ROY ORBISON – MYSTERY GIRL LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1989

Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl
(Virgin Records  1989  V2576)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), also known by the nickname the Big O, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his trademark sunglasses, distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country and western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis. His greatest success came with Monument Records between 1960 and 1964, when 22 of his songs placed on the Billboard Top 40, including “Only the Lonely”, “Crying”, and “Oh, Pretty Woman”. His career stagnated through the 1970s, but several covers of his songs and the use of “In Dreams” in David Lynch’s film Blue Velvet (1986) revived his career.

In 1988, he joined the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne and also released a new solo album. He died of a heart attack in December that year, at the zenith of his resurgence. His life was marred by tragedy, including the death of his first wife and his two eldest sons in separate accidents.

Orbison’s vocal instrument bridged the gap between baritone and tenor, and music scholars have suggested that he had a three- or four-octave range. The combination of Orbison’s powerful, impassioned voice and complex musical arrangements led many critics to refer to his music as operatic, giving him the sobriquet “the Caruso of Rock”. Elvis Presley as well as Petty and Dylan, have stated his voice was, respectively, the greatest and most distinctive they had ever heard. While most male performers in rock and roll in the 1950s and ’60s projected a defiant masculinity, many of Orbison’s songs instead conveyed a quiet, desperate vulnerability. He was known for performing while standing still and solitary and for wearing black clothes and dark sunglasses, which lent an air of mystery to his persona.

Orbison was initiated into the second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 by longtime admirer Bruce Springsteen. The same year he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame two years later. Rolling Stone placed Orbison at number 37 on their list of The Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 13 on their list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2002, Billboard magazine listed Orbison at number 74 in the Top 600 recording artists. In 2014, Orbison was elected to America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame.

Mystery Girl is the last album recorded by Roy Orbison, posthumously released on the Virgin label in 1989. The album became a hit worldwide, reaching #5 on the US Billboard 200, and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.

Track listing

Personnel

Core

• Roy Orbison – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on 1 2 4 5 8 10, electric guitar on 6
• Jeff Lynne – electric guitar on 1 5, acoustic guitar on 4, keyboards on 1 4 5, piano on 1, bass on 1 4 5, backing vocals on 1 4 5 9
• Tom Petty – acoustic guitar on 1 5, backing vocals on 1 2 5
• Mike Campbell – electric guitar on 2 10, acoustic guitar on 5 9 10, bass on 2 10, mandolin on 5
• Jim Keltner – drums on 2 6 7 8 9 10
• Howie Epstein – bass on 6 8 9, backing vocals on 2 8 9 10
• Benmont Tench – piano on 6 8 9 10, organ on 8, cheap strings on 6

Additional personnel

• Phil Jones – drums on 1, percussion on 1
• Michael Utley – string arrangements on 1 2 7 9
• Barbara Orbison – backing vocals on 2
• Roy Orbison, Jr. – backing vocals on 2
• Al Kooper – organ on 2
• Rick Vito – electric guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3, slide guitar on 9
• Tom “T-Bone” Wolk – bass on 3
• Buell Neidlinger – arco bass on 3 7
• Billy Burnette – acoustic guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3
• Mickey Curry – drums on 3
• George Harrison – acoustic guitar on 4
• Ray Cooper – drums on 4
• Louis Clark – strings arrangements on 4 5
• Ian Wallace – drums on 5, percussion on 5
• Bono – electric guitar on 6
• David Rhodes – electric guitar on 7
• T Bone Burnett – electric guitar on 7
• Mitchell Froom – piano on 7
• Jerry Scheff – string bass on 7
• David Miner – string bass on 7
• Gary Coleman – percussion on 7
• Steve Cropper – electric guitar on 8
• The Memphis Horns – horns by Jim Horn, arranged by Steve Cropper on 8