One hates to break the supernal sounds of master rock & roll balladeer Roy Orbison down by numbers, but here goes: 16 Biggest Hits offers exactly what it advertises. Meanwhile, Rhino's For the Lonely: A Roy Orbison Anthology (1959-65) tops it with 18 Orbison classics, Virgin's The Very Best of Roy Orbison clocks in with 19 cuts, and the old standby The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison, Volumes 1 & 2 tops them all with 20 hits. All four retrospectives are laden with recordings that have become rock & roll touchstones--"Only the Lonely," "Running Scared," "In Dreams," "It's Over," "Oh, Pretty Woman." 16 Biggest Hits is bargain priced, but its ho-hum packaging leaves much to be desired. --Steven Stolder
