Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Although it was technically Roy Orbison's first album, At the Rock House wasn't really an LP effort on his part so much as a cash-in effort by Sun Records in the wake of Orbison's later success on Monument Records with "Uptown," "Only the Lonely," etc. And understandably, the sound is very retro for 1960-1961, comprised as the record is primarily of the rock & roll and hardcore rockabilly numbers that he cut for Sun in 1956 (with his original group the Teen Kings) and 1957, including the Johnny Cash-authored "You're My Baby," the Orbison/Harold Jenkins collaboration "Rock House," and Sam Phillips' "Mean Little Mama" and "Problem Child." Not everything is quite as briskly paced as those two numbers, but even the ballads, such as "Sweet and Easy to Love" and "Devil Doll," and the melodic "This Kind of Love" and "It's Too Late," have an edge to them -- they stand midway between the rock & roll that was happening in 1956 and the more lush and dramatic sound that Orbison would perfect at Monument Records from 1959 onward. All of the material is fascinating as a sort of alternate-universe version of where Orbison might've headed musically, and most of it is downright bracing and exciting, though it's easy to see why it never succeeded at the time -- numbers like "You're Gonna Cry" and "Problem Child" were a little too intense and ambitious as rock & roll, with too many changes and involved lyrics, to hold that audience en masse. It was some of the best and most intense rock & roll you could buy in 1961 this side of Elvis Presley, however, and heard today the album is a fascinating curio from what's usually thought of as a fallow period in rock & roll history.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - The Roses, FeaturedArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1957 Sun Label Group, LLC
Johnny Cash, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist
℗ 1956 Sun Entertainment Corp.
The Teen Kings, MainArtist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Charlie Singleton, ComposerLyricist - Rose Marie McCoy, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1956 Sun Entertainment Corp.
Chuck Willis, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Harold Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1956 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - The Roses, FeaturedArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1957 Sun Label Group, LLC
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
The Teen Kings, FeaturedArtist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Wade Lee Moore, ComposerLyricist - Penner, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1956 Sun Records
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - ROY ORBISON, MainArtist - Sun Record Co., Producer
℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Album review
Although it was technically Roy Orbison's first album, At the Rock House wasn't really an LP effort on his part so much as a cash-in effort by Sun Records in the wake of Orbison's later success on Monument Records with "Uptown," "Only the Lonely," etc. And understandably, the sound is very retro for 1960-1961, comprised as the record is primarily of the rock & roll and hardcore rockabilly numbers that he cut for Sun in 1956 (with his original group the Teen Kings) and 1957, including the Johnny Cash-authored "You're My Baby," the Orbison/Harold Jenkins collaboration "Rock House," and Sam Phillips' "Mean Little Mama" and "Problem Child." Not everything is quite as briskly paced as those two numbers, but even the ballads, such as "Sweet and Easy to Love" and "Devil Doll," and the melodic "This Kind of Love" and "It's Too Late," have an edge to them -- they stand midway between the rock & roll that was happening in 1956 and the more lush and dramatic sound that Orbison would perfect at Monument Records from 1959 onward. All of the material is fascinating as a sort of alternate-universe version of where Orbison might've headed musically, and most of it is downright bracing and exciting, though it's easy to see why it never succeeded at the time -- numbers like "You're Gonna Cry" and "Problem Child" were a little too intense and ambitious as rock & roll, with too many changes and involved lyrics, to hold that audience en masse. It was some of the best and most intense rock & roll you could buy in 1961 this side of Elvis Presley, however, and heard today the album is a fascinating curio from what's usually thought of as a fallow period in rock & roll history.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:26:53
- Main artists: Roy Orbison
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Sun Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC ℗ 1958 Sun Label Group, LLC
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.