Mystery Girl is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released posthumously by Virgin Records on February 7, 1989. It includes the hit singles “You Got It”, which was co-written by Orbison and his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and “She’s a Mystery to Me”, written by Bono and The Edge. The album was a critical and commercial success; it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Orbison had achieved on that chart, and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Mystery Girl was Orbison’s first album of all-new material since 1979 and its success posthumously continued the resurgence that his career had undergone since 1986. Among the many other contributors to the album were Mike Campbell and other members of the Heartbreakers, T Bone Burnett, George Harrison, Jim Keltner and Rick Vito. For the 25th anniversary of its release, the album was reissued with bonus tracks including “The Way Is Love”, a song recorded by Orbison on a cassette tape in the 1980s that was subsequently completed by his sons and producer John Carter Cash.
- “You Got It” 3:30
- “In the Real World” 3:44
- “(All I Can Do Is) Dream You” 3:39
- “A Love So Beautiful” 3:33
- “California Blue” 3:57
- “She’s a Mystery to Me” 4:16
- “The Comedians” 3:26
- “The Only One” 3:55
- “Windsurfer” 4:01
- “Careless Heart” 4:08
- “The Way Is Love” 4:12
- “She’s a Mystery to Me” (Studio demo) 4:51
- “(All I Can Do Is) Dream You” (Studio demo) 4:34
- “The Only One” (Studio demo) 5:12
- “The Comedians” (Studio demo) 3:25
- “In the Real World” (Studio demo) 3:38
- “California Blue” (Studio demo) 4:42
- “Windsurfer” (Work-tape demo) 3:50
- “You Are My Love” (Work-tape demo) 2:35
Roy Orbison – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10), electric guitar (track 6)
Jeff Lynne – electric guitar (tracks 1, 5), acoustic guitar (4), keyboards (tracks 1, 4, 5), piano (track 1), bass guitar (tracks 1, 4, 5), backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 5, 9)
Tom Petty – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 5), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5)
Mike Campbell – electric guitar (tracks 2, 10), acoustic guitar (tracks 5, 9, 10), bass (tracks 2, 10), mandolin (track 5)
Jim Keltner – drums (tracks 2, 6–10)
Howie Epstein – bass guitar (tracks 6, 8, 9), backing vocals (tracks 2, 8–10)
Benmont Tench – piano (tracks 6, 8–10), organ (track 8), cheap strings (track 6)
Phil Jones – drums, percussion (track 1)
Michael Utley – string arrangements (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9)
Barbara Orbison – backing vocals (track 2)
Roy Orbison Jr. – backing vocals (track 2)
Al Kooper – organ (track 2)
Billy Burnette – acoustic guitar, backing vocals (track 3)
Rick Vito – electric guitar, backing vocals (track 3), slide guitar (track 9)
Tom “T-Bone” Wolk – bass guitar (track 3)
Buell Neidlinger – arco bass (track 3, 7)
Mickey Curry – drums (track 3)
George Harrison – acoustic guitar and background vocals (tracks 1, 4) (uncredited on “You Got It”)
Ray Cooper – drums (track 4)
Louis Clark – string arrangements (tracks 4, 5)
Ian Wallace – drums, percussion (track 5)
Bono – electric guitar (track 6)
David Rhodes – electric guitar (track 7)
T Bone Burnett – electric guitar (track 7)
Mitchell Froom – piano (track 7)
Jerry Scheff – string bass (track 7)
David Miner – string bass (track 7)
Gary Coleman – percussion (track 7)
Steve Cropper – electric guitar (track 8)
The Memphis Horns – horns by Jim Horn, arranged by Steve Cropper (track 8)
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