Do Homework on ‘Best of’ Packages

If you’ve been moved enough by Roy Orbison’s recent work with the Traveling Wilburys or his posthumous “Mystery Girl” album to buy a CD of his original hits, be prepared for some confusion.

Ask a record store clerk for a copy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member’s “greatest hits” and you could end up with five albums in your hands, four of which are drawn from same ‘60s Monument recordings.

This may be an extreme example, but duplication isn’t unusual in the CD world, which is heavily focused on catalogue product. That’s why it is important for consumers to do some research before buying “best of” packages, especially those by ‘50s and ‘60s artists.

Just because only one “best of” collection is in a particular store, don’t assume that is the only one available. A good source for determining what is on the market is the Schwann CD catalogue, a monthly guide that lists more than 20,000 CDs. It is sold in numerous record stores or you can obtain information about it by phoning 1-800-446-3563.

Here’s how the Orbison collection grew.

Virgin Records signed the creator of such hits as “Only the Lonely” and “Oh Pretty Woman” in 1987 with the idea of re-introducing Orbison as a contemporary artist. As part of the campaign, the company put out a greatest hits package late that year. But the album--”In Dreams: Greatest Hits”--features re-recorded versions of the classic songs.

Seeing that the original versions were still not available in a domestic CD, Rhino Records--the masters of retrospectives--secured the rights to the recordings from Columbia Records, which now owns the Monument tracks. The result last fall was the release of “For the Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits.”

Shortly afterward, Columbia released two of its own “greatest hits” packages featuring the Monument recordings. Each budget CD contained 10 songs and sold for about $10. Now that interest has mushroomed around the late singer, Columbia’s Special Projects department has combined the 20 songs from the two budget volumes into a single, full-price CD.

In addition, Columbia has released three other theme-related Orbison packages, assembled from remaining Monument materials: “Best-Loved Standards” (including “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Bye Bye Love” and “Let the Good Times Roll”), “Our Love Songs” (mostly written by Orbison) and “Rare Orbison” (various tunes, most of which have never appeared on a domestic album).

Recommendations: Of the greatest hits packages, go with Rhino’s “For the Lonely . . . “ because it contains all nine of Orbison’s Top 10 hits and two of his earlier rockabilly efforts for Sun Records.

Of the three new packages, “Best-Loved Standards” is the most revealing--a marvelous demonstration of Orbison’s ability to move between country, pop and rock genres. There’s a teasing hint of “Running Scared” tension in his treatment of “No One Will Ever Know” and a wonderful tenderness to “Beautiful Dreamer.”

MORE CHOICES: Atlantic Records has just added four more “best of” collections to its “Super Savers” budget line. All contain 12 songs and retail for about $12. The new releases are “The Bobby Darin Story” (“Early in the Morning,” “Mack the Knife”), “The Best of Aretha Franklin” (“Respect,” “Rock Steady”), “The Best of Percy Sledge” (“When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Take Time to Know Her”) and “The Best of Wilson Pickett” (“In the Midnight Hour,” “Funky Broadway”). Again, however, there are alternatives: higher priced, but also more comprehensive sets for all four artists. The most ambitious is “Aretha’s 30 Greatest Hits,” also on Atlantic, which retails for about $24.