The Classic Roy Orbison is the ninth studio album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his third on the MGM Records label, released in July 1966. The single taken from it, "Twinkle Toes", would be Orbison's last US top-forty single during his lifetime, scraping in at #39. It also reached #24 in Australia and #29 in the UK, The album was successful in The UK, where it spent for 8 weeks on the album chart there at number 12.[1]
| The Classic Roy Orbison | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1966 | |||
| Recorded | October 1, 1965 – May 16, 1966 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 27:58 | |||
| Label | MGM | |||
| Producer | Wesley Rose, Jim Vienneau | |||
| Roy Orbison chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was released on compact disc for the first time by Diablo Records on October 5 2004 as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 13 through 24 consisting of the other album being Orbison's Other Album from October 1967, Cry Softly Lonely One.[2] The Roy's Boys was included in a box set entitled The MGM Years 1965-1973 - Roy Orbison, which contains 12 of his MGM studio albums, 1 compilation, and was released on Deember 4, 2015.[3]
History
editSome of the songs were leftovers from The Orbison Way sessions.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| New Record Mirror | [6] |
Bruce Eder of AllMusic felt that "Every song was cast in a familiar, classic Orbison vein, without any of the country piano sounds that showed a digression on recent releases, and most of it -- especially "Just Another Name for Rock and Roll" -- had a beat, this is stripped-down, back-to-basics Orbison"[4], calling the album "the best album be ever did for the label"[4]
Billboard described the album as "one of his best albums to date" of "dynamic Orbison performances"[7]
Cashbox gave a positive review, saying that Orbison "ranges from rhythmic danceables (“Just Another Name For Rock And Roll”) to dramatic, emotional ballads (“Wait”).[8]
New Record Mirror gave the album a postive review, saying "He swings in the way of contemporaries"[6]
Track listing
editAll tracks composed by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees, except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You'll Never Be Sixteen Again" | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Pantomime" | 2:53 |
| 3. | "Twinkle Toes" | 2:37 |
| 4. | "Losing You" | 2:43 |
| 5. | "City Life" | 2:47 |
| 6. | "Wait" | 2:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Growing Up" | 2:46 | |
| 2. | "Where Is Tomorrow" | 2:45 | |
| 3. | "(No) I'll Never Get Over You" | Orbison | 2:10 |
| 4. | "Going Back to Gloria" | 2:46 | |
| 5. | "Just Another Name for Rock and Roll" | Bill Dees | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Never Love Again" | Rusty Kershaw, Doug Kershaw | 2:10 |
Produced by Wesley Rose and Jim Vienneau Engineered by Val Valentin
References
edit- ^ "Roy Orbison". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Roy Orbison 1965-1973, Vol. 2 (The Classic Roy Orbison/Cry Softly, Lonely One)". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "The MGM Years 1965-1973 - Roy Orbison". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Roy Orbison – The Classic Roy Orbison: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (24 September 1966). "Roy Orbison: The Classic Roy Orbison" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 30. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 1966-08-27. p. 80.
- ^ Cash Box. Cash Box Pub. Co. 1966-08-27. p. 58.