20 neglected Neil Young gems

The songs in this list may fit any or all of the following criteria to attain their 'neglected gem' status; they aren't in the public consciousness but should be, they have never been anthologised by Neil, they are rarely if ever played live, they aren't mentioned enough by critics in my opinion, and are stuck unfairly in the shadow of a better known or more widely loved song (or songs) on the album they hail from.

1. 'Flying On The Ground Is Wrong' Buffalo Springfield ('Buffalo Springfield') 1967

Neil admitted in a late 60's interview that he pinched the melodic ideas from Roy's 'Blue Bayou', and after giving them a few idiosyncratic twists of his own, came up with this gem. It's an opaque and cryptic examination of a troubled relationship, but lines like 'I wish I could have met you, in a place where we both belong' and 'if I'm bright enough to see, you're just too dark to care' still get to the heart without any trouble at all. A sweet bridge rises 'sometimes I feel, like I'm just a helpless child, sometimes I feel, like a king, but baby, since I have changed, I can't take nothing home'. I'm not sure exactly what's changed and what he can't take home, but anyone who loves this song could pin their own specifics in that spot. Neil certainly knows how to build a vessel for them. Richie Furay sings this officially released version, but Neil recorded a solo vocal/ guitar demo which appears on the Buffalo Springfield box set and has performed it live on occasion over the years.

2. 'Here We Are In The Years' ('Neil Young') 1968

A perceptive lament mourning the death of innocence and small town charms, and rueing the steamroller effect of rampant capitalism and crass commercialism. After a gentle, disarming piano led intro, the arrangement swells and Neil opines that 'people planning trips to stars, allow another boulevard, to claim, a quiet country lane'. A charming horn interlude is followed by a dead stop, then a drummed heartbeat, then his quiet reflection; 'so the subtle face, is the loser, this time, here we are in the years, where the showman shifts the gears, lives become careers...'. We may not see the slow rot set in and are just too often distracted with trifles and ambitions to notice the small, unique things disappearing. When we look back for them, it may be too late. 'Let us out of here' indeed. The fade out, with deep piano chords reverbing into oblivion, is the perfect final touch in a production that tugs, prickles and shimmers in all the right places. 'I've Been Waiting For You' is another one to (re)visit on 'Neil Young'. Bowie recognised it greatness with a cover 6 or 7 years back and Neil has been playing it again on tour this year.

3. 'Round & Round' ('Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere') 1969

A wall of chiming acoustics herald the arrival of one of Neil's most sublime songs. The steel string picking is audiophile delight and Robin Lane's harmony vocal, whether floating above Neil's, or worldlessly vocalising behind him, is perfection. When they both move beyond words in the outro, moaning and cooing sweetly together, it is just superb. 'Running Dry' is another fascinating and at times chilling song which usually gets passed over for the 'big three' from the album (Cowgirl, Cinnamon Girl & Down By The River)

4. 'Country Girl' CSN&Y ('De Javu') 1970

This is one of Neil's towering achievements. It was the song that really clinched it for me with Neil. I was ready to 'go steady' with him, so to speak. 'Philadelphia' piqued my interest in a big way, but this one put it beyond doubt. That film sent me scurrying to my parents LP's because I knew they had a shabby old copy of CSN&Y's 'De Javu'. The rustic faux-colonial cover art had always put me off listening to it prior to that, it positively screamed 'hokey folk'. I was thrilled to discover how wrong I was. 'Helpless' has always been the more famous, 'conventionally pretty' sister, as it were, but this lugubrious lass is the one I'm after. I reckon this 'Country Girl' is much sexier.

'Country Girl' is a great argument for Neil's greatness on every level of his craft. The vocal is rich and full of nuance, building from tender fragility in the early verses, to pained ecstasy in the apocalyptic climax, where he wails 'country girl, I think you're pretty, got to make you understand, had no lovers in the city, let me be your country man!'. It is one of his most passionate and accomplished vocal performances. With glass knife CSN backing, it is four-part harmony vocal heaven. The lyrics are among his most curiously enigmatic and gorgeously evocative, 'winding paths through tables and glass, first fall was new', just the first of many examples. The song structure is one of his most complex and masterfully dramatic. The arrangement, from foreboding timpani and vibes intro to wailing harmonica and organ drenched fadeout, is within spitting distance of genius. From the line 'If I could stand to see her crying' onwards, I get chill after sweet chill. With this ambitious and near symphonic epic, Neil sets himself in the rarified company of Orbison, Wilson & Spector. Comparable with Springsteen's 'Meeting Across The River' in the sense that they are styles they both handle brilliantly, but sadly, have rarely repeated.

