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There Is Only One Roy Orbison

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There Is Only One Roy Orbison
Studio album by
Roy Orbison
ReleasedAugust 1965
RecordedJuly 2–9, 1965
StudioRCA Studios. Nashville, Tennessee
GenreRock
Length28:15
LabelMGM
ProducerWesley Rose, Jim Vienneau
Roy Orbison chronology
Early Orbison
(1964) 		There Is Only One Roy Orbison
(1965) 		Orbisongs
(1965)
Singles from There Is Only One Roy Orbison
  1. "Ride Away"
    Released: 1965

There Is Only One Roy Orbison is the seventh album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his first for MGM Records, released in July 1965. It features his studio recording of "Claudette", an Orbison-penned song which had become a hit for the Everly Brothers in 1958. Ironically, at the time he recorded the song in 1965, he had divorced his wife Claudette, who had inspired the lyrics. Orbison later re-recorded the song for In Dreams: The Greatest Hits in 1985. (They later reconciled in 1966, before her death in a motorcycle accident in June of that year near Galatin, Tennessee.[1]) The single taken from the album was "Ride Away", which reached no. 25 in the US charts, no. 12 in Australia and no. 34 in the UK. Cash Box described "Ride Away" as a "rhythmic teen-angled ode about a somewhat ego-oriented lad who cuts-out on romance."[2] Bear Family included the track "Ride Away" in the 2001 Orbison 1955-1965 box set.[3]

The album was released on compact disc 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 Orbison's 1966 album, The Orbison Way.[4] There Is Only One 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.[5]

History

[edit]

In 1965, Roy Orbison was riding high with the hit single "Oh, Pretty Woman", which was No. 1 globally, when word got about that his Monument contract was due to expire in June. Orbison was interested in Hollywood and signed to MGM Records for $1 million for three albums per year from 1965-1985. Half of the money went to Decca's London Records. He also was looking for freedom when he signed with the label. His producer for Monument Records, Fred Foster and Orbison's manager Wesley Rose were having disagreements about whether or not to keep Orbison. This album charted at No. 10 in the UK[6] and No. 55 (No. 41 on Cash Box,[7] while reaching the Top 30 on Record World) in the US.[8] It was recorded at the RCA Studios in Nashville.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Record Mirror[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]

Variety described the album as "an excellent perfromance", and notes "it features a solid group of contemporary ballads".[12] Billboard described the album as "a first-rate fashion destined", saying "Ride Away" and "I'm in a Blue Mood" are standout performances".[13] Cashbox gave a postive result, saying Orbison "makes some powerful noise as he displays not only his exciting song styling".[14] Record Mirror described the album as "a good LP", saying the "vocals are really good, with Roy putting just about everything into it".[10]

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic described the album as "unimpressive", noted Orbison "forsakes much of the rock & roll foundation of his classic early-'60s hits for Nashville country & western on most of the LP."[9]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ride Away"Roy Orbison, Bill Dees3:28
2."You Fool You"Orbison, Joe Melson2:10
3."Two of a Kind"Bob Montgomery, Earl Sinks2:37
4."This Is Your Song"Dees2:18
5."I'm in a Blue, Blue Mood"Orbison, Melson1:51
6."If You Can't Say Something Nice"Orbison, Melson, Ray Rush2:21
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Claudette"Orbison2:01
2."Afraid to Sleep"Buddy Buie, John Rainey Adkins2:15
3."Sugar and Honey"Orbison, Dees2:22
4."Summer Love"Dees, Mathis2:29
5."Big as I Can Dream"Bob Montgomery2:08
6."Wondering"Orbison, Dees2:16

Produced by Wesley Rose & Jim Vienneau

References

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  1. ^ Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The Authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley,, Orbison, Alex,, Slate, Jeff (First ed.). New York: Center Street. p. 133. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 14, 1965. p. 72. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ^ "Orbison 1955-1965". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Roy Orbison 1965-1973, Vol. 1: There Is Only One Roy Orbison/The Orbison Way". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ "The MGM Years 1965-1973 - Roy Orbison". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Roy Orbison". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 278. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 580. ISBN 0898201179.
  9. ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "Roy Orbison - There Is Only One Roy Orbison: Ratings & Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  10. ^ a b Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (30 September 1965). "Roy Orbison: There Is Only One Roy Orbison" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 238. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Variety Album Reviews Beatles Help, Dean Martin, Orbison, Sonny & Cher, Bobby Vinton, Charles, Ramsey Lewis, Supremes, Top New LPs: There Is Only One Roy Orbison". Variety. Vol. 239, no. 13. August 18, 1965. p. 42.
  13. ^ "Album Reviews Pop Spotlight: There Is Only One Roy Orbison". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 34. August 21, 1965. p. 60.
  14. ^ "Cashbox Album Pop Picks Reviews: There is Only One Roy Orbison". Cash Box. Vol. 27, no. 27. August 21, 1965. p. 30.
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