UNCHAINED MELODIES 

BY 

ROY ORBISON 

WITH THE

THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 

SET FOR 23RD NOVEMBER RELEASE, 30 YEARS AFTER THE LEGENDARY SINGERS PASSING.

 

Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is being released digitally on 23rd November on CD/2LP through Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings in partnership with Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by Roy Orbison’s sons to administer their father’s catalogue and safeguard his legacy.

This brand-new album infuses Orbison’s best original vocal performances with the emotion and world-class musicianship of the Royal Philharmonic, London’s most notable orchestra and will also be available on CD and digital formats (from 16/11) along with double vinyl LP on 23rd November.

Produced by Don Reedman and Nick Patrick, Unchained Melodies is a fitting follow up to last year’s sensational A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and helps mark 2018 as the 30th anniversary of Orbinson’s passing.

Roy’s sons Wesley (guitar), Roy Jr. (guitar) and Alex (drums), perform on select tracks and are occasionally joined by the “Orbison women” on back-up vocals truly making Unchained Melodies a cross-generational family affair.

RO

Where last year’s A Love So Beautiful focused more on hits, the repertoire selection for Unchained Melodies is driven by material that specifically lends itself to the orchestral format.   Tracks such as “Walk On,” “Leah,” and “Crawling Back” are included as the result of a poll where fans were asked what should be included on the project.  “Blue Bayou,” “Danny Boy” and “California Blue” also proved popular and made it on to the album. The material spans between 1963 and Roy’s 1988 recording sessions just before his untimely passing in December of that year.

“These brand-new orchestrations are truly spectacular,” said Roy Orbison Jr. “From the control room in Studio 2 at Abbey Road back in June, I indeed tried to close my eyes and ‘guess’ at which song we were recording next based on the prelude building from the room below. Listen closely to ‘Danny Boy’ and ‘Unchained Melody’ for perfect examples of where we tried to break new ground with this record.”

“The challenge was, how do we make an album that equals and goes beyond what we achieved on A Love So Beautiful?” commented co-producer Don Reedman. “We knew we needed to delve deep into the vast body of work that Roy had created in his recording career.  There were exciting moments where I felt that we could make something that would be a natural progression, but also surprise many of Roy’s fans with songs that were new and fresh sounding, and therefore make our new album exactly that – a new album.”

The CD/digital versions of Unchained Melodies includes an alternate version of “Heartbreak Radio” that features a virtual collaboration between Roy and country music sensation Cam.

Her 2015 major label debut album Untamed was met with widespread critical acclaim and instantly hit #2 on the U.S. Billboard’s Country chart, becoming the highest selling debut country studio album of the entire year, and gaining huge popularity in the UK with her sold out shows and A-list Radio singles.

Cam commented, “I grew up listening to my Dad sing Roy Orbison. Those melodies are so ingrained in my soul, when I’m mindlessly humming to myself these days it’s mostly Orbison tunes like ‘Only the Lonely.’ Singing on ‘Heartbreak Radio’ with him is unreal, I can’t fully believe it.”

“It’s nice that we get to have Cam sing on the new record,” said Wesley Orbison. “‘Heartbreak Radio’ sounds like a new, fresh track, which it is. She really brings a terrific energy to it – just so bright and creative.”

Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Available digitally November 16 / CD and LP November 23

1)      Unchained Melody

2)      Blue Bayou

3)      She’s a Mystery to Me

4)      Heartbreak Radio

5)      Falling

6)      Walk On

7)      The Great Pretender

8)      The Crowd

9)      The Comedians

10)  Crawling Back

11)  Danny Boy

12)  Too Soon to Know

13)  Careless Heart

14)  California Blue

15)  Heartbreak Radio (Duet with Cam)

Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 2LP

Side 1

  1. Unchained Melody
  2. Blue Bayou
  3. She’s a Mystery to Me
  4. Heartbreak Radio

Side 2

  1. Falling
  2. Walk On
  3. The Great Pretender

Side 3

  1. The Crowd
  2. The Comedians
  3. Crawling Back

Side 4

  1. Danny Boy
  2. Too Soon to Know
  3. Careless Heart
  4. California Blue