5. 'L.A.' ('Time Fades Away') 1973

Some days this is my favourite Neil Young song. The gleeful fatalism is so black and bleak, yet utterly involving. The piano and steel dance beautifully around the fractured melody with the rhythm section striking a fantastic fuzzy lumber. 'When the mountains erupt and the valley is sucked into cracks in the earth, will it finally be heard by you, L.A.', wails a hoarse, frazzled Neil. Then he taunts 'city in the smog, city in the smog!! don't you wish that you could be here too?'. Actually, if it sounds as good as this there, I do! It's L.A. as festering wound and Neil is picking at the scab. A stunning live performance of a then new song from a live album of all new songs that remains, unforgivably, never released on CD.

6. 'Alburquerque' ('Tonight's The Night') 1973 - rel. 1975

This knocks me flat. It is one of the most desolate and deeply melancholy songs I've ever heard. The steel just rips at my heart. Of course I love it like an only child though. 'I've been starving, to be alone'. Jesus. The rain-trickle piano run leading into the chorus is the very definition of tasteful. Who knew the word 'Alburquerque' could sound so pretty and tragic. Neil rescued it from Bugs Bunny and slow death by comedy. THIS is American Country. Take note fools.

7. 'New Mama' ('Tonight's The Night') 1973

Whereas every other song on the album is suitably ramshackle and teeters tantalisingly on the verge of falling apart, this is the peaceful eye of the storm. Everything comes into clear focus. A hushed acoustic tune with tightly pitched and achingly fragile harmonies. The sun comes out for these few minutes, but even here it is brief and broken. Neil's song of bliss at the birth of his child is amazing because he makes happiness seem so hopelessly melancholy, the drops into minor don't help either! 'New Mama's got a sun in her eyes, no clouds are in my changing skies, each morning when I wake up to rise, I'm living in a dreamland'. Strum. Bam! The ground drops away. There is always 'the other' lurking nearby and he always acknowledges it; 'changing times, ancient reasons that turn to lies, throw them all away', he warns. Great, brave and honest songwriting. The accapella close is a thing of delicate wonder. The following track on the album 'Lookout Joe', a street-urchin ramble with a demented gospel bridge, also deserves your love and attention.

8. 'Revolution Blues' ('On The Beach') 1974

I love every facet of this. The cutting bile in the vocal...Neil's stellar and spooky guitar work. The other stars of the piece are Levon 'best fucking drummer I've ever heard' Helm and Rick 'not so shabby himself' Danko from 'The Band'. Crazy Horse could never have played this. Makes me wish Neil had worked with this rhythm section more. Shit, I nearly forgot 'The Croz'. Handy rhythm guitar work from him. What a line up! The skittish, nervy arrangement and cavernous sound are thrilling. I've seen barely twentysomethings dance to this morbid 'sociopath funk' in a club. Clever clever DJ! I nearly knocked over a trail of fellow clubbers as I reported with haste to the dancefloor in salute. My favourite Neil Young song (most days anyway). Forget about the Charles Manson allusions. This song deserves so much more than to just be 'the song about...'.

9. 'Pardon My Heart' ('Zuma') 1975

The prettiest melody on 'Zuma' sumptuously wrapped in hushed backing vocals and a perfect acoustic guitar and minimal piano arrangement. 'You brought it all on, oh but it feels so wrong, you brought it all, no no no don't believe this song'. Gorgeously opaque and intriguing. The tickling piano and echoing, fuzzed out electric guitar solo are sublime. If you're not moved by this you must be stone dead.

10. 'Will To Love' ('American Stars 'n' Bars') 1977

This one divides fans in a similar way to 'Trans', loved by a passionate and discerning few and derided by many. What's not to like? Overlong? Nup, I'd say meditative. Over-extended metaphor? Yeah maybe, but who cares? he's written some daft lyrics in other well loved songs. Just listen to the hypnotic, watery dance of the acoustic and the vibes, the crackle of the open fire nearby, Neil's subdued moans and woozy 'la la la la's'. It's not for every occasion, but when it's time, it's time!

11. 'Lotta Love' ('Comes A Time') 1978

Nicolette Larson's sunny disco pop version was the hit, but this is the definitive article. Crazy Horse is in the mellowest form of its long life as Neil reels off pretty chords and shards of broken sunlight with off-handed ease. The bastard. 'So if you are out there waiting, I hope you show up soon, 'cause my head needs relating, not solitude'. The stops and starts squeeze the heart and the whole thing is one big sigh. Just lovely. While were at it, stop by 'Peace Of Mind' and 'Already One' next.

12. 'Sample & Hold' ('Trans') 1982

Buried under synth stabs and strangled by a heavy vocoder, you'd never know this contains one of Neil's most breathtaking melodies, specifically the 'We'll send it out right away, satisfaction guaranteed, please specify, the colour of skin and eye, we know you'll be happy' section. That is unless you actually bothered to listen to 'Trans' more than once and didn't frisbee it off a cliff or snap it in half. Neil knows it's a great melody because he tried to do it for 'Unplugged', but ultimately abandoned the idea. I'd be fascinated to hear how it sounded and why it didn't quite work. Anyway, I digress. Neil's tale of mail-order livin' lovin' robot maids is concurrently hilarious and poignant. 'Computer Age' & 'Like An Inca' are also neglected gems from this widely misunderstood album.

13. 'Get Back To The Country' ('Old Ways') 1985

A call to barns instead of a call to arms. A shit hot country stomper with one of Neil's terrific scalded cat vocals. 'When I was a younger man, got lucky with a rock 'n' roll band, struck gold in Holly-wood, all the time I knew I would..' Cornball and hokey yes, but passionate and strangely vital too. I'd head down the barn for a hoe-down with him any night of the week.

14. 'Around The World' ('Life') 1987

One of Neil's most effective songs from his wobbliest decade. The production is ridiculously overblown and ham-fisted, but it works fine that way. I love the complete genre change from bludgeoning rock to glittery synth pop on the 'fashion change, style change' line. Very clever. Crazy Horse find a classic groove and beat you over the head with it just as you want them to. Neil's spoken 'chat up' section is hilarious; 'hey, you're out of sight, so skin tight, you're looking good tonight, hey' as a synth riff noodles behind him. From the same album, 'Mideast Vacation' is another neglected gem. Neil's trusty Les Paul 'Old Black' wrestles with crashing, squalling synths and the lyrics are most intriguing; 'I was rambo in the disco, shooting to the beat' and even better 'when they burned me in effigy, my vacation was complete'. A real grower this one, give it a few tries.

15. 'One Of These Days' ('Harvest Moon') 1992

Thankfully Neil has remedied this songs relative obscurity by playing it on the 'Prairie Wind/ Heart Of Gold' show. One of his greatest sets of reflective, melancholy lyrics is set to a sweet, yearning melody and couched in a beautifully understated arrangement. The refrain 'One of these days, I'm gonna sit down and write a long letter, to all the good friends I've known' gets more insistent and heartbreaking as the song progresses. This one hits hard. One for the ages from a wise old owl.

16. 'Big Green Country' ('Mirrorball') 1995

The album was not liked by most critics when it was released, but by my reckoning there are at least 3 hands down classics on 'Mirrorball', and this is one of them. A pile-driving groove from Neil and Pearl Jam underpins one of his most stunning vocals. His voice gliding above the sinewy rhythm track with trademark sour lemon bite 'Over the fields in the big green country, that's the place where the cancer cowboy rides, pure as the driven snow before it got him..' Cinematic imagery. A slap in the face intro. Searing and cutting guitar work. Fantastic!

17. 'Out Of Control' CSN&Y ('Looking Forward') 1999

A gem of a piano ballad with a classic Neil Young self-absorbed, self-mythologising lyric ('tear myself down, build myself up, tear myself down again'). The moment where he breaks back into the chorus after the CSN crooned 'sky is fire, hell is blue' bridge, with 'that's why I'm..', and the chords turn themselves inside out, I get goose bumps every time. Melancholy mastery.

18. 'Horseshoe Man' ('Silver & Gold') 2000

I like this for similar reasons to 'Out Of Control', I just love Neil sighing and pining at a piano. Another gorgeous and deceptively simple melody with more aching and insightful lyrics; 'He takes the pieces in his hand, shakes them up like he doesn't care, he says that there will always be heartbreak, because love is everywhere'. Beautifully arranged and tastefully played. Ditto my final comment from 17.

19. 'Carmichael' ('Greendale') 2003

I love the leisurely 2 minute 45 intro with casual riffing & thick chords on 'Old Black'. Carmichael the cop is a sympathetic protagonist, and the line about no one parking in his car park for a year after he died is inspired and painfully bittersweet. I don't much like the album as a whole, but this one has some real pathos and enough melody to stand on its own, unlike most of the other dull three chord exposition plods. 'Bandit', with it's 'so loose it buzzes' low E-string, is also a shining light in a drab bunch.

