Roy Orbison - The Monument Singles Collection 1960-1964 [2LP Gold Holland Import]

The Monument Singles Collection 1960-1964 gathers the run of records that made Roy Orbison one of pop's most extraordinary voices, here on gold 180-gram vinyl across two LPs in a gatefold sleeve.

Orbison signed to Monument at the end of the 1950s and over the next few years built a catalogue of singles unlike anything else on the radio. Where many of his peers sold swagger, he sold heartbreak, with operatic melodies that climbed and climbed until his voice broke into that famous upper register. This collection lays out the A-sides alongside their flips, so the hits sit beside the B-sides that fans often love just as much.

"Only the Lonely" set the template, a pleading ballad cushioned by doo-wop backing vocals and strings. "Crying" remains one of the most devastating performances in pop, building from a hush to a full emotional collapse. "In Dreams" drifts through an unusual structure that never repeats a section, like a half-remembered dream, and "Oh, Pretty Woman" swaps tears for a rock and roll strut and that unmistakable growl.

Thirty-nine songs give a remarkably full picture of an artist at his peak, balancing lush ballads with his rockabilly roots.

As a limited Dutch import, this set offers a striking way to hear Orbison as his first audiences did, one single at a time.