Nostalgia / Roy Orbison anyone?

RickJ · Wed 23/09/2009 04:42:03

Roy Orbison probably had the best voice of any contemporary singer/performer. There is a story that he and Elvis performed at the same venue once and that Elvis was so impressed with Orbison's voice that he vowed to never perform with him ever again.

"Only the Lonely" is one of my favourites; it's my understanding that he wrote it in his car parked in his driveway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaZyGdfRd4A&feature=channel

Please share your opinon of Roy Orbison or your own bit of nostalgia of years gone by ..

Calin Leafshade · Wed 23/09/2009 06:13:58

Its true that he was quite a spectacular singer.

He had a 4 octave range which is quite unbelievable. One of the only other people i can think of in the world with a voice as good as his would be Jeff Buckley who also has a ridiculous range.

Alas both are dead.

Andail · Wed 23/09/2009 07:30:19

Travelling Wilburys has to be one of my favourite groups of all time, even though it was more of a fun experiment than a genuine group.
Roy Orbison did the vocals for some really beautiful songs there, like "You're not alone anymore".

Apart from that, I think his voice was a bit too polished and "pretty" for my taste.

Nacho · Wed 23/09/2009 09:10:19

I agree with Rick... My favourite song is "This magic moment". Pitty that I discovered him some months after he passed away. :'(

Calin Leafshade · Wed 23/09/2009 09:33:46

I'm not sure i'm really old enough to have anything that qualifys as nostalgia. Most of the artists I liked as a kid are still playing or had stopped playing by the time I discovered them.

If I had to choose someone from my early days as a music lover though I think it would have to be Simon & Garfunkel... Now THERE'S a voice.

Andail · Wed 23/09/2009 10:35:59

Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Wed 23/09/2009 09:33:46
music lover though I think it would have to be Simon & Garfunkel... Now THERE'S a voice.

Two voices, actually

Nacho · Wed 23/09/2009 11:05:18

Even with that (S&G being two voices) I have to dissagree... IMHO, and in many others honest opinion as well, Roy was better, clearer, higher... Even Bruce Springsteen, a quite respected opinion in music, said: "When I went into the studio to record the album, Born To Run, I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan that sounded like Phil Spector. But most of all, I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison. Now, everybody knows, nobody sings like Roy Orbison."

Calin Leafshade · Wed 23/09/2009 11:15:31

I wasn't really putting Garfunkel up against Orbison, just adding him to the 'nostalgia' aspect.

However we should remember that there is more to a vocalist than just range. Orbison was a great vocalist there is no doubt about that but Garfunkel has a charm which is quite different to that of Orbison.

Nacho · Wed 23/09/2009 11:23:20

No problems, I was not trying to start an argument here!

But I just realised that this is just a matter of "tastes". I preffer Roy, and I preffer also Elvis' "Bridge over troubled waters" than S&G's, but that doesn't mean that I think that S&G are bad, or even not so good as Elvis or Roy... It's just about tastes.

RickJ · Wed 23/09/2009 20:11:05

Like Nacho, I too hadn't discovered Roy until late in his career (mid 80's). Prior to that the first time I even heard of him was from a John Belushi skit on Saturday Night Live (mid 70's). I also enjoyed Simon & Garfunkel back in the day.

Here is another snippet of my youth - "Angel of the Morning" - Meerilee Rush - 1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y16Ac9O9Alc

Summer-1968 Back when Japanese transistor radios, the i-Pods of yesteryear, were all the rage and I was 12 years old, I have a vivid memory of listening to this song with two friends, Mike and Carl, on a boring summer afternoon. Carl was a great fan of the song and was loudly singing along with the radio, and not singing very well btw. Mike and I thought it was funny and started laughing and giving Carl a hard time for liking the song so much and for not being able to sing it.

Spring -1981 I forgot all about this until I heard the song again in 1981. The Juice Newton version came on the radio in the wee hours of the morning while I was putting the finishing touches on my Master's Thesis in my university office. I sat back and listened and memories of that long ago summer afternoon came floating back in my mind. I thought to myself "Man, way back then who would have thought that I be doing this and that I would be getting a master's degree in electrical engineering?". If I had told this to my friends in 68 they would have laughed and said "No way!".

Winter-1984 The next time I see Mike and Carl is at another friend's wedding receeption. We hadn't seen each other perhaps in 10 or more years. I remember that we couldn't stop smiling at each other the whole evening.

Summer-1989 I was working on a project faraway from home and I get word from my family that Mike had passed away after an aneurysm in his brain burst. I wasn't able to make it back for the funeral which I regret to this very day. Ah, sometimes life sucks.

Anyway enjopy the song if you wish...

RetroJay · Wed 23/09/2009 22:53:28

Hi all.

I am back Ha..Ha! (he screams in a maniacal voice!)

Just wanted to say that, I think, Mr Roy Orbison was one awesome vocalist.
Don't think I ever heard a song of his that i didn't like.
'In dreams' is just one of my favorite songs that shows his vocal range well.

Jay.

P.s. Where has my avatar gone!

Domino · Thu 24/09/2009 01:10:36

I started to listen to more Johnny Cash after watching the movie "Walk The Line"

Then I wanted to listen to some Buddy Holly music via Napster (paid subscription).

Some of those old songs still sound great. Today's music is not as good as the old stuff. (Sorry Rap Fans)

The music I enjoy the most is from the 80's. Duran Duran, Culture Club, Journey, Tears for Fears, Mister Mister....All great stuff.

RetroJay · Thu 24/09/2009 02:12:47

Hey Domino.

Johnny Cash, Was, Is great. As,Was, Is all of the 'Highwaymen'.
By this I mean Willie Nelson (still alive, I think), Johnny Cash (Not), Waylon Jennings (Not) and Kris Kristofferson (alive, I think) .

I loved all of their music and to me they will be forever missed.
I also think old music is best and can't stand Crap (sorry I meant Rap).

However I do have a wide spectrum (I loved my Spectrum 48K) of music I like. Classical to heavy rock or metal.

Jay.

P.s. I still can't find my avatar. Why has it gone?

Nacho · Thu 24/09/2009 10:42:53

Quote from: Domino on Thu 24/09/2009 01:10:36

Some of those old songs still sound great. Today's music is not as good as the old stuff. (Sorry Rap Fans)

Is that true? Or maybe we think that past music was best because it has been filtered by the time? I mean, I like classical music, but I can only recognise about 10 classical songs written around 300 years... That's a big filter! Around 3 songs per century...

The example with "old music" is not so exaggerated, I might know about 150 songs written in 30 years, but still, the example works... man, even "rap", a style I hate quite a lot can have good songs if we browse through the whole history of rap: Have you heard the "Los Santos Radio Station" from the San Andreas videogame? It's great!

I am quite sure that if we choose "10 best songs of the XXth century" we will get something as good as we can find in a collection based on the golden age of classical music.