Customer Reviews

The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a step down from the Wilburys first album that came out two years earlier, but there is still much to like here. The album kicks off with the strongest rocker of the Wilbury's two-album history, "She's My Baby" with the sizzling guitar solo provided by one-time Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore. The album (in the absence of fallen comrade Roy Orbison) is dominated by Dylan and Petty. The albums strongest track is Dylan's "If You Belonged to Me" with its plaintive harmonica reminding listeners of his classic Sixties work. Dylan and Petty share vocal chores on the uptempo "The Devil's Been Busy" while Harrison adds some nice sitar accents. Harrison's lone lead vocal is on "Where Were You Last Night?" where he trades verses with Dylan on this acoustic number. Elsewhere, Dylan does a doo-wop send-up on "7 Deadly Sins." "New Blue Moon" has a slightly Carribean feel to it as well as Harrison's signature slide guitar work. The album closes with the infectious "Willbury Twist." The booklet inlcudes lyrics, "how to" instructions and even illustrations to this song. [Sample lyric: "Put your hand on your head, put your feet in the air / Then hop around the room in your underwear."] It's best if you approach this album with limited expectations; this allows you the opportunity to appreciate the joys that await you here. RECOMMENDED

The first Wilbury album is definately something magical that will always seem fresh and fun. The second one (Volume 3) has just as much musical merit. The blend of these four guys were what made the core of the song writing and instumentation of the first. Roy Orbison's tenor, style, and attitude did bring raw fun and glory to SOME songs on the first one, but he was only on four or five songs (unfortunately). This CD is more of a blues/folkrock direction for the supergroup, and that's cool. It's very them. It suits their style. My favorite track (probably because it vocally mimics the first album the closest - but actually may be my favorite Wilbury cut between the two albums) is "Poor House." There is much more humor on this one, which makes it quite entertaining to introduce others to. Tom Petty's influence is more prevalent in this one; he shows some of his top-noch song writing tricks. Petty reveals his natural ability, and you can hear with what ease music comes to him. My only regret about this album is there aren't as many George songs........I'll deal. No one should go through life without hearing this album at least once. Like the first one - it's nearly impossible to hold a bad mood while hearing this stuff. (oh and try to act out all of the "Wilbury Twist" - I think I still have bruises)

I'll agree with the other reviewers here that Vol.3 is lacking something that made Vol.1 so awesome, but when you put Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne together, good things will happen, and this is still a darned good piece of rock'n'roll.

Dylan and Petty share the bulk of the vocal duties here, with Lynne providing his slick trademark production and George providing his fabulous instrumentation. Although to be honest, a few more tracks featuring George would have really hit the spot. Missed, of course, are the contributions of Roy Orbison, but his bandmates still seem to be having fun making music, and it definitely shows throughout the album.

The best songs, in no particular order, are "Inside Out", the opening song "She's My Baby", "If You Belonged To Me", "Poor House", and the softer "You Took My Breath Away". It's only 36 minutes of music (my biggest complaint about this particular album), but it's all solid material that grows on you a little bit more with every listen.

Vol.3 is another rare chance to hear four music legends playing together, and even if it's not Vol.1 all over again, it's still not to be missed. It's a shame the two Wilbury albums are out of print, but we can always live with the hope of a remastering and rerelease sometime in the future. In conclusion... if you can get it, do so, because it's worth the hassle of finding it.

After years of searching used music stores everywhere, I located a pristine example of this CD, and I must say that I am very happy I did. I have Volume one on my short list of frequently played music, but for some reason didn't buy Volume three when it came out. Upon Harrison's death, I was trying to buy up everything from him and really felt the lack of this Wilburys CD was going to drive me crazy.

While some over analyze things, I will go the other direction. These are just four guys that have the pedigree to allow for some ego, but they put that ego away and simply have fun with the music that they loved from the beginning. Indeed, some of these basic three or four chord rockers would fit in on some compilation disc of late `50s or early `60s rock music. The chord progression for "7 deadly sins" is so basic that it is in many of my beginning guitar books, labeled in some as the "oldies" progression, and several other songs are based on the classic I-IV-V progression that form the basis of hundreds of classic rock and blues songs.. Still, basic or not, these guys make this music work. More importantly, you can just tell that they are having fun doing what they love.

Yeah, I miss Orbison. Sure, I wish Harrison had more lead vocal time. But still, I am very happy that I could locate this fine disc. It will be played often along with Vol. One.

Now for my wish... Come on Olivia, we need a Wilburys anthology with the out takes and videos.

This was the second Traveling Wilburys album, recorded after the death of Roy Orbison. The album suffers a little from his absence, but it's still a very good album. Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne sound like they are having a lot of fun here. Most of the songs have a lighthearted "just for kicks" feel to them, and it's cool to hear these guys just "cut loose" and do something different from their regular "serious" albums. Fans of these artists should really get a kick out of this.

A visit to the Amazon customer reviews page for the Traveling Wilburys' second album, jokingly titled "Vol. 3", can be depressing. It would seem that the general opinion is that this second offering, from the four Wilburys who remained with us at the time, is far inferior to Vol. 1; it is also worth noting that as of this writing there are only twenty reviews (mine included) for this product. When there are twenty reviews of a product, and most lean on the at least semi-critical side--and some are downright scathing,regardless of the two star ratings they may bear-- this is likely to discourage the potential buyer, who may or may not have any Wilbury-related experience, from making that purchase.

Regardless of what some may have you believe, no person who enjoys qaulity pop music and, especially, who loves the work of any or all of these artists should be discouraged from getting a hold of this album. You'll at least want it for your collection, and maybe you'll find it to be an overlooked delight, as I have.

Released in 1990, The Traveling Wilburys Vol 3, features the talents of ex-Beatle George Harrison (may his "sweet Lord" rest his soul), ex-ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, (not literal) Heartbreaker Tom Petty, and Mr. Bob Dylan, who is and has done pretty much anything and everything in his lifetime. The "fifth" Wilbury (that's a Beatles in-joke, for the uninitiated), R&R crooner Roy Orbison had tragically died of heart attack in December of 1988, months after the recording and release of the Wilburys' first album, but that didn't stop the other four lads from getting together and having some more fun, Wilbury style. Personally, I hold the uncommmon opinion that track by track (and, I suppose, as one cohesive unit), Vol 3 is the stronger of the two. The reasons for this are multi-fold: for starters, my affection for the works of such artists as Neil Young and Mr. Harrison himself should betray my appreciation of lyrical depth, but when music is fun-- effectively fun (and especially when it involves several favored artists)-- that's just as good too! This sense of fun, prevalent as it is on Vol 3, is, I believe, the essence of the Wilburys.

Secondly, and also crucial in my opinion to the Wilburys' uniqueness, is that instead of some songs seeming like they're definately by George, or obviously Dylan-centric, these songs bear a genuine sense of collaboration and commradery. It also lends the album a more neutral sound-- not as if dominated by one band member in particular, but as though all are working cooperatively, which, honestly, is probably the only way they could come up with material appropriate for a "just for kicks" album like this one. I mean-- these are great songwriters, but still you need strong unity and chemistry to make it a quality piece and, ultimately, to make it fun. Finally, those songs that do show the mark of one member or another (and even these numbers showcase the talents of the various Wilburys, as the vocals are juggled between them), are intimately better than the "individualized" material on Vol 1. Yes-- I hear the concerned reader murmuring to himself, "but 'Handle with Care', and 'End of the Line' were hits for a good reason: they were the best Wilbury songs"; I might be inclinded to agree with at least the first half this commonly held opinion, but regardless of that, those were obviously group efforts and as for the genius of "Tweeter and the Monkeyman", it wasn't just Bob-- there was undeniably some Tom Petty influence there...


1. She's My Baby-- This is a "fab" start to the album. In counterbalance to the negative reviews, I would call this a highlight of the album. Tight, rocking like nothing you've heard before, funny, over-the-top, well-performed by all members, and, wow, Gary Moore is one heck of guitarist(he did the lead parts on this track)! 5/5, no doubt.

2. Inside Out-- How do you follow up She's my Baby? With a fun song, comprised of great melody, instrumentation, production, and lyrics blending fun with a serious social message. Honestly, I love it when musical artists can be fun (and funny), and get a great message across( that' one of the many things George himself was good at), and this great little number is the perfect example of this. The unbelievably fun and catchy main verses descend to a counter-melody, where George Harrison does what he did best, and adds a good message to the tune! Another 5/5

3. If You Belonged to Me-- Not as strong as its predecessors (but then, what could be?), but nonetheless catchy Dylan folk music, boosted by Harrison's strumming of the mandolin, as heard beneath a healthy coating of Bob's harmonica. It really picks up lyrically in the last verse, so-so other than that, but musically catchy. Luckily, what follows blows EVERYTHING that came before clear out of the water and far onto dry land. 3.5/5

4. Devil's Been Busy-- You'll remember what I said about the songs that were clearly of one member's creation; that they were superior to what was obviously such on Vol 1? Well, this is a perfect example of that. There is no doubt in this listener's mind that Devil's been Busy was George's to begin with;it has commentary on important social issues, primarily the environment,justice, moral right, etc, AND (get this) sitar, credited in the booklet to Harrison. Lyrically, melodically, in terms of arrangement and instrumentation (the vocals are traded thus: Petty-Harrison-Dylan-sitar interlude-Dylan-Lynne, pure genius), in terms of production, the height of the Wilburys' achievment. There is a subtle sense of fun, and the sitar and main melody cook and sizzle, but the lyrical depth wins me over on this one. This is by far the best track on the album.

5. Seven Deadly Sins-- Rock 'n' roll; fun, clever and silly lyrically; melodically and in terms of arrangement (especially that sax part), obvously a throwback to the music of the late '50s and early '60s.

'Where Were You Last Night?', grows on and wins you over, same for Petty's eccentric, 'Cool Dry Place'. 'Poor House' is rockabilly fun, something I can certainly enjoy, but not one of the best (in spite of Harrison's absolutely delicious slide guitar bridges). 'You Took my Breath Away', reaks of sincerity and Petty's voice works for the song, but it meanders lyrically (and this is not great lyrical meandering all of the time); still, the melody is beautiful, but 'Cool Dry...' is definately Petty's strongest here.

Finally, 'New Blue Moon', a great piece, and 'Wilbury Twist', which outclasses 'End of the Line' musically, lyrically, and in the area of giving fun closure, rounds out the powerhouse of Vol 3 (She's My Baby, Inside Out, Devil's Been Busy, Cool Dry Place, 7 Deadly Sins, New Blue Moon, Poor House, and Wilbury Twist.

--Fun rock 'n' roll and without question my favorite Wilburys album. I feel it's better than number 1, whatever anybody else says.
Long live, well, the guys from this band that are still living!

The Wild One.

Tacked onto the end of my copy of this album, as a bonus track, is an extra song: "Nobody's Child". Typically, I leave bonus tracks out of the equation, but as I accidentally somehow posted my review for this album twice, I thought I'd take advantage of the situation and spend a moment review the song on its own. Recorded to raise money for orphanages in Rumania, "Nobody's" serves as kind of a down-beat way to close the album, especially after the energetic fun of "Wilbury Twist" (I understand that "Nobody's" was released on its own as a single). Though it's a definite change of pace from the song that came before, it's a very nice little tune... sweet harmonica, very sad vocals, and a definite pseudo-country laid-back style to the music. It was sweet of the Wilburys to put this song together, especially considering their reasons for doing it, and I'm happy it was included on the CD I purchased (I'm uncertain if it is on all of them or not, the ones available that is). The four Wilburys share lead vocals, trading lines one at a time starting with Tom Petty, giving each one of them a chance to do their stuff.

Very good, but a definite change in tone.

Carry on Carry on,

MN

I agree with most others that this album isn't as strong as Volume 1, but it's still quite good and I can't understand why its not available new. I was thinking maybe they have plans to rerelease it as an anthology, and this time their going to include Volume 2. Only a fantasy, but certainly a good one. Both Wilbury records are awesome! If you never heard them, but your fans of any of its members, buy this album.

Well first off, its a real shame Roy passed away, but given this gigantic tragedy, the remaining Wilburys pumped out a real gem regardless. Bob and Tom take the majority of the Cd, and I believe *track for track* its actually slighter stronger than the first CD. Tracks like "Inside Out", "She's my baby", "The Devils Been Busy in Your backyard" are wonderful. There is no really weak points oin this Cd, and George in particluar is used beautifully, mainly in bridges-Tom and Bob seem to do most of the intial leads. What a roomful of talemts and we mustn't forget Jeff Lynne who I believe is a very, very talented producer, who knows how to maximise talent. But then again, with these legends, ther sure IS talent to burn!!!! :-) BTW folks, this was the first music I ever bought, (I had just gotten in Bob thru my parents old LP's) a tape way back in 1990, and it was a wonderful introduction. Beautiful music++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The infamous Wilburys are back again, but the second outing is lacking something that made the first one great, Roy Orbison. I think his absence hurt the Wilburys, in their writing, playing, and overall performing. While the album is great, and is definitely worth the buy, it just does not compare to the first one.