Combo Concert Merrill WI

Combo Concert

Roy Orbison

Orbison Records, 1998

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/16/1998

Up until recently, there was only one live album by the late Roy Orbison available on the market - the Black & White Night tribute concert. Now, almost ten years after his death, Orbison's widow Barbara has combed the vaults and come up with Combo Concert, a 1965 performance from Holland.

The concert, held on March 25, 1965, is short in comparison to the concept of a "concert" today - Orbison only performs nine songs in just under a half-hour. This is probably the most disappointing feature of this album - it just begins to whet your desire to hear more, when it cuts off. The five songs from Orbison's Paris show two days earlier help a little bit, but not much, as four of the songs are repeats.

For those who grew up listening to Orbison on the radio, Combo Concert will be both a blast from the past and a breath of fresh air. Almost all of the big hits that can still be heard on oldies radio are here. "Only The Lonely" is a good kickoff to the show, allowing the backing band to quickly establish a groove. The dual guitar work of Billy Sanford and John Rainey Adkins is particularly noteworthy, as is the drum work of Paul Garrison.

At times, Orbison sounds like he's rushing himself; "Running Scared" is plowed through in what feels like record time. I don't remember the song being that fast on the studio counterpart (though I'm willing to admit I'm wrong on this one). For that matter, both versions of "Dream Baby" also sound a bit sped up - I don't know why this bothers me like it does.