Roy Orbison mix from the top down rather than from the bottom up, beginning with close-miked backing vocals in the foreground, and ending with the rhythm section soft in the background. This combination became Orbison's trademark sound. "Only the Lonely" shot to number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and hit number one in the UK and Australia. According to Orbison, the subsequent songs he wrote with Melson during this period were constructed with his voice in mind, specifically to showcase its range and power. He told "Rolling Stone" in 1988, "I liked the sound of [my voice]. I liked making it
What Kind of Love of "Billboard" magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it the "first step in a major effort to immerse this rock-influenced country star into the pop and AC realm. She goes on to say that "twangy instrumentation a la Tom Petty and the late Roy Orbison (with whom this song was penned), combined with an appealing vocal, makes a strong argument for play at these and album rock formats." From "Life Is Messy" liner notes. "What Kind of Love" debuted at number 75 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of June 27, 1992. Mike Walker