Laminar Flow (album)

Last updated
Laminar Flow
Laminar Flow - Roy Orbison.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 16, 1979
RecordedFebruary 1979
Genre Disco, rock, pop
Length34:20
Label Asylum
Producer Clayton Ivey, Terry Woodford
Roy Orbison chronology
Regeneration
(1976)
Laminar Flow
(1979)
Class of '55
(1986)
Singles from Laminar Flow
  1. "Easy Way Out"
    Released: May 1979 [1]
  2. "Poor Baby"
    Released: October 1979 [1]

Laminar Flow is an album by the American musician Roy Orbison. [2] It was recorded at Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and released on May 16, 1979, by Asylum Records. [3] It was the last album of new material Orbison would release in his lifetime. His next studio effort, In Dreams , featured re-recordings of old Orbison hits while Mystery Girl and King of Hearts , his final collections of all-new material, were released posthumously. "Hound Dog Man" is a tribute to Elvis Presley. [4]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Rolling Stone (unfavorable) [8]

The Los Angeles Times called it "a collection of easy-listening pop that shows the Orbison pipes to be in glorious form." [9] Suggesting that while "it was a bit of a departure" from his sound, Billboard notes that "he still knows his way around a ballad as in 'Love is a Cold Wind', 'I Care', 'Poor Baby'." [10]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "Laminar Flow is a travesty: disco, fake disco and fake California rock form the backgrounds while poor Roy (who still sings well) flounders atop with absolutely no confidence." [11]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic notes that "'Easy Way Out' and 'Friday Night' "employ trendy disco beats, while 'Lay It Down' and 'Warm Spot Hot' settle for funk... Trying for different radio formats, 'Tears' is one of several contemporary-sounding ballads seemingly intended for adult contemporary radio." [5]

Track listing

Side One
  1. "Easy Way Out" – (Jim Valentini, Frank Saulino, Spady Brannan)
  2. "Love Is a Cold Wind" – (Charlie Black, Rory Bourke)
  3. "Lay It Down" – (Robert Byrne, Tommy Brasfield)
  4. "I Care" – (Lenny LeBlanc, Eddie Struzick)
  5. "We're Into Something Good" – (George Soulé, Terry Woodford)
  6. "Movin'" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price)
Side Two
  1. "Poor Baby" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price, Regi Price)
  2. "Warm Spot Hot" – (Eddie Struzick)
  3. "Tears" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price, Dan Price, Regi Price)
  4. "Friday Night" – (Regi Price, Chris Price)
  5. "Hound Dog Man" – (Barbara Orbison, Terry Woodford, Tommy Stuart)

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Amburn, Ellis (1990). Dark star: The Roy Orbison Story. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group. pp. 257–258. ISBN   9-780818-405181.
  2. Morse, Steve (11 Dec 1988). "Orbison on Preciously Few Records". The Boston Globe. p. B10.
  3. Grein, Paul (May 16, 1979). "New Heart Open Up New Orbison Career". Billboard . Vol. 91, no. 20. p. 38.
  4. Robins, Wayne (Dec 6, 2008). "Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 49. p. 35.
  5. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Roy Orbison - Laminar Flow: Rating & Reviews". AllMusic . Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 502.
  8. Rolling Stone review
  9. McKenna, Kristine (26 May 1979). "Caruso of Rock Ready to Rescale the Charts". Part II. Los Angeles Times. p. 10.
  10. "Billboard Recommended LPs: Roy Orbison - Laminar Flaw". Billboard . Vol. 91, no. 20. May 26, 1979. p. 82.
  11. McGrath, Paul (28 July 1979). "Laminar Flow Roy Orbison". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.