Ultimate Collection [Legacy]

Recording information: Nashville (01/04/1963); Nashville (01/09/1962); Nashville (02/27/1961); Nashville (04/11/1968); Nashville (04/1988); Nashville (04/29/1963); Nashville (06/26/1961); Nashville (07/08/1965); Nashville (08/01/1964); Nashville (08/14/1962); Nashville (11/15/1961); Nashville (1987).
Photographers: Sheila Rock; David Redfern; Joe Horton; Glen Erler; Tony Gale; Orbison Estate.
Sony/Legacy's 2016 single-disc The Ultimate Collection is the first career-spanning Roy Orbison compilation since their double-disc Essential from a decade earlier. At 40 tracks, Essential would seem to have an edge over The Ultimate Collection, but the 2016 compilation has a significant advantage in that it contains the original hit versions of "Running Scared" and "In Dreams," iconic hits present only as re-recordings on the double-disc set. This is a significant boost for Ultimate, yet the collection still has its flaws, chief among them a non-chronological sequencing -- it's disconcerting to hear the posthumous "I Drove All Night" follow "Oh, Pretty Woman" at the outset of the set -- and how it emphasizes Orbison's post-Traveling Wilburys recordings over his early Sun sessions, which are represented only by "Ooby Dooby." A few other notable hits are missing -- the seasonal standard "Pretty Paper," "Blue Angel," and "I'm Hurtin'," plus the cult favorite "Communication Breakdown" -- which may prevent this collection from truly being called "The Ultimate," but this nevertheless remains the best single-disc collection of Orbison's career ever assembled. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine