R. KELLY
The Buffet
(Deluxe Edition)
(RCA)
The Buffet's title represents an admission to its total disregard for thematic consistency. (It was reportedly culled from
450 tracks). R. Kelly has always delighted
in indulging his musical ADHD, but The
Buffet is like an orgy whose host raises the
lights and starts ushering in family members while subtly nodding to you that
maybe you should be on your way.
"Poetic Sex" buries his head between your
legs and keeps it there for five songs. But
in one of the most awkwardly abrupt
about-faces in pop history, Kelly reappears fully dressed and belting an emotional duet with his estranged daughter
about their distance. From there, a sentimental muse swings him back to the
smooth R&B he explored on the momcentric trilogy from years past until, midbarbecue, PARTY'S OVER! and it's
"Sextime" with some lucky lady. Rinse
and repeat. It's exhausting and, as he
strains to stay with trends, lacking in the
madcap enchantment that used to lurk
underneath.
- Steve Forstneger
5
ROY ORBISON
The MGM Years 1965-1973
One of the Lonely Ones
(UMe)
If Roy Orbison's albums for MGM
from 1965 to 1973 are less remembered
than his immortal early singles for
Monument Records like “Oh, Pretty
Woman,” “Blue Bayou,” “Dream Baby"
and "It’s Over," it’s all the more valuable
to have this labor of love now. The
MGM Years includes 12 remastered
vinyl albums, a new two-platter set of Bsides and singles, and a lavish book of
historical notes. It’s a concentrated
overview of a prolific artist in full command of his powers during a pivotal
season of life. Song after song proves
that Orbison’s voice was unmatched in
pop music. His rich tenor could ring
tremulous or crystal clear, and
Orbison’s grand, emotional delivery can
still wring tears from the stoniest heart.
According to Dwight Yoakam guitarist
and Orbison producer Pete Anderson,
those gorgeous vocals were fueled in
the studio by a regimen of cigarettes
and Coca-Cola - vices that would gum
the works of a mere mortal singer.
1965’s There is Only One Roy Orbison
was Orbison’s first for MGM. He wrote
or co-wrote the bulk the material, and
his “Claudette” had already charted for
the Everly Brothers in 1958. The #25
single “Ride Away” was penned with
frequent collaborator Bill Dees, the
same potent partnership that produced
“Oh, Pretty Woman” and “It’s Over."
1966’s The Classic Roy Orbison included
“Twinkle Toes,” Orbison’s last Top 40
single until “You Got It” from 1989’s
Mystery Girl posthumously returned
him to the Top 10. The set’s remaining
albums strayed from the pop charts, but
still offer a wealth of tender rumination
on the loneliness and sorrow wrought
by love. Alongside the rockers, the set
includes full tribute albums to country
artists Don Gibson and Hank Williams.
1970’s Hank Williams the Roy Orbison
Way featured stirring vocal performances on “Hey Good Lookin’,” “Your
Cheatin’ Heart" and “I’m So Lonesome I
Could Cry.” Production veers toward
the Vegas-inspired lounge sheen popular with crooners of the day including
Sinatra, Martin, Tom Jones and Elvis.
“Kaw-Liga” is the album’s rowdiest.
The story of a lovelorn wooden Indian
marries a thundering rock verse to a
twanging, honky-tonk chorus. The next
1970’s album - The Big O was recorded
with English group The Art Movement.
Orbison had wanted to record a live
album, but MGM refused. Instead,
Orbison hired a recording truck and
recorded with the band in a theater
space, capturing performances in complete takes. The resulting sound of
tracks like the Brit-popping “Break My
Mind” and swinging surf of the Beach
Boys’ “Help Me, Rhonda" is a seismic
shift from the slicker Hank Williams
record. The sound is live and energetic
per Orbison’s wishes, although orchestra and backing vocals were overdubbed to the album later. “Penny
Arcade,” a single recorded separately
from the original sessions, became a #1
Australian single. Despite its strength,
MGM rejected the album, and it was
originally only released in the UK and
Australia by partner London Records.
Although it contained no charting singles, 1972’s Roy Orbison Sings is consid-
24 illinoisentertainer.com january 2016
ed an artistic triumph on the strength of
songs like the tour de force “If Only for a
While.” With its train shuffle, ”Rings of
Gold” laments the unforgivable sin of marital infidelity. Orbison’s voice sails high
and sweet, however, on “God Love You."
The melancholy jewel of the current
Orbison campaign is One of the Lonely Ones,
once a truly “lost” album that had been
recorded in 1969 after the loss of two of
Orbison’s sons in a house fire. He had also
lost his wife Claudette in a motorcycle accident two years prior. It’s the work of an
artist processing his grief in the best w ^HB