Laminar Flow

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1979 studio album by Roy Orbison

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]

Critical reception

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]

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

• Roy Orbison – vocals
• Larry Byrom, Mac McAnally – acoustic guitar
• Bill Hinds, Robert Byrne, Tippy Armstrong – guitar
• Lenny LeBlanc – drums, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Bob Wray, Lonnie Ledford – bass guitar
• Clayton Ivey – keyboards
• Roger Clark – drums, synthesizer
• Mickey Buckins, Tom Roady – percussion
• Jim Horn – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
• Harvey Thompson – tenor saxophone
• Ronald Eades – baritone saxophone
• Harrison Calloway – trumpet
• Charles Rose – trombone
• Barbara Wyrick, Chris Price, Eddie Struzick, Marie Tomlinson, Robert Byrne, Suzy Storm, Terry Woodford – backing vocals