Roy Orbison – King Of Hearts

Roy Orbison - King Of HeartsWhere Mystery Girl succeeded in adding luster to Orbison’s posthumous legend, this album, despite a number of great songs, comes across as one too many trips to the well. Whether for the money or the publicity, this may have stretched it too far. The usually elegant production values associated with Jeff Lynne deteriorate to home demo standards with “I Drove All Night” and “Heartbreak Radio”, neither of which offers any glimpse of Lynne’s future skill in restoring deceased artists’ demo recordings. The best songs on King Of Hearts include “After The Love Has Gone”, “You’re The One” (featuring k.d. lang), and “We’ll Take The Night”, all of them as well-produced as anything from Mystery Girl. Perhaps better filler could have been found than another rendition of the previous 2 out of 4album’s “Careless Heart “which doesn’t differ enough from the original to merit much attention, though I welcomed the inclusion of an earlier duet recordimg of “Crying” with k.d. lang that had previously languished in the obscurity of the soundtrack of a Jon Cryer movie. I can recommend this album to dedicated followers of the late, great Roy Orbison, but honestly can’t advise casual listeners to seek it out.

Order this CD

  1. You’re The One (2:59)
  2. Heartbreak Radio (2:57)
  3. We’ll Take The Night (4:55)
  4. Crying with k.d. lang (3:48)
  5. After The Love Has Gone (4:38)
  6. Love In Time (5:31)
  7. I Drove All Night (3:46)
  8. Wild Hearts Run Out Of Time (3:32)
  9. Coming Home (4:00)
  10. Careless Heart original demo (5:15)

Released by: Virgin
Release date: 1992
Total running time: 41:21