20. 'Here For You' ('Prairie Wind') 2004

'No Wonder' was rightly judged to be the flawed (almost) masterpiece on 'Prairie Wind', and the title track and 'It's A Dream' (which were pleasant enough but overlong and repetitive) recieved much of the analysis. This track though is the emotional crux of the album for me, his open letter to his daughter Amber telling her 'he'll be there'. It escapes mushy sentiment with a sparse, warm production and plain, heartfelt language. The only time strings swoop in is during the gorgeous bridge that features some of his finest lyrics of the decade; 'In the spring, protective arms surrounding you, in the fall we let you go your way, happiness I know will always find you, and when it does, I hope that it will stay'. The word 'stay' positively sunning itself and luxuriating over the kind of sublime chord change that I hadn't heard Neil nail in at least 5 years. I punched the air and whooped when I first heard that change. He'd made my heart fall from a sigh once again, only to catch it with an optimistic harmonica solo and a new verse.


That's all folks....

20 + 1 Essential Roy Orbison tracks

These are 20 (+1) of Roy's greatest performances. I have selected primarily songs he wrote or co-wrote himself to demonstrate the extent and range of his unique compositional skills. All but two were written by Roy. The songs that make the list do so because I consider them to be varying combinations of several things; extraordinary and groundbreaking compositions, extraordinary performances, or find Roy flourishing in new or unexpected territory. Some qualify on all counts....

1. 'Mean Little Mama' (Orbison) [1957]

'Rockhouse' & 'Go Go Go' are more often compiled as examples of the Sun era because they were singles. This, however, is Roy's finest and toughest rockabilly performance. Period. On those former tracks, his guitar work is very impressive, but his vocals sound nervous and fall a bit short of the mark (particularly on 'Go Go Go' where the key seems awkward and he's trying too hard to sound tough). On 'Mean Little Mama' you can put Roy's vocal up against anyone; Elvis, Jerry Lee, Chuck, Little Richard!...and in my book he would take home the trophy with this absolute belter. You believe he's really been beat round by the bitch, such is the conviction and venom in the vocal. 'You're Gonna Cry' & 'Problem Child' also have superior vocals to the more famous Orbison Sun tracks and in my opinion are better performances all round. I was shocked to hear Roy snarling the words when I first heard MLM. I'd been a fan for 3 or 4 years and this was a whole new card up his sleeve for me. Featuring more pile-driving solos from Roy & matched with the terrific vocal, this is incendiary stuff. Criminally overlooked by Sun until it was released as an afterthought on a 'cash in' compilation circa 1961.

2. 'Cat Called Domino' (Orbison) [1957] Norman Petty demo version

Roy invents surf rock about 5 years too early in this proto-punk bone rattler. Recorded at Buddy Holly producer Norman Petty's studio, this demo version is superior to the officially released Sun version because the clickety clack drumstick track that overwhelms the Sun take is absent and the stupendous dirty solos simply rip out of the mix. Never one for blustering machismo and quite assured of his own hetero-sexuality, Roy lyrically strays much closer to homo-erotica than his contemporaries ever would have dared. He objectifies and obsesses over 'Domino', the titular protagonist, perhaps even more so than the girls he struggles to pick up because of him; 'He's six foot two with a real dark tan, got all the women in the palm of his hand'...'He's got long sideburns and solid style, baby blue eyes and a crazy smile'. The Cramps paid tribute to the songs subversive qualities and rockin' credentials with a cover in early 80's. Essential rockabilly.

