Roy Orbison – A Black and White Night (1988)
Roy was always something of an anomaly; I first heard him in the mid-Sixties with great ‘pop’ songs falling somewhere between crooned ballads and rockabilly. An operatic voice with a vast range and a rather old-fashioned image, another man in black. The Beatles loved him and I liked some of his songs, especially ‘Pretty Woman’ with that snarl in his voice. He had a poor Seventies as new generations swept his old-fashioned style away, but then he seemed to come back into fashion, especially with this album. Just after he was a part of The Travelling Wilbury’s, a TV special where Roy was accompanied by a few famous musicians, including Sprinsteen and Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt – a stellar cast, paying tribute to one of the very special Rock and Roll singers from the late Fifties. Brilliant versions of his ‘Hits’ including ‘Blue Bayou’, ‘Only The Lonely’ and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’. A great concert and Roy’s voice was still pitch perfect. He sadly died in 1990.
