Roy Orbison: Live from Australia 1972 (2005)
*** (out of 4)
October 3, 1972 had Roy Orbison hitting The Festival Hall in Melbourne backed by his band as well as an orchestra. This was part of a four month tour with this show being squeezed in the middle and featuring some rather rare songs performed by the legend. The classics like "Only the Lonely", "Crying", "Dream Baby", "In Dreams", "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "It's Over" are on display but we also get quite a few covers including "Too Soon to Know", "Blue Bayou" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". I'm not an expert when it comes to Orbison so I had to do some reading before watching this and as I expected many fans and experts look at this as a changing period for singer/songwriter. I was curious as to why a great songwriter like him would be doing so many covers and apparently this tour was an attempt to bring in a new audience like what had happened with Elvis in his later days. Does it work? In a way it does. There's no doubt the highlights are the beautiful classics with "Only the Lonely" still sending chills down my spine no matter how many times I listen to it. Orbison's voice is excellent throughout the show and he give a very good performance so there's no fear on that part. The strange thing is seeing (and hearing) him do all these covers, some of which he nails while others come off pretty bad. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a great song but I can't say Roy handles it too well.
*** (out of 4)
October 3, 1972 had Roy Orbison hitting The Festival Hall in Melbourne backed by his band as well as an orchestra. This was part of a four month tour with this show being squeezed in the middle and featuring some rather rare songs performed by the legend. The classics like "Only the Lonely", "Crying", "Dream Baby", "In Dreams", "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "It's Over" are on display but we also get quite a few covers including "Too Soon to Know", "Blue Bayou" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". I'm not an expert when it comes to Orbison so I had to do some reading before watching this and as I expected many fans and experts look at this as a changing period for singer/songwriter. I was curious as to why a great songwriter like him would be doing so many covers and apparently this tour was an attempt to bring in a new audience like what had happened with Elvis in his later days. Does it work? In a way it does. There's no doubt the highlights are the beautiful classics with "Only the Lonely" still sending chills down my spine no matter how many times I listen to it. Orbison's voice is excellent throughout the show and he give a very good performance so there's no fear on that part. The strange thing is seeing (and hearing) him do all these covers, some of which he nails while others come off pretty bad. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a great song but I can't say Roy handles it too well.