3. 'Chicken Hearted' (Justis) [1958] alt. version

The officially released version was Roy's fourth and final Sun Records single. It hardly sold and Roy apparently hated it, maybe feeling that the lyrics were daft and embarassing. It may even have been the final straw for him with Sun Records, who he felt were leaving him to languish. The song was considered then, and still is by many, a total turkey (no pun intended), but Au contraire! I'm calling it that this song invented geek rock 35 years before Weezer et al. There is nothing else like it from this period, or any period! It's also another case where the alternate version is superior. This one has more curious lyrics too. In this take, Roy's protagonists whispered, half-spoken admittance of his blushing cowardice, in the R&R climate set by his then more successful contemporaries, is quite bizarre. He almost seems to be boasting. The protagonists girlfriend 'slipped and fell, now she's hanging from a cliff', but he can't rescue her because he's scared he might slip. 'I'm scared of my own shadow, I'm scared of what I ain't', 'I've no inspiration, I'm candy yellow paint' he deadpans. 'I ain't got no nerve, I'm chicken hearted'. Wow! Truth be told, the lyrics and delivery cut closer to the bone of true teen experience and state of mind than most Chuck Berry & Beach Boys songs. The lyrics just get weirder. In the last verse, his parents are in jail, but he's too hopeless to 'go to work to make their bail, I guess my folks will have to stay there, cause I'm just like a snail, I'm chicken hearted'. WTF? Brilliant! All this topped off with a fucking hilarious laugh-out-loud 'chicken wing flapping' sax refrain and a nervy, stuttering three note guitar solo that perfectly compliment a wondrously odd tale of teen anxiety and awkwardness. Neil Young might have taken close note of the guitar solo if anyone had heard it at the time (they didn't!)

Further Sun Records era listening (1956-1958) 'Ooby Dooby', 'You're My Baby', 'Problem Child', 'You're Gonna Cry', 'I Never Knew', 'It's Too Late', 'The Clown'.

4. 'Only The Lonely' (Orbison/ Melson) [1960]

Roy's third single for Monument records set the stage for 5 years of incredible success, with every single he released reaching the Top 50 in the US or UK (almost always both). Springsteen said that 'some R&R reinforces friendship and community', but that Roy's ballads were 'always best when you were alone and in the dark'. He's spot on, but Roy's tale of isolation did unite a community, the community of lonely people, together in being alone. 'Only The Lonely' is a lonely person speaking to and for every lonely person. Who knew a string of nonsense 'dum dum's' could convey so much feeling and ache. Who had ever heard an ex-rockabilly sail proudly and brilliantly into falsetto like that and state his vulnerability so explicitly in song. No one. This was new and exciting territory for Roy and for music in general.

5. 'Running Scared' (Orbison/ Melson) [orig. 1961/ 'Black & White Night' version 1987]

'Only The Lonely' had played with conventional song structure, but Roy threw out the textbook entirely for this. Four portentously building verses followed by an outro, or is it a bridge...a bridge to oblivion certainly. The song ends on a precipice. The climb and the build in the arrangement seem to set the final confrontation on a windy cliff top at twilight in my mind. A brilliant paranoid fantasy that is only relieved with the final word 'me'. By that stage it hardly matters though, fives seconds of relief after two minutes of tension doesn't balance the wager. The final note, an A in full voice, is beyond just about anyone in popular music. Soaring above the din of the Monument mini orchestra, it is absolutely a 'hairs on the back of the neck' moment. The 'Black & White Night' version is also jaw-dropping. I love the broken 'mee-eee' as opposed to the straight 'meeee' of the original. Managing to arrest interest, unravel a tale and resolve it in barely over two minutes, it is pocket psychodrama at its finest. Roy and his producer Fred Foster were proving a formidable team by this point.

6. 'Crying' (Orbison/ Melson) [orig. 1961/ 'Black & White Night' version 1987]

The live version from Black & White Night is my all time favourite performance of my all-time favourite song. It is hard not to gush but I will try. Perhaps I'll say why I prefer the live version as a way of keeping my fan saliva in check! On the original, the tom tom's on the intro have always sounded too thin and insubstantial by comparison. I want ominous and they just don't give me ominous. On the live version they are full and foreboding. I also prefer his voice in the B&W Night version. It has even more shades and textures to it 25 years later and he uses it masterfully. The song itself is another masterful deconstruction of songwriting conventions, there are changing time signatures, irregular and uneven bar structures, pre-bridges, post-bridges, weird bits generally. It really excites the songwriter in me. The last minute or so is beyond compare. Goose bumps and tingles! Crashing percussion, doomy piano, fallen angel backing vocals, searing strings. I give up. Just listen to the damn thing! The only version of this to avoid is the 1985 re-recorded version which is relatively sterile & limp.

7. Working For The Man’ (Orbison) [1962]

An involving story song in less than 3 minutes, with superb prickly guitar work and ballsy chain gang backing vocals. Probably it didn’t need the strings that dilute it’s toughness a little, but that’s a minor quibble. Roy, who most often sounds like a tortured phantom, sounds very definitely flesh and blood, 50 degree oil-field tough, and has his feet firmly in the Texas dirt. You can really believe he might end up with a beer in one hand and a woman in the other by the end of the day. A pleasing extension of his range vocally and thematically.

8. ‘Leah’ (Orbison) [orig. 1962/ 'Black & White Night' version 1987]

A tense collision of fantasy, reality, dream and memory all expertly blended to conceal the truth until late in the piece. The economy and simplicity of his words, and avoidance of flash imagery is quite amazing when you consider the visionary depth of the song. ‘Leah’ is a perceptive and finely textured psychological parable. The live version from 1987 is superior. I prefer his voice breaking into falsetto as he wails ‘Lee-e-ea-ah’ in this version to the strained full voice in the still striking original.

9. ‘In Dreams’ (Orbison) [1963]

Much has been said of this song and its unsettling use in David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet’. I won’t retread territory others have covered very well suffice to say that certainly it is another deeply psychological song and deserving of its reputation as one of Roy’s three or four greatest songs. His voice is at its richest and the melody is one of his most affecting.

10. ‘Falling’ (Orbison) [1963]

'Crying' usually gets the nod when people talk of Roy’s greatest vocal. I’ll lump for ‘Falling’ instead. It is his most powerful vocal and also his most assured up to that point. In ‘Crying’ & ‘Running Scared’, you get the sense of a brilliant young prodigy let loose with a fine instrument for the first time, handling it superbly, but surprising even himself with what he can achieve vocally. Although they add wonderfully to the drama, you can sense the bristling nerves. By the time ‘Falling’ hit the studio, he knew his voice intimately and is utterly commanding. The almost howling pleas near the cataclysmic conclusion are some of the most extraordinary moments you will hear from a vocalist; 's-AAA-YY that you love me, don't leave me now, now that I'm falling for you-oo-oo-oOOUUU!!'. Combine that with wonderfully neurotic lyrics, a blood and thunder arrangement and his sexiest ever rhythmic groove and...Voila! This is my pick for his most underrated masterpiece.

11. ‘Blue Bayou’ (Orbison/ Melson) [1963]

Something of an oddity among Roy’s biggest hits, if they weren’t gutsy, bluesy rockers (‘Oh! Pretty Woman’, ‘Candy Man’, ‘Mean Woman Blues’) then you can bet they were psychodramas taking varying routes to an ‘end of the world’ conclusion. 'Blue Bayou' is quite different. Set to a gentle heartbeat with rolling harpsichord, it ends with a woozy fade for a change. Nostalgic and reflective, a melancholy yearning replaces the by now trademark high drama. Effortlessly evocative, it’s Roy’s own ‘Strawberry Fields’ or ‘Waterloo Sunset’.

12. ‘It’s Over’ (Orbison/ Dees) [1964]

Probably the most florid set of lyrics from the Orbison pen are redeemed by another gut wrenchingly powerful vocal and absolute conviction. The panoramic, percussion heavy production also helps to lift the potentially overwrought gush about fading rainbows, 'setting suns before they fall', and whispering winds into the realms of high art. 'It’s Over' is probably his most crushing tale of adolescent despair. He’s not just ‘crying over you’ this time, but rather, 'it’s over, it’s Over, IT’S OVER!!!' This one seems absolutely terminal. The brilliant finality of this song may have been a cruel curse for Roy. It left nowhere for an artist who so brilliantly doled out emotional tension and melodrama to go. He wisely swang back to bluesy pop/rock with a few twists for his next single (‘Oh! Pretty Woman’), knowing another big ballad would have impossible shoes to fill close in its wake. From then on though, even the best of his pocket psychodramas would seem like somewhat lesser variations. His voice couldn't soar any higher and he couldn't sound any more devasated than in ‘It’s Over’.

13. ‘Oh! Pretty Woman’ (Orbison/ Dees) [1964]

Usually seen as the stellar-success-ending giant that could never be surpassed, I feel ‘It’s Over’ must share that burden. ‘Oh! Pretty Woman’ ranks as one of the catchiest pop/rock songs ever. With a widely accessible lyric and instantly recognisable snare/ guitar riff combo, it was never going to fail. The riff pre-figures ‘Day Tripper’ ‘Satisfaction’ and spades of other circular riff opened songs. The perfect blueprint for the beat boom.

Further Monument Records era listening (1959-1965) 'Uptown', 'Blue Angel', 'Love Hurts', 'The Actress', '(They Call You) Gigolette', 'The Crowd', 'Shahdaroba', 'Mean Woman Blues', 'My Prayer', 'Sunset', 'How Are Things In Paradise', 'Borne On The Wind', 'Goodnight'.

14. ‘Ride Away’ (Orbison/ Dees) [1965]

Roy’s first single for MGM. A glorious evocation of riding the open road and dissection of a failed romance that led him to seek it out. As with ‘Blue Bayou’, the melodrama is toned down and the mood is one of calmer reflection. The ending is sublime, with the drums switching to a gallop and the backing vocals hitting a melancholy minor chord behind him; 'Too-night, I’ll rii-i-iide away'. It makes me want to ride into the sunset on a Harley with a tear running down my cheek.

15. ‘Communication Breakdown’ (Orbison/ Dees) [1966]

Roy seemed to be the voice wailing in the wilderness for everyone with a broken heart in ‘Crying’, ‘Falling’ & ‘It’s Over’. They were ‘universal’ type songs. This is much more pointedly personal, yet also more detached and analytical in approach. There is emotion for sure, but not the pure emotion beyond all reason of the aforementioned songs. It details the reasons for the breakdown of his marriage to his wife Claudette quite plainly, maturely and without blame. The one note morse code guitar line is reminiscent of 'Witchita Lineman', but this came a year or two before it. A very welcome variation in style with another great melody.

16. ‘Blue Rain’ (Orbison/ Melson) [1973]

For mine, this is Roy’s answer to Brian Wilson's ‘Til I Die’, in the sense that for both men it was an unexpected yet stunning restatement of all that was great about them in a period of career wipe-out, bad clothes, worse hairstyles and worryingly bulging waistlines. The imagery in 'Blue Rain' is quintessential Orbison, and the production is gloriously rich and fulsome, with stunningly arranged piano, vibes, woodwinds, harp and strings. It contains probably the highest note Roy ever hit when the song explodes into the final chorus. It also contains some of his highest sustained pitch verses too; 'Why did you make me love you, then break my heart in two?, and leave me alone, here in the rain, to crr-i-yy for you, tomorrow will be-eee, ff-iilled with the lonely'. Gorgeous stuff. The end is a perfect, shimmering sigh. ‘Blue Rain’ is Roy’s greatest song and performance of the 70’s without a doubt. All the more amazing when you consider it appeared on one of his most wretched albums, ‘Milestones’, in 1973. Littered mostly with uncharacteristically wobbly and ocassionally embarrasing covers of classics such as ‘Drift Away’ and ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’, many tracks sound like first-take vocal warm ups and half-baked impersonations of the vocal gymnastic excess of c-grade soul singers. Considering the state of his relations with MGM at the time, perhaps they were!

Further MGM-era listening (1965-1973) 'Maybe', 'Crawling Back', 'Cry Softly, Lonely One', 'You'll Never Be Sixteen Again', 'Best Friend', 'Pantomime', 'Time To Cry', 'She', 'Memories', 'Walk On', 'Southbound Jericho Parkway', 'Zig Zag', 'Sooner Or Later', 'Beaujolais', 'It Takes All Kinds Of People', 'Harlem Woman', 'Danny Boy', 'God Love You', 'It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)'.

17. ‘Life Fades Away’ (Orbison/ Danzig) [1987]

From the soundtrack of the film 'Less Than Zero' and produced by one Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, The Red Hot Chill Peppers's and latterly, the saviour of Neil Diamond's critical reputation). Lyrically and thematically, 'Life Fades Away' is a new twist for Roy. In most of his early 60's classics, he is pure emotion; full of life and passion but tormented and strangled by wretched circumstances. In this, as the protagonists death approaches, he is detached and world weary. I find the repetitive 'yeah, yeah, yeah's' a bit lazy (surely another line or two of lyrics could have replaced a couple of yeah's?) but that's a nit pick. This returns Roy to a level of artistic achievement he hadn't reached since the early 70's, possibly even the late 60's. It's on par with say, 'Walk On', if not quite 'Crying' or 'It's Over'. Rick Rubin sounds like a kid in a candy store as he plays with sawing strings, those wonderful trademark Orbison rhythmic quadruplets (bup, bup, bup, baah!) and a 'world is ending' conclusion ('I long to be, at peace..for..ev..ver..mo-oor-ore! forever more, one last thing to say, life fades...a..waayy!!). Heavy handed female backing vocals aside, this, along with 'Wild Hearts' two years previously, was a clear sign of a waking giant.

