Customer Reviews

The Traveling Wilburys Volume 1

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This low-key supergroup effort by Harrison, Dylan, Orbison, Petty and Lynne was a well deserved hit when it was released in 1988, peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's album charts. And justifiably so. The album is filled with wonderfully crafted (if sometimes slight) and enjoyable songs. In hindisght, that appeared to be the goal of this project--to have a good time. There are no superstar trappings here. All songwriting credits are attributed to the Traveling Wilburys. In fact, real names are not to be found anywhere on the album.

There are numerous highlights, beginning with the the album's first single "Handle With Care," which features vocals by Harrison and Orbison with some nice slide guitar work from Harrison as well. Dylan's tongue-in-cheek lyrics to "Dirty Work" give new meaning to 'auto'-eroticism. [Sample lyric: You don't need no wax job / You're smooth enough for me / If you need your oil changed / I'll do it for you free.] "Rattled" is a delightful rockabilly number. "Last Night" has a funky Jamaican rhythm to it. "Not Alone Any More" features Orbison's soaring tenor reminiscent of his Monument-era classics. "Heading for the Light" with Harrison handling lead vocal also makes good use of saxophone. "End of the Line" closes the album with a terrific uptempo rocker and sadly serves as a fitting tribute to Orbison who died of a heart attack not long after the album was completed. [The survivng Wilburys did a wonderful video to this track paying tribute to their musical comrade.]

Additional support is provided by honorary Wilburys Jim Keltner (drums), Jim Horn (saxophones), and Ray Cooper (percussion). From start to finish, this album is a pure joy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This album is brilliant! This was definitely one of the most exciting music projects to come out of the '80s. There had been "super-groups" before, like the Yardbirds or Blind Faith, but it was unprecedented to have FIVE well-established rock 'n roll greats (Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty) form their own band and bring out two records, and it was a trans-Atlantic collaboration. The story goes that ex-ELO maestro Jeff was helping produce new albums by George and the others, when they decided, "Hey, why not try to bring out a whole album together?!"
Part of the beauty of Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is that it is so under-stated. It's not like the five guys were saying, "Look at us, we're a super-group!" No, they got pure enjoyment from their collaboration, appearing almost mysteriously as five "Wilbury" brothers. You first had to figure out who those guys in sunglasses were on the album cover.
That notwithstanding, this album was also invaluable for the appreciation it gave the legendary Roy Orbison for a new generation. It made me interested in his songs from way back, even before the movie Pretty Woman gave him new exposure. Sadly, Orbison died soon after Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released. The band commemorated his passing in their music video for the single, "End of the Line." When Orbison sings, a guitar is shown in an otherwise empty rocking chair.
But the first song I heard from this album was the catchy story-song, "Tweeter and the Monkey Man." It was Bob Dylan, but it was more. What a great song! It got a lot of airplay in South Africa, where I grew up. The first single, "Handle With Care," is also excellent, with Harrison leading the vocals and the other guys chiming in.
Bob does a great job on "Dirty World," which has some really funny tongue-in-cheek lyrics, e.g., "I love her big refrigerator." "Rattled" is fine rockabilly sung by Jeff Lynne and with Roy adding his trademark growls. "Last Night" with its reggae beat is probably my favorite track, a humorous story of misguided love as sung by Petty and with a fine bridge by Orbison. Roy himself shines on the track written for him, "Not Alone Anymore." "Margarita" on side two is also an excellent song with the guys trading lead vocals.
Jeff Lynne's production, as well as familiar vocals by the parts of the whole, gave continuity to the Wilburys' solo albums: George's Cloud Nine, Petty's Full Moon Fever, Orbison's Mystery Girl and Lynne's own Armchair Theatre. I think of these albums as collectively being the missing Vol. 2.
We await the re-issue of Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 on CD. Warner Brothers, are you listening?

Criminally deleted at the present moment, due to legal
wrangles between the various surviving stars and Warner
Brothers Inc - this truly is a classic recording.
From the first take "Handle With Care", through to the
countryfied "End Of The Line" - there are many gems from
each member - Dylan and Harrison being particularly prolific.
"Handle With Care" was destined to be a 12" bonus track
on George Harrison's 1987 single "This Is Love" (the title
comes from an orange sticker on a box in Dylan's garage -
where the song was written) - but Warners considered it "too
good". The album spawned from there. Check out Roy Orbison's
haunting "Not Alone Any More", too. Music to melt the
hardest of hearts. The lyrical majesty of "Tweeter and the
Monkey Man" is one of Dylan's best of the 1980s.

You can't go wrong guys.

Since this particular Cd arrived, I have not yet taken it out of the player. The content is pure gold, real infectious music. If you haven't yet purchased a Wilburys Cd, this is the one to get. Both Volume one and three, plus a rare Europe only released Single "Nobody's Child". Released for the Romanian Angels Appeal. The only reason I gave it a four star rating was due to the low volume level on Volume One, but this in no way detracts from the actual content of the songs themselves.
Every track has that unique blend of rythmn, vocals, and gritty Rock ,n Roll, that can only be delivered by Messrs Harrison, Orbison, Petty, Dylan and Lynne together.
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is pure genius in verse. Dylan's vocals, as he tells the story of two dropouts on the run from the "undercover cop" is just superb. Other tracks I've picked out are "Not Alone Anymore" and "She's My Baby" with Gary Moore guesting on guitar.
Every track is a joy to listen to. It sounds so crisp and fresh, it could have been recorded yesterday.
If your collection doesn't include the "Wilburys", there's a big gap in it, and this is the perfect Cd to fill it!!!

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was recorded and released in 1988 to enormous commercial success and critical acclaim.

HOW THE TRAVELING WILBURYS WAS CREATED
The beauty of the Traveling Wilburys was the total spontaneity of its creation as a Rock 'N Roll Supergroup. Back in 1988, George Harrison of Beatles fame was working on his album 'Cloud Nine' with co-writer and producer, Jeff Lynne of E.L.O. Harrison and Lynne had been working on 'Cloud Nine' for 5 years and were finishing up the album. Warner Bros. asked for a B-side to accompany George Harrison's 'This is Love' single and wanted it quickly. George decided to write a new song with Lynne's help but his guitar was at Tom Petty's house. Jeff Lynne had also been working with Tom Petty and they invited Petty to come along for the ride and assist on the song. Lynne had also been putting off his work on Roy Orbison's new album, so he and George took Roy to lunch where they discussed doing the new song with Tom Petty. Orbison then volunteered to sing on the new track. Since they needed a studio in such a short time, George called up his buddy, Bob Dylan to see if they could use his garage studio. Dylan obliged and ended up sitting in with the motley crew. These five Rock 'N Roll legends ended up sitting around picking guitars and wrote a catchy tune that they all liked and named it after a box in Dylan's garage titled 'Handle with Care'.

The music and lyrics came so easy for the Traveling Wilburys and they all loved working together so much that Harrison, Dylan, Petty, and Lynne agreed that they should try to complete an album. The needed to overcome two [2] challenges: 1. Dylan was leaving in 10 days on tour; 2. they needed to convince Roy Orbison to join them. Thus, Harrison, Dylan, Petty, and Lynne drove up to Anaheim to Roy Orbison's concert and reportedly George Harrison got on his knees after the concert to recruit Roy Oribson. Roy readily agreed.

With Harrison having the greatest claim to the band, he signed them up to Warner Bros. Records, his current label, and incorporated their own Wilbury Records label, in addition to producing the sessions with Lynne that spring.

In October 1988, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released, preceded by 'Handle with Care' as the lead single that scaled the pop charts at US #15, the album reached #16 in the UK and an impressive #3 in the US. With over 40 weeks on the charts, the album was later certified double-platinum. While Harrison and Petty had had recent successes, Dylan, Orbison and Lynne had not seen an album climb that high in several years. At the time, no Dylan album had ever achieved two million in sales. As one critic put it, the Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was "one of the great commercial coups of the decade."

Most critics said the Traveling Wilburys's modest ambitions were fresh and relaxing. During 1989 and 1990 the album won many accolades, not least a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Tragically, Roy Orbison suddenly died of a heart attack in December 1988, surprising much of the music industry and press. The sleeve cover for "End Of The Line", the group's second single, was photographed four [4] days after Orbison's death. Depicting a guitar in Orbison's rocking chair, it was taken as a tribute. As for Orbison, this album was released at the same time as his Mystery Girl album in 1989, and both their success made Orbison one of two singers (Elvis Presley being the other) to have two albums both reach the charts posthumously.

Both Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and its unexpected 1990 follow-up Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 were deleted in the mid-1990's with rights reverting to Harrison and his estate after his 2001 death. With all of his solo catalogue having reverted to EMI after almost twenty years with Warner Bros. Records, who distributed his Dark Horse Records label, both Traveling Wilburys albums appear set to be re-issued through EMI. Tom Petty was recently quoted to have said that they would be re-released in late 2005, though nothing, as of December 2006, has come of these claims.

HOW THE TRAVELING WILBURYS GOT THEIR NAME
Jeff Lynne and George Harrison had been referring to the recording gremlins and glitches as Wilburys, referring to after recording editing of "we'll bury them" in the mixing. They originally came up with Trembling Wilburys but the group decided that Traveling Wilburys was more catchy. They even made up a story about the Traveling Wilburys as nomadic minstrels who were all half brothers with the common father of Charlie T. Wilbury.

The Traveling Wilburys band members are:
*Nelson Wilbury (George Harrison) - guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Lucky Wilbury (Bob Dylan) - acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison) - acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Charlie T. Jr. (Tom Petty) - acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne) - bass, keyboards, guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Jim Keltner - drums
*Jim Horn - saxophones
*Ray Cooper - percussion
*Ian Wallace - Tom toms on "Handle with Care"

TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL. 1 TRACK LISTING
All songs written by the Traveling Wilburys:
"Handle with Care" - 3:20
"Dirty World" - 3:30
"Rattled" - 3:00
"Last Night" - 3:48
"Not Alone Any More" - 3:24
"Congratulations" - 3:30
"Heading for Light" - 3:37
"Margarita" - 3:15
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" - 5:30
"End of the Line" - 3:30

When a lineup like Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne get together, one would expect something amazing, and on Vol. 1, it is so much more than that. To me, this album is better than any of these guys solo work by far. This one is constantly in my cd player, and to me is the best rock and roll album of all time. My personal favorite song is End of the Line, but the other songs on here are not even close to being worse. If you find this anywhere, pick it up because its been out of print and is getting harder to find.

I read that they are going to release a box set that will include Vol 1 and 3 along with a DVD late 2006

I bought this album (on cassette) when it was released, and I still consider it one of the 10 best ever, even though I can't seem to find it on CD. Almost every track is brilliant, but what's most incredible about it is that it actually made me rethink my total hatred of "country" music...Roy Orbison's performance on this album made me go out and buy everything he ever recorded that I could get my hands on. And then, just like that, he was gone. I already loved the music of Harrison, Dylan, Petty, and Lynne, but this album definitely expanded my horizons. Get it any way you can!

If you don't own a copy of this album, then you should seriously consider getting one.

Almost 17 years after its release, I'm still amazed at how incredible the music is on here. Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison - each of them are justifiably legendary musicians. Here you get all of them together, sounding even better than you'd expect them to.

Several reviewers here have commented on how it sounds like the band is having a total blast on these songs. I totally agree and think that's one of the reasons this music is so incredibly fun to listen to. It's obvious that these guys just checked their egos at the door and set out to make great music and have a great time doing it.

Handle With Care, Last Night, Rattled, Heading For The Light - all fantastic songs! Actually, there's not a song on here that isn't great in some way - and that's a rare feat for any performer to accomplish.

Two of my personal favorites on here are Not Alone Anymore and Margarita. On Not Alone Anymore, Roy Orbison's voice is absolutely magical. It's no wonder that he was regarded as highly as he was! As for Margarita...geez...what can I say? The music is addicting within the first few seconds. Then the harmonies kick in - and these 5 guys sound like they were born to be singing with each other. The lyrics are very entertaining and the guitar riffs are great. This is a VERY fun song!

I meant for this to be a short review, but I'm listening to this CD as I'm typing. Listening to this cd, soaking in each great song...well, it got hard for me to not rave and rave about how great this album is.

If you love rock and roll and have this album, then you already know what I'm talking about above. If you love great music and don't yet have this album - get it soon. You'll be glad you did.

If you are one of the lucky souls fortunate enough to get your greasy fingers on this album (why are the good ones always out of print?), then you are guaranteed a good time from the moment you place the disc in the player and hit "play". George Harrison is the first voice you'll hear, and he sounds wonderful...

I was fortunate enough to experience a sort of personal "Beatles Revolution" during the last part of the summer of 2001, brought into the fold just a few short months before George passed away from cancer on the penultimate day of the November of that year. Following his passing, I really made an effort to hear more of his solo material (I caught a clip of his 1987 tune "Got My Mind Set On You" during a news announcment on the day following his death), and was very disappointed to discover how hard-to-find his work from the late 1970s-1980s had become. Strangely, it seems to be easier now... used copies of both the Wilburys albums and Harrison's "Cloud Nine" seem to be readily available now through Amazon and eBay. After telling myself how lucky I was to have copies of them all, it's just 'note faih'! But really, I'm glad that others will have a chance to give the later Harrison material a try.

But back to the Wilburys, who weren't just George, but I want to say one more thing about him. He sounds great... happy. Really happy. In fact, this is a very happy record, on the whole. Highlights include the final song, "End of the Line", which features Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison on each chorus and Tom Petty singing each verse (the fifth Wilbury, Bob Dylan, is noticably absent from the song. Was he just playing guitar and doing backing vocals? The world may never know), which is probably my favorite tune on the album. Also notable are the first almost ethereal and then just bizarre "Margarita" (I couldn't ask for a more interesting song, and one that's so catchy besides. Check out the bass playing right before Petty tells us "she wrote a long letter on a short piece of paper". Who's that guy playing bass?), the light-as-a-feather "Heading for the Light" (let me mention one more time how happy George sounds. You'll be smiling yourself by the time the song is over), and the slow and sorry Dylan tune "Congratulations" (listen to it a time or two and it will grow on you). But really, the whole album is great. I should specifically mention, though, track number five, which is the late Roy Orbison's "Not Alone Anymore". It, together with "Congratulations", form a sort of island of melancholy in a sea of genuine joy. But this is not a bad thing at all... "Not Alone" is really very beautiful. I love Orbison's voice, as he really emotes through the song, making it twice as heartbreaking as it would be on its own.

If you want to spend the dollars, I'd highly recommend grabbing a copy of both of the Wilburys albums, in addition to George's "Cloud Nine" (which I really consider to be a sort of pre-Wilburys Wilburys release), and Jeff Lynne's "Armchair Theater". All of them came out at about the same time, between 1987 and 1990, with the second Wilburys release (deceptively entitled "Volume Three") finishing them up in that same year. Also, jump ahead a few more years to 2001 and give a try to the highly abundant and readiliy available "Zoom" which pretends to be an ELO album but is REALLY another Jeff Lynne solo work, which features George Harrison as a guest on two tracks (and, even though he wasn't a Wilbury, Ringo Starr on two more!). I stand open to correction, but I'm guessing that the two songs on "Zoom" were among the last recordings George made before his death.

Anyway, back to the album I'm really reviewing (I just thought I'd suggest a few "companion pieces" in case you were still hungry for more). If you check out The Traveling Wilurys Volume One, I know you'll have a wonderful time, and I promise you won't be sorry. Remember Roy and George...

Carry on Carry on,

MN