mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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traveling wilburys, vol 1
Traveling Wilburys, Vol 1 Released: 1988 Rating: 8/10 Track listing: 1. Handle With Care/ 2. Dirty World/ 3. Rattled/ 4. Last Night/ 5. Not Alone Anymore/ 6. Congratulations/ 7.Heading For The Light/ 8. Margarita/ 9. Tweeter And The Monkey Man/ 10. End of The Line The 1980’s was hard times for most musicians that had a career at least one decade prior it. Suddenly a group of friends decided to ignore that rough climate and just get together and do some fun, lightweight music. Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), George Harrison (The Beatles), Tom Petty (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Bob Dylan (Bob Dylan) and Roy Orbison (Roy Orbison) became Traveling Wilburys. An all-star line-up that cannot be matched by any other supergroup in my memory, except for maybe The Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford) and just maybe the Live Aid-cast. The difference between Traveling Wilburys and other similar acts, is that they actually creates something great and worthwhile. It’s not a life-changing record for the listener, but it certainly was for the involved stars. George Harrison made a triumphal comeback the following year with Cloud 9 (produced by Lynne), Bob Dylan finally got on the right track with Oh Mercy after nearly 15 years of weariness and Tom Petty recorded his arguably best album, Fever Moon (which featured all the other Wilburys, bar Dylan). Roy Orbison would have a tribute concert (in which he was joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello among others), resulting in both a live album and a video. He followed that with a studio-album produced by U2’s Bono. The album, Mystery Girl, had an endless list of famous guests and included the major hit single “You Got It”, putting Orbison back on the hit charts where he belonged. Now, this Traveling Wilburys record has no stinkers, but quite a few highlights. Orbison’s “Not Alone Anymore” is one of the most obvious ones, but the album mainly belongs to Dylan and Harrison. Harrison’s “Heading For The Light” and “Handle With Care” are catchy pop-songs in the style you wish he’d would have used more frequently during his inconsistent solo-career. Dylan offers “Tweeter And The Monkey Man”, which is not only the best song on the album, but maybe the best Dylan-penned song since... well, probably since the best moments on Street Legal from 1978. It reminds me of Nick Cave somehow, which is an odd reference. Anyhow, this is surprisingly solid and enjoyable. I think George said it best: ‘It’s alright, even if you’re old and grey’. Indeed, it is.
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