Mystery Girl

Mystery Girl
Studio album by Roy Orbison
Released	February 7, 1989
Recorded	October - November 1988
Genre	Rockabilly, country rock
Length	38:17
Label	Virgin
Producer	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell, Jeff Lynne, T Bone Burnett, Barbara Orbison, Bono
Roy Orbison chronology
In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (1987) Mystery Girl (1989) A Black & White Night Live (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	(Positive)[2]
Deseret News	(Positive)[3]
Houston Chronicle	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
The New York Times	(Favorable)[6]
Robert Christgau	(B)[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Q

Mystery Girl is the last album recorded by Roy Orbison, posthumously released on the Virgin label in 1989. The album became a hit worldwide, reaching #5 on the US Billboard 200, and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.^[9]

History

Roy Orbison had not released an album of new material since 1979 when he released Laminar Flow. All the tracks were recorded in late 1988, and it was finalized for release in the weeks following Orbison's death through the collaborative efforts of several artists who were all friends and admirers. The album was named after the chorus from the track "She's a Mystery to Me", written for Orbison by U2's Bono and The Edge.

In the documentary In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story, Bono tells how he woke up for a concert's sound check, following a late night listening to the soundtrack to David Lynch's Blue Velvet, and had the tune of title song in his head, figuring it was another Orbison song ("In Dreams" was the only Orbison song on that album). During the sound check he performed it for the other members of U2, who agreed that the track sounded like an Orbison song. A short while later, Orbison met the band backstage at one of their concerts and subsequently asked Bono if he would like to write a song with/for him.

The album was released posthumously in 1989 and would join another Orbison album on the Billboard chart. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was recorded in mid 1988, with Orbison as part of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys. The dual success means that Orbison joins Jim Croce, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson as the only singers to simultaneously have two Top 5 albums on the Billboard chart posthumously.

In May 2014, this album was re-issued to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It included bonus material including demos, and a new song "The Way Is Love", which was put together by John Carter Cash and Orbison's sons from a demo recorded on a cassette around 1986.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You Got It"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty	Jeff Lynne	3:30
2.	"In the Real World"	Richard Kerr, Will Jennings	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell, Barbara Orbison	3:44
3.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You"	Billy Burnette, David Malloy	T Bone Burnett	3:39
4.	"A Love So Beautiful"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne	Jeff Lynne	3:33
5.	"California Blue"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty	Jeff Lynne	3:57

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
6.	"She's a Mystery to Me"	Bono, The Edge	Bono	4:16
7.	"The Comedians"	Elvis Costello	T Bone Burnett	3:26
8.	"The Only One"	Wesley Orbison, Craig Wiseman	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	3:55
9.	"Windsurfer"	Roy Orbison, Bill Dees	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	4:01
10.	"Careless Heart"	Roy Orbison, Diane Warren, Albert Hammond	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	4:08

Bonus track (2007 reissue)
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"You May Feel Me Crying"	Richard Kerr, Will Jennings	Brian Eno[10]	4:14

Bonus tracks (2014 Legacy Recordings reissue)
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"The Way is Love"	Roy Orbison, Bill Dees	4:12
12.	"She's a Mystery to Me" (Studio demo)	Bono, The Edge	4:51
13.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You" (Studio demo)	Billy Burnette, David Malloy	4:34
14.	"The Only One" (Studio demo)	Wesley Orbison, Craig Wiseman	5:12
15.	"The Comedians" (Studio demo)	Elvis Costello	3:25
16.	"In the Real World" (Studio demo)	Richard Kerr, Will Jennings	3:38
17.	"California Blue" (Studio demo)	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty	4:42
18.	"Windsurfer" (Work-tape demo)	Roy Orbison, Bill Dees	3:50
19.	"You Are My Love" (Work-tape demo)	Roy Orbison, Bill Dees	2:35

Personnel

Core

• Roy Orbison – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on 1 2 4 5 8 10, electric guitar on 6
• Jeff Lynne – electric guitar on 1 5, acoustic guitar on 4, keyboards on 1 4 5, piano on 1, bass on 1 4 5, backing vocals on 1 4 5 9
• Tom Petty – acoustic guitar on 1 5, backing vocals on 1 2 5
• Mike Campbell – electric guitar on 2 10, acoustic guitar on 5 9 10, bass on 2 10, mandolin on 5
• Jim Keltner – drums on 2 6 7 8 9 10
• Howie Epstein – bass on 6 8 9, backing vocals on 2 8 9 10
• Benmont Tench – piano on 6 8 9 10, organ on 8, cheap strings on 6

