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The Orbison Way

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The Orbison Way
Studio album by
Roy Orbison
ReleasedJanuary 1966
RecordedJuly 8 – November 14, 1965
GenreRock and roll
Length27:11
LabelMGM
ProducerWesley Rose, Jim Vienneau
Roy Orbison chronology
Orbisongs
(1965) 		The Orbison Way
(1966) 		The Classic Roy Orbison
(1966)
Singles from The Orbison Way
  1. "Crawling Back"
    Released: October 11, 1965
  2. "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart"
    Released: January 22, 1966

The Orbison Way is the eighth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his second for MGM Records, released in January 1966. Two singles were taken from the album — "Crawling Back" and "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart" — both of which were chart hits in England, the US and Australia.

Cash Box described "Crawling Back" as a "tender, slow-moving, laconic ode about a love-sick fella who'll go to any lengths to get his ex-gal back again."[1] Cash Box described "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart" as a "medium-paced, full orked and chorus backed soulful tearjerker about a lonely guy who's been singing the blues since his gal jilted him."[2]

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated March 5, 1966, and remained on the chart for three weeks, peaking at number 128.[3] In the UK, it spent ten weeks on the albums chart, peaking at number 11.[4]

The album was released on compact disc by Diablo Records on October 5, 2004, as tracks 12 through 24 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of Orbison's debut MGM album, There Is Only One Roy Orbison.[5] The Orbison Way 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 December 4, 2015.[6]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Record Mirror[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic said that the album "allow Orbison to open up vocally as never before, casting him in an almost operatic setting, in terms of emotional pitch, though the material itself is pure pop/rock with some elements of country-pop. "The Loner" (co-authored by Adkins), "Maybe," "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart," "Time Changes Everything" and much of the rest here could have passed muster on any of Orbison's Monument albums, though some of the other songwriting and some of the stylistic choices are debatable."[7]

Billboard magazine noted that the dramatic "Time Changed Everything" is exceptional while the rhythm groove "It Wasn't Very Long Ago" is a standout".[10]

Cashbox gave the album a positive review, saying that Orbison "sings the songs in a casual and relaxed manner"[11]

Variety mentions "Many of theses tunes have melodic scope of the big pop ballads"[12]

Record Mirror gave the album a positive review, saying that "This is My Land" is great, "A New Star" is gently swinging, & "Why Hurt The One" is near vocal perfection".[8]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks composed by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees, except where indicated. Five of the songs feature his band, The Candy Men.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Crawling Back" 3:15
2."It Ain't No Big Thing" 2:22
3."Time Changed Everything"Buddy Buie, John Rainey Adkins2:09
4."This Is My Land"Bill Dees3:05
5."The Loner"Bill Dees, John Rainey Adkins2:24
6."Maybe" 2:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart" 2:09
2."Go Away" 3:03
3."A New Star" 2:58
4."Never" 2:15
5."It Wasn't Very Long Ago"Barry Booth2:33
6."Why Hurt the One Who Loves You?" 2:36

Charts

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Album

[edit]
Chart (1965) Peak
position
US Top LPs (Billboard)[13] 128
UK Albums Chart[14] 11

Singles

[edit]
Year Title U.S. Hot 100

[15]

U.S. Cashbox

[16]

CAN

[17]

U.K

[14]

1965 "Crawling Back" 49 36 2 19
1966 "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart" 31 22

Production

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 30, 1965. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 15, 1966. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Roy Orbison". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Roy Orbison 1965-1973, Vol. 1: There Is Only One Roy Orbison/The Orbison Way". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  6. ^ "The MGM Years 1965-1973 - Roy Orbison". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Roy Orbison - The Orbison Way: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  8. ^ a b Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (5 March 1966). "Roy Orbison: The Orbison Way" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 260. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Pop Spotlight: The Orbison Way" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 78, no. 6. February 12, 1966. p. 68.
  11. ^ "Album Pop Pick Reviews: The Orbison Way". Cash Box. Vol. 27, no. 28. February 12, 1966. p. 30.
  12. ^ "Variety Album Reviews Al Martino, SGT. Barry Sadler, Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Mantovani, Caiola, Ives Top LPS: The Orbison". Variety. Vol. 241, no. 11. February 2, 1966. p. 46.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b "Roy Orbison". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  15. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 502. ISBN 0898201551.
  16. ^ Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 254. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  17. ^ "Canadian Singles". RPM magazine. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
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