travelling wilburys discogs

The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1

The traveling wilburys.

STREAM OR BUY:

Release Date

Recording location, discography timeline, allmusic review, user reviews, track listing, similar albums, moods and themes.

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 by Traveling Wilburys

Album Reviews 1988 Albums , 2013 Reviews , Album Reviews by Ric Albano , American Artists , Bob Dylan , British Artists , Florida Artists , George Harrison , Jeff Lynne , Jim Keltner , Midwest Artists , Roy Orbinson , Tennessee Artists , Tom Petty 5

Buy Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

It all started in Los Angeles in Spring 1988 when George Harrison was looking to record B-side material for a vinyl 12-inch European single. Jeff Lynne , who co-produced Harrison’s most recent album Cloud Nine was also in Los Angeles at the time. Lynne was producing some music for Roy Orbison as well as the debut solo album, Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty . Lynne was able to enlist both artists to help out Harrison, who was in a huge hurry to record his material. The final piece of the Traveling Wilbury puzzle was Bob Dylan , who had built a home studio in nearby Malibu and agreed to let the makeshift group record the very next day. On that day, the legendary musicians wrote and recorded the song “Handle with Care” in about five hours. The experience was so positive that all five agreed to form a group and reconvened a month later to record the other nine tracks on what would become Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 . Here the magic continued as the group wrote and recorded on acoustic guitars. With a limited amount of time before Dylan headed out on a scheduled tour, the five singers in the group often took turns at songs until Harrison (as group arbiter) selected the best “lead” voice for each part. The final phase was Harrison and Lynne returning to England for final overdubs and production. Here Harrison added some electric and lead guitars, Lynne added keyboards and bass, Jim Keltner was brought in on drums.

Although it is generally agreed that Harrison was the group’s leader, they did work hard to maintain a collective image and even set up fictional names for each member masquerading as the “Wilbury” brothers – Nelson (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Lucky (Dylan), Lefty (Orbison), and Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) with Keltner given the humorous “outsider” name “Buster Sidebury”. All group members also got songwriting credits on the album, although the publishing credits were disbursed according to the actual songwriter. The Wilbury name originated from Harrison and Lynne previously working together as a pseudonym for slight recording errors (“we’ll bury ’em in the mix”).

The ringing guitars of “Handle with Care”, the original Wilbury song, starts things off. Harrison, the primary composer, delivers deliberate vocalizing during the verses which gives way to Orbison’s smooth crooning during the choruses. Dylan and Petty deliver a chanting post-chorus and two instances of Harrison’s classic guitar along with a short Dylan harmonica lead make the song a true classic in just about every way. Within its brief three and a half minutes the song is dotted with decades of rock history, making this the perfect track to introduce the album. While not every song on the album wraps itself so well as “Handle with Care”, there is not a truly weak moment on the album.

On “Dirty World” Dylan’s rough lead vocals are complimented by smooth backing vocals and a bright acoustic arrangement. The song also contains some horns and an interesting arrangement all around. This song was a particularly enjoyable one for the band to record as each member took a turn singing in the “round” during the extended outro. Jeff Lynne’s “Rattled” is pure rockabilly led by Orbinson on vocals, almost like a lost early Elvis song. Lynne’s bass and Harrison’s lead guitar shine musically and the actual “rattle” in the song is drummer Keltner tapping the refrigerator grill with his drum sticks.

“Last Night” contains Caribbean elements with some percussion and horns and Petty singing during verse and Orbinson during the bridges. The whimsical, storytelling song has a great aura and feel throughout. Petty did the core composing with each group member contributing to the songwriting approach. The verses has an upbeat folk/Latin feel with the bridge being a bit more dramatic. The first side completes with “Not Alone Any More”, a vocal centerpiece for Orbison. His vocals smoothly lead a modern version of early sixties rock and Lynne’s keyboards add more decoration than any other song on the first side. If “Not Alone Anymore” is in the clouds, the second side opener “Congratulations” is right down at ground level. This tavern style ballad with Dylan on lead vocals sounds much like his late 70s / early 80s era material, with blues-like reverences to broken relationships, and includes a very short but great lead guitar by Harrison right at the end.

The up-tempo “Heading for the Light” is a quintessential Harrison/Lynne production, with the former Beatle composing and singing and the former ELO front man providing the lush production and orchestration. The song contains great picked guitar fills as well as a saxophone solo by Jim Horn . “Margarita” may be the oddest song on the album but is still a great sonic pleasure. It begins with a programmed eighties synth line then the long intro slowly works its way into a Latin acoustic section topped by horns, lead guitar, and rich vocal harmonies. It is not until a minute and a half in that Petty’s lead vocals come in for a single verse then the song works its ways through various short sections towards an encapsulated synth ending. This spontaneous composition with free-association lyrics showed with a group of this talent could do on the spot.

“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is Bob Dylan channeling Bruce Springsteen and coming out with what may have been one of the best Springsteen songs ever (even though he had nothing to do with it). This extended song with the traditional Dylan style of oodles of verses and a theatrical chorus includes several references to Springsteen songs throughout and is in Springsteen’s home state of New Jersey. It may have been Dylan’s delayed response to the press repeatedly coining Bruce “the next Dylan”. No matter what the case, the result is an excellent tune with lyrics rich enough to base a book or movie.

The most perfect album closer to any album – ever, “End of the Line” contains a Johnny Cash-like train rhythm beneathe deeply philosophical lyrics, delivered in a light and upbeat fashion. Harrison, Lynne, Orbinson, and Harrison again provide the lead vocals during the chorus hooks while Petty does the intervening verses. The song revisits the classic music themes of survival and return with the universal message that, in the big picture, it all ends someday. The feeling of band unity is also strongest here with the folksy pop/rock chords and great harmonies. The music video for “End of the Line” was filmed after Roy Orbison’s death in December 1988, mere weeks after the album’s release, and paid tasteful respect with a shot of a guitar sitting in a rocking chair during the verse which Orbison sang.

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 sold over two million copies within its first six months, a figure which made this album a higher seller than any of Bob Dylan’s albums to that date. The album was critically favored and won a Grammy award in 1990. The surviving members of the group reconvened for a second album, which fell far short of capturing the magic of this debut and a long-planned tour by the group never materialized, although members continued to collaborate on each other’s albums for years to come. The incredible magic that came together in 1988 is yet to repeated anywhere in the rock universe.

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1988 albums and our album of the year.

Related Posts

Album Reviews

Diamonds In the Coal by The Badlees

Street Survivors by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Human Touch & Lucky Town by Bruce Springsteen

"End of the Line" by The Traveling Wilburys | River of Rock October 2, 2017 @ 7:54 pm

[…] Recorded at Lucky Studios and Dave Stewart Studios, Los Angeles, Spring 1988 Released on the album Traveling Wilburys Volume 1 in November […]

Top 9 Album Closing Songs | River of Rock January 28, 2020 @ 4:41 pm

[…] who recorded the track but died soon afterward. The Traveling Wiburys were a happy coincidence and Traveling Wiburys Vol. 1was a nearly spontaneous masterpiece with this final song having the strongest feeling of band […]

The 10 Best Traveling Wilburys Songs of All-Time - ONAIR2 May 25, 2022 @ 12:27 am

[…] As Classic Rock Review explains, most of the writing of Last Night was taken care of by Tom Petty, with the rest of the group jumping in from time to time with their own contributions. The approach demonstrates one of the key strengths of the band’s attitude to songcraft, with Petty’s straightforward, three-chord folk pattern contrasting beautifully with Orbison’s elaborate, Latin-inspired bridges. A whimsical tale of romance laced with a vague menace and a big helping of humour, it’s a delight, particularly in respect of how genuinely joyful the band seems to be in each other’s company. […]

The 10 Best Traveling Wilburys Songs of All-Time – Gabriel Culiat April 4, 2023 @ 6:12 am

[…] As Classic Rock Review explains, most of the writing of Last Night was taken care of by Tom Petty, with the rest of the group jumping in from time to time with their own contributions. The approach demonstrates one of the key strengths of the band’s attitude to songcraft, with Petty’s straightforward, three-chord folk pattern contrasting beautifully with Orbison’s elaborate, Latin-inspired bridges. […]

The 10 Best Traveling Wilburys Songs of All-Time April 4, 2023 @ 6:30 am

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Complete List Of Traveling Wilburys Albums And Songs

Feature Photo: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com

This Complete List Of Traveling Wilburys Albums And Songs presents the full discography of Traveling Wilburys studio albums. This complete Traveling Wilburys discography also includes the Traveling Wilburys compilation album. All these unbelievable  Traveling Wilburys albums have been presented below in chronological order. We have also included all original release dates with each Traveling Wilburys album as well as all original album covers. Every album listed below showcases the entire album tracklisting.

TRAVELING WILBURYS STUDIO ALBUMS

Traveling wilburys vol. 1.

Released October 17, 1988. The group’s first album was a once in a lifetime meeting of true rock superstars forming what possibly may be the greatest superstar group of all time. The Traveling Wilburys consisted of an ex-Beatle George Harrison , the voice of a generation and one of the greatest songwriters of all time in Bob Dylan , the incredible artistry of legendary Roy Orbison , and 70s and 80s super rock stars, Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and of course the much loved Tom Petty .

CD Track Listings:

• “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 the Light” – 3:37
• “Margarita” – 3:15
• “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” – 5:30
• “End of the Line” – 3:30

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3

Released October 29, 1990. The group’s second and final studio album was released two years after the first album. The album saw the return of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty reprising their roles as Nelson/Spike Wilbury (George Harrison), Clayton/Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne), Charlie/Muddy Wilbury (Tom Petty) and Lucky/Boo Wilbury (Bob Dylan). Sadly Roy Orbison whose name in the band was Lefty Wilbury passed away before the group recorded their second album.

• “She’s My Baby” – 3:14
• “Inside Out” – 3:36
• “If You Belonged To Me” – 3:13
• “Devil’s Been Busy” – 3:18
• “7 Deadly Sins” – 3:18
• “Poor House” – 3:17
• “Where Were You Last Night? ” – 3:03
• “Cool Dry Place” – 3:37
• “New Blue Moon” – 3:21
• “You Took My Breath Away” – 3:18
• “Wilbury Twist” – 2:56

TRAVELING WILBURYS COMPILATION ALBUMS

The traveling wilburys collection.

Released June 11, 2007. The final Traveling Wilburys release was a box set that contained both original albums and a DVD that was filled with the group’s music videos and a short 24-minute documentary. Additionally, there were four bonus tracks released on the box set that were split between the two CDs of the original albums.

Disc One: CD

• “Congratulations” – 3:30
• “Maxine” – box set bonus track
•  “Like A Ship” – box set bonus track

Disc Two: DVD

• The True History of the Traveling Wilburys documentary
• “Handle with Care”  – Music video
• “End of the Line” – Music video
• “She’s My Baby” – Music video
• “Inside Out” – Music video
• “Wilbury Twist” – Music video

Disc Three: CD

• “Where Were You Last Night?” – 3:03
• “Nobody’s Child” – box set bonus track
• “Runaway” – box set bonus track

Complete List Of Traveling Wilburys Albums And Songsarticle published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at end of the article.

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Be the first to know when a new article is published

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Related Posts

Complete List Of Gayle Albums And Songs

Complete List Of Tommy Shaw Albums And Discography

Complete List of Kittie Albums And Discography

Complete List Of The Fixx Albums And Discography

Complete List Of Mercury Rev Albums And Discography

Complete List Of Anne-Marie Albums And Discography

About the author.

Brian Kachejian

Brian Kachejian was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of ClassicRockHistory.com. He has spent thirty years in the music business often working with many of the people who have appeared on this site. Brian Kachejian also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stony Brook University along with New York State Public School Education Certifications in Music and Social Studies. Brian Kachejian is also an active member of the New York Press.

Add Comment Cancel Reply

 Yes, add me to your mailing list

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .