This year marks the 25th anniversary of Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl, the final album released by the legendary rockabilly performer. As has become the trend with anniversary releases, the album is being rereleased with a number of bonus goodies, including a never before heard song titled "The Way Is Love."
The only bits that Orbison left behind for "The Way Is Love" were vocals recorded on a stereo. The performer's sons-Wesley, Andrew and Roy Jr.-took the track and added background vocals, while performing guitar and drums to complete the track. John Carter Cash produced the track at his own father's studio in Tennessee (everyone involved was the son of a Sun Records legend apparently).
"The Way Is Love" and demos from the original recording sessions will be included on the "Expanded" edition of the reissue, but the most interesting new material might come from the "deluxe" edition. Mystery Girl: Unraveled, a documentary on the making of the album, will feature song-by-song breakdowns, as well as interviews with four of the record's producers. And boy did that record have some high profile producers. Orbison's wife Barbara took part, but Bono, Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell all contributed to the release. Alas, T-Bone Burnett and Brian Eno aren't included among the interviews.
The original album dropped during February of 1989, just more than two months after the performer died of a heart attack. The surprise of his sudden death fueled sales of his albums, and Mystery Girl was one of two albums by Orbison in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 at one time.