18. 'Handle With Care' - Traveling Wilburys (Traveling Wilburys) [1988]

The perfect reintroduction of Roy to the masses. The Orbison persona is brilliantly synthesised into a four line bridge sitting atop that classic step up chord change on the 'I'm so...tired of' line. Wonderful stuff. Roy is musically welcomed back into the fold. He's still wailing beautifully in some tortured wilderness, but the Wilbury lads try to coax him out in song; 'Everybody, got somebody, to leeeeea-n on'. Roy is not so sure, he tells them again 'I'm so tired..' but eventually gives in and sings the 'everybody, got somebody' part in harmony with the musical angel who sought him out in the mid 80's; Jeff Lynne. The other three Wilburys crash in on 'lean on/ dream on', and Roy is back.

The hand of fate has always seemed very much involved in the Wilbury album. So much so that it's really quite spooky. Roy's lead vocal on 'Not Alone Anymore', a tour-de-force as I will detail later, ends side one of the album and he only appears on side two twice, both times in a very ghostly fashion, on pointedly spiritual songs. He wails wordlessly behind George & Jeff on 'Heading For The Light' and then appears as the spiritual/ emotional epi-centre of 'End Of The Line', which it tragically was for Roy. Even the production makes Roy seem unearthly on this, he gets the most reverb and echoes out of reality with 'end of the line, line, line'. His four lines are a beautiful parting missive from someone who had endured so much pain in life and in song, 'Well it's alright, even when push comes to shove/ if you got someone to love/ everything'll work out fine/ we're going to the end of the line'. Given that the album was released 4 weeks before he died, there was no 'turning up the reverb' to give the performance more gravity after the fact. It just had it in spades. Roy sounds absolutely content and at peace.

Interestingly, the Wilbury's wasn't the first time Roy had been involved in an all-star collaboration with musical friends. In 1985 he had recorded an album with Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis & Carl Perkins to celebrate 30 years of Rock & Roll. Unfortunately, the contrived nature of that album, as opposed to the pure chance genesis of the Wilburys, and the flaccid material, left that one falling flat. Roy's solo 'Coming Home' and the four-way back slapper 'Waymore's Blues' hold up though.

19. 'Not Alone Anymore' - Traveling Wilburys (Traveling Wilburys) [1988]

Where 'Life Fades Away' had consciously aped Orbison conventions, this is more subtle in that conceit and the better for it. Harrison & Lynne's cooing 'sha-lala's' and 'not alones' are spot on and really tug at the heart. How on earth did a man who was heavy smoker for over 30 years sound like this at 52? It's the hand of God or some higher power at work here methinks. If there is to be any criticism, the production is a little too clean and synthesised to say that it is utter perfection (imagine a piano driven rather than synth-organ version!) but it suited the times and sat with the rest of the album just so. The vocal giant had truly woken.

20. 'You Got It' (Lynne/ Orbison/ Petty) [1989]

The first single from his 'comeback' solo album 'Mystery Girl' and released posthumously in 1989. The circular descending riff leading in to the 'do-do-do-do, oh yeah-ah!' section is stupendously good. The one and only performance of this song was at the Belgian 'Diamond Awards' Festival in November 1988. Roy had lost probably 20 or 30 kilos and was looking better, healthier and more stylish than he had in nearly 30 years. Even more importantly, he was creatively back on track and receiving love and plaudits from scores of musical admirers. Less than three weeks later, he was felled by a massive heart attack and robbed of a chance to see his name in the top 10 again after waiting so very long. Knowing all this, the ecstatically received performance is bittersweet and hard to watch. Thankfully, he at least saw the Wilburys album go Top 10 and turn Platinum. He certainly knew the industry loved him again, I just wish he'd been around long enough to see how much the public did when he released a strong album. 'You Got It' is pop perfection and its huge success was no sympathy vote.

21. 'She's A Mystery To Me' (Bono/ The Edge) [1989]

The second single is the clincher on 'Mystery Girl'. Written by U2's Bono & The Edge, lyrically Roy is pushed into new psychological territory. His voice is tested and is not left wanting. The flights of falsetto are utterly sublime. Roy died breaking new ground for himself artistically, having lost none of his incredible power.

Further post-MGM era listening (1973-88) 'Hung Up On You', 'Still', 'Blues In My Mind', 'Mother', 'Waymore's Blues' (Class of '55), 'Coming Home' (Class of '55), 'Wild Hearts Run Out Of Time', 'Last Night' (Traveling Wilburys), 'End Of The Line' (Traveling Wilburys), 'In The Real World', 'Heartbreak Radio', 'I Drove All Night', 'That Lovin' You Feelin' Again' (solo version), 'Til The Heart Caves In'/'Killzone' (k.d. lang & T. Bone Burnett - different versions of Roy's final, but never recorded song).