Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is being released November 16 through Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings in partnership with Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by Roy Orbison’s sons to administer their father’s catalog and safeguard his legacy. Available on CD and digital formats on November 16, and double vinyl LP on November 23, this brand-new album infuses Orbison’s best original vocal performances with the emotion and world-class musicianship of the Royal Philharmonic, London’s most notable orchestra.
After 1994's American Recordings revitalized Johnny Cash's career, he and producer Rick Rubin had to come up with an encore, and in some respects 1996's Unchained was the sort of album many were expecting American Recordings to be. Instead of the solo acoustic approach of American Recordings, Unchained paired Cash with a noted rock band Rubin had worked with in the past – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, whose roots-conscious style and Southern heritage would seemingly make them compatible with the Man in Black…
The follow-up to A Love So Beautiful features Roy Orbison vocal performances with brand-new orchestral arrangements by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Additional accompaniment from Roy’s three sons and backing vocals from their wives and children. That haunting voice, that unique look, those uplifting and emotional songs—there is only one Roy Orbison, and fans once again get to hear him in a new way on Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.