''Laminar Flow'' is an album by the American musician

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

. It was recorded at Wishbone Recording Studio in

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

, and released on May 16, 1979, by

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

. 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 ''Mystery Girl'' is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album recorded during his lifetime, completed in November 1988, a month before his death at age 52. Released posthumously by Virgin Records on January 3 ...

'' and ''

King of Hearts The king of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Hearts may also refer to: Games * The king of hearts has five sons, card game that may have been a precursor to Cluedo Books * King of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in ...

'', his final collections of all-new material, were released posthumously. "Hound Dog Man" is a tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called it "a collection of easy-listening pop that shows the Orbison pipes to be in glorious form." Suggesting that while "it was a bit of a departure" from his sound, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' notes that "he still knows his way around a ballad as in 'Love is a Cold Wind', 'I Care', 'Poor Baby'." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' 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." William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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."

Track listing

;Side One # "Easy Way Out" – (Jim Valentini, Frank Saulino, Spady Brannan) # "Love Is a Cold Wind" – (

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) # "Lay It Down" – ( Robert Byrne, Tommy Brasfield) # "I Care" – (

Lenny LeBlanc Lenny LeBlanc (born June 17, 1951) is an American musician and songwriter. He started his career with Pete Carr in 1975 and later separated ways when both had different plans for their profession. A resident of Alabama, he is known for the song ...

, Eddie Struzick) # "We're Into Something Good" – ( George Soulé, Terry Woodford) # "Movin'" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price) ;Side Two # "Poor Baby" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price, Regi Price) # "Warm Spot Hot" – (Eddie Struzick) # "Tears" – (Roy Orbison, Chris Price, Dan Price, Regi Price) # "Friday Night" – (Regi Price, Chris Price) # "Hound Dog Man" – ( Barbara Orbison, Terry Woodford, Tommy Stuart)

Personnel

*Roy Orbison – vocals *

Larry Byrom Larry Clifton Byrom (born December 27, 1948 in Huntsville, Alabama) is an American guitarist. Byrom performed in a band called the Precious Few in the 1960s, then joined T.I.M.E.; in 1970, he joined Steppenwolf. He left Steppenwolf in 1972 and ...

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

– 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 Mickey Buckins is a musician, songwriter and record producer. As a songwriter he has written or co-written hits for Big Ben Atkins, Clarence Carter, Billy Crash Craddock, Terri Gibbs, The Osmonds, and Spencer Wiggins. Background During the 1960s ...

, Tom Roady – percussion *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

– 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

References

{{Authority control Roy Orbison albums 1979 albums Asylum Records albums