Welcome back to Left of The Dial! This week, we’re exploring an underrated supergroup and their self-titled debut Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.
The Traveling Wilburys were a folk/country rock supergroup consisting of musicians from both the United Kingdom and the United States. They consisted of Nelson Wilbury (George Harrison) on vocals and guitar; Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne) on vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards; and Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. (Tom Petty), Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison), and Lucky Wilbury (Bob Dylan) all on vocals and acoustic guitar. Also deserving of a shoutout is Buster Sidebury (Jim Keltner), who recorded drums for the album. Their first record released in October 1988, and although the group recorded a follow-up in 1990, they ultimately proved to be one of those flash-in-the-pan kinds of moments in rock history that couldn’t be recreated. Though their time was short, it was nonetheless a great run that deserves more recognition in the 21st century.
Traveling Wilburys was a strange case of being both intentional and coincidental with its star-studded lineup. Harrison and Lynne had intentions of forming a band together since 1987 during their sessions for Harrison’s album Cloud Nine, and had discussed wanting Dylan and Orbison to be a part of the project. Petty befriended the duo later that year and got Lynne to help produce his solo debut Full Moon Fever, which also made him an ideal candidate for the group. Harrison was super picky about who he wanted to work with for the Wilbury project, basing his choices mostly on “who you could hang out with.” As for the Wilbury name, it came from an in-joke between Harrison and Lynne about faults in their equipment messing up their recordings, which garnered the remark “we’ll bury ‘em in the mix,” which was simplified to be called a “wilbury.” If so much planning went into the group, then why am I saying it was also a big coincidence? How about we give this record a spin and find out why?
But real quick before we start, I highly recommend you check out the documentary “The True History of The Traveling Wilburys” when you’re done reading this review. It’s free to watch on the band’s YouTube channel, and it documents the group’s creative process for how they made the album. Okay, enough shilling, let’s get to the good stuff!
Side A
Side A contains “Handle With Care,” “Dirty World,” “Rattled,” “Last Night,” and “Not Alone Any More.”
As I stated earlier, the band’s formation is tied heavily to one particular track, and “Handle With Care” is that track. Quite appropriate that the opener was also the metaphorical first pancake for the project.
“Handle With Care” was intended to be a B-side on Harrison’s single “This Is Love” from Cloud Nine. He and Lynne were all set to make the song, and they had invited Orbison to sit in on the session after a luncheon between the three. Needing a studio space last minute, they were able to find that at Dylan’s house, and Harrison invited Petty to the session when he stopped by his house to pick up a guitar. With all 5 members finally together in the studio, they all ended up contributing ideas to the single. The resulting track was deemed too good to be considered B-side material, and so the boys agreed to record 9 more tracks like it and make an album out of the project. Oh, and if you were wondering what filled “Handle With Care”’s place on the “This Is Love” single, that was a track called “Breath Away from Heaven.”
So does “Handle With Care” live up to its rich backstory? Hell yeah! The track is carried by a multitude of acoustic guitars that all blend together perfectly, and Harrison’s vocals on the verses play along extremely well. What takes this track above and beyond, though, is the addition of Orbison’s vocals leading into the chorus, as well as Petty, Dylan, and Lynne’s harmonies layering onto Harrison and Orbison’s voices. It’s a shockingly simple song, but the chemistry between the musicians and the warmth that the instrumentals radiate makes it an essential listen for every music fan!
The next track is “Dirty World.” This time, Dylan took the reins when it came to writing and performing the lead vocals. The difference in writing styles can be tough to cover up on a project like this, but I think the stylistic similarities with the compositions and consistent writing contributions from the rest of the group helped gel things together. I’m not normally a fan of Dylan’s distinct vocal style, but the roughness manages to work with the song’s tongue-in-cheek themes of imperfection in love. The most fun part of talking about this track is how the band recorded the breakdown of “he loves your …” near the end. All of them crammed into the recording booth and improvised funny lines to complete the prompt, with some of them bringing catalogs in to recite random bits from. Some notable highlights are Lynne’s “big refrigerator” and Orbison’s “trembling wilbury.”
“Rattled” is up next, which served as my introduction to this group. Lynne was the leader on this track, and his adoption of a southern drawl really gives the track some strong atmosphere. The composition sets itself apart by being bass-driven with a faster tempo than the last two tracks. Another critical element is the percussion, which has a unique origin thanks to Keltner and the circumstances of the band’s recording space. The remaining 9 tracks of the record were created at Dave Stewart’s home studio, and while he did have a recording booth, it was too small for the group’s desired setup. To work around this, they set up their recording equipment in Stewart’s kitchen for the instrumentals and reserved the recording booth for vocals. This meant Keltner was able to make the kitchen his playground for “Rattled”’s percussion. He recorded the bulk of it by drumming on the inside of the refrigerator, hitting shelves and bottles to get a unique sound. The creativity and casual nature of these sessions really bleed through into the final recordings, which is downright inspirational.
