New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Legacy Recordings) Roys Boys LLC, the company formed by Roy Orbison's surviving sons to manage and protect their father's name, likeness, image and musical legacy, will release The Last Concert - 25th Anniversary Edition (https://smarturl.it/roy_lastconcert_amzn) this December 3 through Sony Music's Legacy imprint. The set is, literally, what the title indicates: the very last concert performance ever given by Roy Orbison, recorded December 4, 1988 at the Front Row Theatre in
Highland Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. The Last Concert includes passion-fueled performances of 14 Orbison classics such as "Only The Lonely," "Blue Bayou," "Crying," "Oh, Pretty Woman" and ten others. Orbison was in top form that night; just two days later he was gone forever.
The special package includes a bonus DVD that features "The Last Interview," a conversation with Tony
Weber that was video taped at the venue directly after the performance as well as a photomontage of shots taken at the concert by photojournalist
Janet Macoska. There is also a collection of "late and great" performances of Orbison in concert, shot in 1981 and 1986 at the Country Club in Reseda, CA and
Rockefeller Hall in Houston, respectively. Performances include "Leah," "Blue Angel," "Working For The Man," "Ooby Dooby," "Dream Baby" and more.
The package comes with an insightful 850-word essay by son Alex Orbison who chronicles the circumstance of the epic concert that took place 25 years ago: the stage rotated 360 degrees and came full circle five times over the course of the show; Bruce Pearson, the band's lead guitarist broke a string just before curtain and ended up playing Orbison's own signature Gibson 335, providing the show with a different sonic ambiance than any that had come before. He delves into the period of renewed success and recognition leading up to the concert. Roy had recently been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame*, had recorded as a member of The
Traveling Wilburys with
George Harrison, Bob Dylan,
Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, and had taped the legendary
Black and White Night TV special and had seen the use of his song "In Dreams" in
David Lynch's Blue Velvet. It was a heady time for
Roy Orbison and the exuberant concert was a reflection of that upbeat sensibility. For the very last time.
Black and White Night, another key Orbison title from this general period, is set for re-release on DVD November 11 through Legacy Recordings. Filmed
September 20, 1987 as a TV special, the event brought together
Roy Orbison with a group of notable admirers including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang, J.D. Souther,
Jackson Browne and others for a concert highlighted by unique performances of Orbison's key repertoire. "The Big O" and his friends were backed by Elvis Presley's TCB Band, including
James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff and Ronnie Tutt.
Roy Orbison - The Last Concert tracklisting
1. Only the Lonely
2. Leah
3.
Dream Baby
4. In Dreams
5. Mean Woman Blues
6. Blue Bayou
7. Candyman
8. Crying
9. Ooby Dooby
10. Go, Go, Go (Down The Line)
11. It's Over
12. Working For The Man
13. Lana
14. Oh, Pretty Woman
ADDRESS TEARSHEETS TO:
Tom Cording or
Maria C. Malta
SONY MUSIC / LEGACY
550 Madison Avenue, 18th floor
New York, NY 10022-3211
