Roy Orbison left Monument Records 50 years ago this year.
Many of his legendary hits came via the label, starting a brand new phase of his career, and many of the recordings from that era have no been available for decades.
On December 4, UMe in conjunction with Roy’s Boys, LLC, will release two brand new packages comprising his MGM catalog and a brand new, previously unreleased album.
One of the Lonely Ones was recorded in 1969 but never released. It’s a 12-track lost Roy Orbison album never-before-heard by the public that was recently discovered by Roy’s sons. This rediscovered treasure will be released on CD, digitally and on sumptuous 180-gram vinyl.
Recorded between January and August of 1969, One of the Lonely Ones is a great Roy Orbison studio album. Kicking it off is a sensational version of You’ll Never Walk Alone, the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that charted for Britain’s Gerry & the Pacemakers in 1965. The Roy penned, guitar-heavy, Child Woman, Woman Child can be considered the musical younger sister of Oh, Pretty Woman. Plus, ten other never before heard Roy tracks. A lost treasure found!
One of the Lonely Ones was transferred from the original tape at the famed Blackbird Studio in Nashville, TN and the tracks were individually mixed by Chuck Turner (whose credits include Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss and Marty Stuart) at the Cash Cabin under Alex Orbison’s supervision. Finally, the restored-to-stereo tracks were put in the capable hands of Richard Dodd for mastering.
Out the same day is The MGM Years, a box set that contains all of Roy’s 11 MGM studio albums, the soundtrack to The Fastest Guitar Alive (written by Roy and Bill Dees for the film starring Roy Orbison) and an album of B-sides and singles from that era. The box set is available as a 13 CD box, a digital box, or as a special 14 disc 180-gram vinyl release. All this material has been out of print for decades – 152 tracks in total.
The MGM Years box set finally puts all of these fabulous records in one place. Each song was additionally re-EQ’d and balanced by Roy’s son Alex and Grammy-winning engineer Chuck Turner to bring the masters back to their original warm vinyl sound. All this amazing material has been generally out of circulation for decades! Each original album comes with fully restored artwork and each album has been fastidiously remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Richard Dodd. The box set includes a beautifully bound booklet with extensive liner notes written by Alex Orbison, Roy’s youngest son, and never before seen photos.
The first 500 physical The MGM Years box sets (either CD or LP) pre-ordered through The Official Roy Orbison Store (http://store.royorbison.com/) will be bundled with a copy of the unreleased One of the Lonely Ones album in the same format and for the same price as the box set alone on release. All those who take advantage of this limited time offer will also be promptly emailed a download code to instantly download the One of the Lonely Ones title track.
The track list for One of the Lonely Ones
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Say No More
Leaving Makes the Rain Come Down
Laurie
Sweet Memories
One of the Lonely Ones
Child Woman, Woman Child
The Defector
Give Up
Little Girl (In the Big City)
After Tonight
I Will Always
The track list for The MGM Years
Disc 1 (There Is Only One Roy Orbison (1965)
Ride Away
You Fool You
Two of a Kind
This is Your Song
I’m in a Blue, Blue Mood
If You Can’t Say Something Nice
Claudette
Afraid to Sleep
Sugar and Honey
Summer Love
Big as I Can Dream
Wondering
Disc 2 (The Orbison Way (1966)
Crawling Back
It Ain’t No Big Thing (With the Candy Men)
Time Changed Everything (With the Candy Men)
This Is My Land
The Loner
Maybe (With the Candy Men)
Breakin’ Up is Breakin’ My Heart
Go Away (With the Candy Men)
A New Star
Never (With the Candy Men)
It Wasn’t Very Long Ago
Why Hurt the One Who Loves You
Disc 3 (The Classic Roy Orbison (1966)
You’ll Never Be Sixteen Again
Pantomime
Twinkle Toes
Losing You
City Life
Wait
Growing Up
Where Is Tomorrow
(No) I’ll Never Get Over You
Going Back to Gloria
Just Another Name for Rock and Roll
Never Love Again
Disc 4 (Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson (1967)
(I’d Be) A Legend in My Time
(Yes) I’m Hurting
The Same Street
Far Far Away
Big Hearted Me
Sweet Dreams
Oh, Such A Stranger
Blue, Blue, Day
What About Me
Give Myself A Party
Too Soon to Know
Lonesome Number One
Disc 5 (The Fastest Guitar Alive (Soundtrack) (1967)
Whirlwind
Medicine Man
River
The Fastest Guitar Alive
Rollin’ On
Pistolero
Good Time Party
Heading South
Best Friend
There Won’t Be Many Coming Home
Disc 6 (Cry Softly Lonely One (1967)
She
Communication Breakdown
Cry Softly Lonely One
Girl Like Mine
It Takes One (To Know One)
Just Let Me Make Believe
Here Comes the Rain Baby
That’s A No No
Memories
Time to Cry
Only Alive
Disc 7 (Roy Orbison’s Many Moods (1969)
Truly, Truly True
Unchained Melody
I Recommend Her
More
Heartache
Amy
Good Morning, Dear
What Now, My Love
Walk On
Yesterday’s Child
Try to Remember
Disc 8 (Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way (1970)
Kaw-Liga
Hey, Good Lookin’
Jambalaya
(Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep
You Win Again
Your Cheatin’ Heart
Cold, Cold Heart
A Mansion on the Hill
I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)
There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
Disc 9 (The Big O (1970)
Break My Mind
Help Me Rhonda
Only You
Down the Line
Money
When I Stop Dreaming
Loving Touch
Land of 1,000 Dances
Scarlet Ribbons
She Won’t Hang Her Love Out (On the Line)
Casting My Spell On You
Penny Arcade
Disc 10 (Roy Orbison Sings (1972)
God Love You
Beaujolais
If Only for Awhile
Rings of Gold
Help Me
Plain Jane Country (Come to Town)
Harlem Woman
Cheyenne
Changes
It Takes All Kinds of People
Remember The Good
Disc 11 (Memphis (1972)
Memphis, Tennessee
Why A Woman Cries
Run, Baby, Run (Back into My Arms)
Take Care of Your Woman
I’m The Man On Susie’s Mind
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Run The Engines Up High
It Ain’t No Big Thing
I Fought the Law
The Three Bells
Danny Boy
Disc 12 (Milestones (1973)
I Wanna Live
You Don’t Know Me
California Sunshine Girl
Words
Blue Rain (Coming Down)
Drift Away
You Lay So Easy On My Mind
The World You Live In
Sweet Caroline
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)
The Morning After
Disc 13 (MGM B-Sides And Singles (2015) (2 discs in vinyl box set, 1 disc in CD box set)
So Good
Born to Be Loved by You
Shy Away
Flowers
Sugar Man
My Friend
Southbound Jericho Parkway
Tennessee Owns My Soul
She Cheats On Me
How Do You Start Over
So Young
If I Had a Woman Like You
(Love Me Like You Did It) Last Night
Close Again
I Can Read Between the Lines
Sooner or Later
