Laminar Flow | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 16, 1979 | |||
Recorded | February 1979 | |||
Genre | Disco, rock, pop | |||
Length | 34:20 | |||
Label | Asylum | |||
Producer | Clayton Ivey, Terry Woodford | |||
Roy Orbison chronology | ||||
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Laminar Flow is an album by the American musician Roy Orbison. [1] It was recorded at Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and released on May 16, 1979, by Asylum Records. [2] 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. [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [6] |
Rolling Stone | (unfavorable) [7] |
The Los Angeles Times called it "a collection of easy-listening pop that shows the Orbison pipes to be in glorious form." [8] Suggesting that while "it was a bit of a departure of his sound, Billboard notes that "he still know his way around a ballad as in 'Love is a Cold Wind', 'I Care', 'Poor Baby'." [9]
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." [10]
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." [4]
Uncle Jam Wants You is a concept album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Priority Records. It was produced by George Clinton under the alias Dr. Funkenstein. It is the first Funkadelic album since America Eats Its Young in 1972 not to sport a cover illustrated by Funkadelic artist Pedro Bell, though Bell did provide artwork for the album’s back cover and interior. Uncle Jam Wants You was the second Funkadelic album to be certified gold. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Mystery Girl is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released posthumously by Virgin Records on January 31, 1989. It includes the hit singles "You Got It", which was co-written by Orbison and his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and "She's a Mystery to Me", written by Bono and The Edge. The album was a critical and commercial success; it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Orbison had achieved on that chart, and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Strange Weather is the fourth solo studio album by Glenn Frey, the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the Eagles. It was released in 1992 by MCA. Though considered an improvement from Frey's previous album by most critics, it went largely unnoticed by the public. It was a commercial disappointment, failing to chart in the US, and none of its three singles reached the Top 40, a first for Frey. "Part of Me, Part of You" was earlier released as part of the Thelma and Louise soundtrack and peaked at #55.
Honest Lullaby is a studio album by the American musician Joan Baez, released in 1979. It was her final album on CBS Records' Portrait imprint; it also stood as her last studio album issued in the U.S. until the release of her 1987 album, Recently.
Victim of Love is the thirteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It is a disco album, released in 1979 shortly after the peak of disco's popularity. It was not critically or commercially well-received, and is John's third lowest charting album to date in the US, after 1986's Leather Jackets and 1985's Ice on Fire.
"Getcha Back" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band the Beach Boys, on their 1985 album The Beach Boys. It was the band's first release since the drowning death of Dennis Wilson in 1983. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Uh-Oh is the second studio album by Scottish-American musician David Byrne, released in 1992.
Where There's Smoke... is a 1979 album by Smokey Robinson, released on Motown Records' Tamla label. It contains his Billboard Top ten pop hit single "Cruisin'".
Lenny LeBlanc is an American musician and songwriter. He started his career with Pete Carr in 1975 and later separated ways when both had different plans for their profession. A resident of Alabama, he is known for the song "Falling" and has sung with many artists. Since 1987, LeBlanc works at his own studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The Ethel Merman Disco Album is a 1979 album by American Broadway performer Ethel Merman. It was released on A&M Records. Over the years, the record became a camp classic, with vinyl copies highly sought out by collectors.
"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.
Simple Things is the 8th album by American singer-songwriter Carole King, released in 1977. It is her first album on the Avatar / Capitol label.
Back on the Streets is an album by the American band Tower of Power, released in 1979. It was their last album with Columbia Records. The title derives from the song "Back on the Streets Again" from their debut album East Bay Grease. David Garibaldi returns to the drummer's spot a third time, only to leave after this album, again. It also marked the debut of bassist Vito San Filippo and guitarist Danny Hoefer. This would be Hoefer's only album as a member of Tower of Power.
Nobody's Got It All is the eighteenth studio album by country music artist John Anderson released under the Columbia Records label on March 27, 2001. The album produced the singles "Nobody's Got It All" which peaked at 55 on the country charts and "You Ain't Hurt Nothin' Yet", which peaked at 56. Also included on the album was a cover of Bruce Springsteen's 1982 song Atlantic City from his album Nebraska.
Let's Love While We Can is the thirty-seventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the U.K. in 1980 by CBS Records. For this project Williams eschews covering well-known pop hits and standards and relies mostly on original or lesser-known country songs.
Faith in You is the sixteenth studio album by American country music singer Steve Wariner, released on May 9, 2000. His third and final release for Capitol Nashville, it includes the singles "Faith in You" and "Katie Wants a Fast One", the latter a duet with labelmate Garth Brooks. Also included is the radio edit of the Clint Black duet "Been There", from Black's 1999 album D'lectrified.
"Blind" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads. The music was created by Talking Heads and lyrics written by David Byrne, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist. The recording was produced by Steve Lillywhite with the rest of the band. The track is on the band's eighth and final studio album, Naked (1988).
Levon Helm is a 1982 album by Levon Helm. It was his second eponymous album and his last studio album until Dirt Farmer, released in 2007.
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a 2018 album of remixed Beach Boys recordings with new orchestral arrangements performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was produced by Nick Patrick and Don Reedman, who conducted similar projects for Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley.
Labor of Love is a 1981 studio album by American soul music vocal group the Spinners, released on Atlantic Records. This release followed a brief period of disco experimentation. The group returned to their Philly soul roots, giving the band a commercial and critical boost. Still, with this album, the slid to the bottom of sales charts and would fall off entirely within a few years.