Suspicious Psychedelic Instrumentation:
Creepy strings, guitar feedback, lonely sitar/guitar strums, cello groans and that heavenly choir for the operatic ending that is required by law on every Roy Orbison ballad.
Bad Psychedelia Enabler:
Although he had no direct involvement, composer Jim Webb is to blame, since his"MacArthur Park" made it all right for squares like Richard Harris to sing four movement, seven minute canatatas and soar to the top of the charts with them. Orbison, clearly suffering from "MacArthur Park-insons" disease here, tells this turgic tale of lonely Mr. Henry Johnson , "a man whose memories were made of nothing/ he presses the elevator door and goes home to no one"--feeling sorry for him yet? Henry tires of never getting any mail from his dysfunctional family and eventually crashes his car into a wall. Sort of like if "Elenore RIgby" blew her mind out in a car.
Psychedelic Crutch Words:
Mostly used when descriping Mr. Johnson's hippie son, "our boy with all his hair" who "dropped out to expand his mind." Not exactly subtle, Roy manages to use the word "psychedelic" as well as "PEACE" in capital letters.
What's It Sound Like?
There's too many horrors to list here but you'll get the idea if you can imagine Roy singing while another eerie voice whispers along behind him:
'He was a good man, he was a clean man
Yeah, that was it, he was a GOOD CLEAN MAN!'
And his landlady said he was an ex-em-pla-rary TENANT!
As for the music, it's mostly downbeat ballads, except for the freak-out go-go section (another "MacArthur" moment) and the bit after Mr. Johnson drives his car into a wall, where the suite gets incongruous bouncy, like it's "Windy" by the Association!
Worst Lyrical Moment:
When this song/suite/shitfest decides it isn't going to rhyme even once. Seriously, the worst moment occurs when Henry's widow/ex-wife looks to the heavens and dutifully tells him that the insurance check has just arrived, news that no doubt brought money minded Henry relief in the Great Beyond. Cue the heavenly choir!
