doesn’t break 30 minutes) and padded with covers. Two were dedicated to interpretations of Hank Williams and Don Gibson songs. Others such as 1972’s Memphis and Milestones from the following year, significantly his final two from the run, had no Orbison penned material.  

To his credit, Orbison typically took even the least substantial of his recordings seriously; in many cases the lush orchestrations that famously bolstered his distinctive, sweeping, near operatic vocals were recorded live in the studio. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair amount of less than stellar material here. Some sappy arrangements with cheesy backing vocals also appear, but that was indicative of pop music of the time. Yet nothing feels tossed off or contract fulfilling, regardless of how quickly many of these sides were recorded under deadlines. That’s more than can be said for his contemporary and one time fellow Sun label-mate Elvis’ voluminous output. It also displays Orbison’s sheer work ethic and tenacity.  Suffice it to say, each disc has high and low(er) lights. The former outnumber the latter, and there are plenty of hidden gems tucked away as deep tracks such as a tender and moving 1973 version of the Bee Gees’ “Words.”

Since the albums are brief, combining two on a single platter, while maintaining the graphics, would have lowered the cost which, at a hefty $130, keeps all but the staunchest Orbison fans from experiencing a historically overlooked yet often artistically vibrant era in his storied career.   

While researching the MGM material, the compilers tripped across One of the Lonely Ones, an entire album of finished material recorded in the first half of 1969 but shelved due to complicated circumstances. Available separately, these dozen selections (five are Orbison co-writes) are impressive and occasionally outstanding. That includes the title track, a typically dramatic performance which could have been one his more noteworthy efforts if it had seen the light of day earlier. Not an essential item, but it includes a handful gems Orbison lovers will be thrilled to own.