Additional personnel

• Phil Jones – drums on 1, percussion on 1
• Michael Utley – string arrangements on 1 2 7 9
• Barbara Orbison – backing vocals on 2
• Roy Orbison, Jr. – backing vocals on 2
• Al Kooper – organ on 2
• Rick Vito – electric guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3, slide guitar on 9
• Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass on 3
• Buell Neidlinger – arco bass on 3 7
• Billy Burnette – acoustic guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3
• Mickey Curry – drums on 3
• George Harrison – acoustic guitar on 4
• Ray Cooper – drums on 4
• Louis Clark – strings arrangements on 4 5
• Ian Wallace – drums on 5, percussion on 5
• Bono – electric guitar on 6
• David Rhodes – electric guitar on 7
• T Bone Burnett – electric guitar on 7
• Mitchell Froom – piano on 7
• Jerry Scheff – string bass on 7
• David Miner – string bass on 7
• Gary Coleman – percussion on 7
• Steve Cropper – electric guitar on 8
• The Memphis Horns – horns by Jim Horn, arranged by Steve Cropper on 8

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
1990	"You Got It"	Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[11]	Nominated

Chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (1989) Position Australian ARIA Albums Chart[12] 1 Austrian Albums Chart[13] 4 Dutch Mega Albums Chart[14] 1 German Media Control Albums Chart [15] 4 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[16] 89 New Zealand Albums Chart [17] 7 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[18] 1 Swedish Albums Chart[19] 1 Swiss Albums Chart[20] 3 UK Albums Chart [21] 2 United States Billboard 200[22] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1989) Position Australian Albums Chart[23] 9 Austrian Albums Chart[24] 29 Canadian Albums Chart[25] 8 Dutch Albums Chart[26] 17 Swiss Albums Chart[27] 26 UK Albums Chart[28] 51 U.S. Billboard 200[29] 42

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
Germany (BVMI)[31]	Gold	250,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[32]	Platinum	100,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33]	Platinum	100,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[34]	Platinum	100,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[35]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[37]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Iyengar, Vik. Mystery Girl at AllMusic
2. Silverman, David (1989-02-02). "Orbison`s `Mystery Girl` Is A Poignant Comeback". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
3. "ON THE RECORD: LAST ALBUM BY ORBISON WAS A WINNER". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. 1989-03-10. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
4. Claypool, Bob (1989-02-12). "Records". Retrieved 2011-11-04.
5. Hilburn, Robert (1989-01-29). "The Albums of Winter : Posthumous Roy Orbison release leads the pack". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
6. Holden, Stephen (1997-07-08). "THE POP LIFE". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
7. "CG: Roy Orbison". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
8. link Archived May 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
9. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 408–409. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
10. "Roy Oabison The Soul of Rock and Roll 4-CD box set features 12 unreleased songs". Archived from The Official Roy Orbison Site the original Check |url= value (help) on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
11. "HERE'S LIST OF NOMINEES FROM ALL 77 CATEGORIES". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
12. "australian-charts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
13. "Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl – austriancharts.at" (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
14. "dutchcharts.nl Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
15. "Album Search: Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
16. ロイ・オービソン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison" Check |url= value (help). oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
17. "charts.org.nz — Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
18. "norwegiancharts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
19. "swedishcharts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
20. "Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl — hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 2011-08-08.
21. "Chart Stats — Roy Orbison — Mystery Girl". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
22. Allmusic - Mystery Girl > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
23. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
24. "Austriancharts.at — Jahreshitparade 1989" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
25. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. 1989-12-23. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
26. "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1989" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-05-01.
27. "Hitparade.ch — Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989". Swiss Music Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
28. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
29. "The Billboard 200 - Year-end: 1989". Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
30. "Canadian album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". Music Canada.
31. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Roy Orbison; 'Mystery Girl')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
32. "Dutch album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
33. "Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990". Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
34. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
35. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Roy Orbison; 'Mystery Girl')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
36. "British album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Mystery Girl in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
37. "American album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH