To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Roy
Orbison's renowned 1987 televised comeback concert at the Cocoanut Grove night
club in Los Angeles, Sony Music's Legacy Recordings has teamed up with Roy's
Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by the late icon's sons to
administer their father's catalog and safeguard his legacy. Together, they are
releasing Black & White Night 30, a re-imagined, re-edited, remastered and
expanded version of the original television special, available both as a CD/DVD
set and as a CD/Blu-ray set on February 24. PBS will also air Roy Orbison:
Black & White Night 30 during the month of March as part of their special
programming.
By the
mid-1980s, Roy Orbison had been out of the limelight for quite some time, but
his song "In Dreams" was prominently featured in David Lynch's
landmark 1986 noir film Blue Velvet and helped reignite interest in the 'Big
O.' On September 30, 1987, Orbison, then 51, staged a remarkable comeback with
the help of guest musicians whom he had influenced: Jackson Browne, T Bone
Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce
Springsteen, Tom Waits and Jennifer Warnes. The all-star concert at the
Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove night club was turned into a television
special and broadcast as Roy Orbison & Friends: Black & White Night on
Cinemax the following January, less than a year before the icon's untimely
passing.
Black &
White Night 30 is NOT a reissue. Because the concert had been shot using seven
separate cameras, there were hundreds of hours of footage that went unused and
unseen. Roy's youngest son Alex Orbison and his co-editor Luke Chalk have gone
back and re-edited the entire performance so that while the look will be
familiar to those that have seen the original version, the vast majority of
footage in Black & White Night 30 has never been seen before by the
public. Furthermore, the program has
been restored to reflect the correct set order, so that viewers can see Roy,
brilliantly backed by Elvis Presley's TCB Band (James Burton, Glen D. Hardin,
Jerry Scheff, Ron Tutt), blast through massive Orbison hits such as "Only
the Lonely," "In Dreams" and "Crying" just as the
star-studded live audience witnessed them on that very night.
The bonus
features included in Black & White Night 30 are remarkable in both size and
scope. These include a previously unseen
alternate version of Orbison's biggest hit "Oh, Pretty Woman" and a
previously unseen "Blue Angel." Then, unbeknownst to just about
everyone but those that were there in 1987, Roy and friends and the full band
regathered onstage after the show had ended and after the audience had left. A 'secret concert' of five songs followed and
is presented here for the first time.
The "secret concert" features alternate takes of "Dream
You," "Comedians," "Candyman," "Claudette,"
and "Uptown" with shooting stopped only after film ran out in the
middle of the latter song. These
'secret' performances have been highly sought after by fans for decades. All tracks, including all 'secret concert'
alternate versions have been freshly remastered by Richard Dodd. The audio for the concert is available on CD
with buyers of Black & White Night 30 receiving a download code for access
to the audio records of the 'secret concert.'
Also
included is a brand new 33-minute mini-documentary consisting of rehearsal
footage and pre and post show interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis
Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne from that night. Absolutely none of this content has ever been
released commercially, and until recently, has only been rumored to exist.
Black &
White Night 30's bonus features are capped with a montage consisting of 20
still photos from the show and new photos of show memorabilia, mostly unused
and unseen in any context. Liner notes written by son Roy Orbison Jr. are
included in the brand new, yet thematically consistent, packaging.
Just as the
original Black and White Night was televised almost three decades ago, so too
will Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30, this time as part of PBS special
programming.
Only the
Lonely
Leah
In Dreams
Crying
Uptown
The
Comedians
Blue Angel
It's Over
Running
Scared
Dream Baby
(How Long Must I Dream)
Mean Woman
Blues
Candy Man
Ooby Dooby
Blue Bayou
Go Go Go
(Down the Line)
(All I Can
Do Is) Dream You
Claudette
Oh, Pretty
Woman (Alternate Version)*
Oh, Pretty
Woman
Secret
Post-Show Concert (available on digital download, included)
(All I Can
Do Is) Dream You (Alternate Version)*
The
Comedians (Alternate Version)*
Candy Man
(Alternate Version)*
Claudette
(Alternate Version)*
Uptown
(Alternate Version)*
DVD/Blu-ray
Special Features
Bonus
Rehearsal & Interview Footage
Photo
Gallery
*Previously
Unreleased
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