In Dreams: The Greatest Hits is a two-record album set by Roy Orbison released in 1987 on Virgin Records. It was produced by Orbison and Mike Utley, except for the song "In Dreams", produced by Orbison with T-Bone Burnett and film director David Lynch. All songs are re-recordings by Orbison from 1986, except "In Dreams" from April 1987.

The original 1960s versions of these songs were hit records for Orbison when recorded on Monument Records from 1960 to 1964, with two exceptions. The first exception, "Ooby Dooby", was a hit for Orbison on Sun Records in 1956. "Claudette", the second exception, was a song Orbison wrote that became a hit for the Everly Brothers in 1958. Orbison did not record the latter exception until he had signed with MGM Records in 1965, a few months after he had divorced his wife Claudette, who had inspired the song. (They later reconciled and remarried in 1966, before her death in a motorcycle accident).

The album contains four songs named by Rolling Stone in 2004 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

History

In January 1986, these recordings were first released on the Silver Eagle LP The Great Roy Orbison in 1986, and then given to Virgin Records, becoming Orbison's first release with his new label, In Dreams: The Greatest Hits, in 1987. The Virgin reissue featured a new version of the song "In Dreams" especially re-recorded following the success of the movie Blue Velvet.

Fortunately, all of Orbison's Monument master recordings were not destroyed, and like the rest of the Monument catalogue, they are presently owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

Track listing

Executive Producer: Barbara Orbison

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic:

  • Roy Orbison – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Ooby Dooby"
  • Dean Parks – lead guitar
  • Dennis Belfield – bass
  • Robert Irving III – synthesizer
  • Michael Utley – keyboards
  • Paul Leim – drums
  • Tommy Morgan – harmonica
  • Sid Page – strings
  • David Woodford – saxophone
  • Joe Chemay, Rita Coolidge, Linda Dillard, Jim Haas, Jon Joyce, Gene Morford, Carole Parks – backing vocals

References

  • https://web.archive.org/web/20050903230153/http://www.discographyguide.com/royorbison/royorbison-discography1020.html