Equally adept with rockabilly, plaintive ballads and drum-pounding rock, Roy Orbison was visible on the charts for thirty years from the very beginning of the rock era. His greatest legacy though, comes from his soaring, gut-wrenching musical melodramas. Other than Gene Pitney, only Roy Orbison was able to achieve this kind of incredible power and pathos flowing from his songs, examplified by "Only the Lonely", "In Dreams", "It's Over" and the incomparable "Crying".

This early CD-era release from Rhino brings together most of Orbison's biggest chart successes from his early years. With more than two dozen charted records to his credit, this can hardly be comprehensive but does offer a condensed cream-of-the-crop collection of hits. As it does not go beyond his Monument Records years, it includes none of his MGM recordings. And, having been produced in 1988, it does not include his 1989 revival hit, "You Got It". What it does offer, it presents superbly in excellent sound quality with tracks having been taken from the original mono (tracks one and two) or multitrack masters. Orbison's vocals and the instrumental backrounds come through in startling clarity. The musical background provided by way of the liner notes booklet follows the period of the recordings on the CD but could have provided a bit more on the tracks included on the CD.

Of all the numerous Orbison greatest hits CD's available, this is among the best. It provides an excellent starter piece around which to build a more comprehensive Orbison CD collection.

In spite of the fact this this disc was released back in 1988, "For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits" remains one of the finest Roy Orbison anthologies ever issued. He achieved his initial success at Sam Phillips' Sun records way back in 1956 with his memorable recording of "Ooby Dooby". He bounced around for a few years before finally landing at Fred Foster's fledgling Monument Records in 1960. This was a match made in heaven. For the next five years Roy Orbison made some of the most memorable sides in rock and roll history.

"For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits" features a pair of his best recordings from his days at Sun including "Rockhouse" and the aforementioned "Ooby Dooby". The remaining 16 tracks are devoted to the Monument years. Oddly enough, his biggest hit of all time was one of his last at Monument. "Oh, Pretty Woman" went all the way to #1 in the late summer of 1964 and reportedly sold over 7 million copies! It remains one of the staples of oldies stations to this day! Among the other familiar hits you will find in this collection are "In Dreams", "It's Over", "Running Scared" and of course "Only The Lonely" from 1960. You might not be familiar with some of the lesser hits that are included but I would recommend to you "Working For The Man" and the wonderful "Uptown" which was his first single on the Monument label. I was also pleased to see Orbison's fine rendition of Willie Nelson's holiday classic "Pretty Paper" included here as well. For those who appreciate such things there is a nicely done 12 page booklet included for your enjoyment.

Roy Orbison left Monument records for what he hoped were greener pastures at M-G-M back in 1965. But despite the fact that he continued to churn out high quality material times had changed and Roy Orbison was simply out of tune with prevailing trends. He would be largely out of the limelight for the next two decades. Happily, Roy Orbison would be introduced to a whole new generation of fans in the late 1980's as a member of the Traveling Wilburys. We lost Roy Orbison unexpectedly in 1988 but the public honered him by making "You Got It" a surprise Top Ten hit shortly after his death.

No collection of classic rock and roll or American popular music for that matter can be considered complete without the biggest hits of Roy Orbison. This was actually one of the first discs I purchased when I bought my CD player back in 1988. And for my money, "For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits" remains the best Orbison collection around. Highly recommended!

I've never been disappointed with a Rhino release and this is no exception. All of the tracks are beautifully remastered and sound fnatastic! Roy Orbison is still curiously underrarted and under-appreciated. I was ecstatic when he went through a revival in the late 80's, but it was tragically cut short when Roy died, then his reputation again fell by the wayside. His voice remains the purest instrument in popular music in the last fifty years. Listening to these remastered recordings is an absolute joy because I'm accustomed to listening to these treasures on vinyl, with the typical pops, buzzes and surface scratches. All of that has been eliminated on this disc. The sound quality is exceptional throughout.

Included are all of Orbison's signature hits, from the classic "Pretty Woman" to the haunting "Crying" with the poignant tenor cry at the conclusion. My personal favorite Orbison song has always been "Running Scared," a sort of mini-opera, replete with the soaring, rather syrupy arrangements his songs are noted for. I admit many of these arrangements sound dated, but the voice is the primary instrument anyway, and the only one you'll care about. If Elvis was blessed with a gorgeous set of pipes, Roy was in another league entirely and his gift never diminished. If you are an old Orbison die-hard fan, or a newbie to this incredible man, this collection will do you nicely.

From the 1956 Sun Records classic Ooby Dooby to the phenomenal Oh, Pretty Woman, this album gets 5 stars from beginning to end. Blue Angel is perhaps my favorite track after In Dreams, but it is hard to reach a decision when every song on this CD can be played under loop or repeat for countless hours and sound better every time you play it. As for the re-mastering the sound quality is excellent and the tape hiss has almost been completely removed. The echo and reverb from the early 1960's makes the music in the background sound more recoiled than his later recordings and re-recordings. I recommend this album to anyone that has ever been lonely and blue and who appreciates the greatest voice in rock `n' roll.

Roy Orbison was one of the greatest rock/pop singers of all time, with a majestic near-operatic voice. This CD collects some of his biggest hits from 1956 to 1964. This is great stuff, but I do have two minor complaints about it. "Rockhouse" was not a hit and should not have been included, and "Pretty Paper" is a Christmas song that shouldn't have been included. Don't get me wrong, "Pretty Paper" is a great song, but I don't think too many people would want to listen to a Christmas song all year round. Other than those two minor quibbles, I give this CD my highest recommendation.