Up next is “Last Night,” which was helmed by Petty. This song leans heavier on the lyrical content, telling the story of a dramatic night laced with thievery and heartbreak. Despite the tragedy of the events that unfolded, Petty’s casual vocal style layers on a dark sense of humor, like “oh, all this terrible stuff happened to me last night, crazy, right?” that I absolutely get a kick out of. The composition is upbeat and incorporates some fun horns to keep with that light tone. It doesn’t ignore the dramatic tension completely; there are a few breakdowns that utilize Orbison’s operatic vocals to highlight the moments of drama in the story. While I’ve explained that certain members took the helm on writing for certain songs, Harrison also held mini auditions to figure out who would do lead vocals on each song. For most tracks, it seemed to work out that whoever led the writing would also sing for that track, but some moments called for a different vocalist. Petty had recorded his own version of the breakdowns on “Last Night,” but the group then agreed that Orbison would be a better fit for those parts, so the final recording features him.
Finally, the track to close out Side A is “Not Alone Any More,” which was written by Lynne and sung by Orbison. Orbison had one of the most distinct voices in the rock-and-roll lexicon, bearing an operatic style drenched in fragility and emotion, which makes it a perfect fit on heavier tracks like “Not Alone Any More,” which relay the feelings of regret after breaking off a relationship, especially when your ex-partner has moved on and you haven’t. What really ties the track together for me are the dramatic string bits that give off the feeling that things are spiraling out of control. It’s a little scary, but there’s some beauty in it too. With that, it’s time to flip the record over and check out Side B.
Side B
Side B has “Congratulations,” “Heading for the Light,” “Margarita,” “Tweeter and the Monkey Man,” and “End of the Line.”
If you were hoping that this side would open with something uplifting after “Not Alone Any More,” then you’re going to be a little disappointed at first with “Congratulations.” Don’t take that as a bad thing though, because this track is drenched with an infectious sense of tension and emotion that makes it a hell of a listen. Dylan took the helm on writing and vocals for this one, and like his work on “Dirty World,” his style lends well to the lyrical themes, which serve as a bitter kiss-off to a partner that broke the relationship off. His inflections give the lyrics some heavy sarcasm, while the occasional hints of vulnerability that bubble up add so many layers of emotion to the track, which perfectly encapsulate the mixed feelings of a breakup.
“Heading for the Light” is the next song, which is also a personal favorite of mine. Harrison was the leader on this track, which feels appropriate with the song’s themes of optimism in the face of darkness. The term “heading for the light” might make you think of death at first glance, with the light being a metaphor for the Pearly Gates, but the lyrics make it abundantly clear that the term is meant to be taken literally in this case. I’m inspired by its message to pull yourself out of the ditch and work toward a better situation for yourself, ie head for the light. One line that sticks out to me is “my hands were tied, jokers and fools on either side,” which bears a slight resemblance to a line from Stealers Wheel’s song “Stuck in the Middle with You,” that being “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you.” It isn’t an exact match, but I recall that that song used a vocal style meant to impersonate Bob Dylan’s, and so the line could be an obscure reference to his involvement with the Traveling Wilburys. Then again, I could be looking way too deeply into this, and perhaps it’s just a common metaphor in classic rock songs. Whichever interpretation you believe, it’s some nice food for thought.
Anyways, let’s move on to “Margarita.” Right away, the keyboards set the song apart sound-wise, and the electric guitars continue to give it some unique flavor. There’s also way more variety with the singers, with Dylan, Lynne, and Petty all taking turns on lead. With the multitude of gentle acoustic tunes on this record, “Margarita” shakes things up with its lively sound and vocal variety. While I’m short of things to say about it, I think it’s one of those tracks that’s able to speak for itself, so I recommend you give it a listen.
“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is next, and I’d like you to stop and take a guess who wrote and sang this track based on the name alone. If you guessed Dylan, then congrats, you win the prize, which is absolutely nothing! In all seriousness, this is a great throwback to Dylan’s signature storytelling style, telling an intense drama about two drug dealers and their entanglements with a woman and the law. The story is broken up with the chorus, where the other Wilburys chant together to raise the stakes. It’s the longest track on the record, clocking in at just under five and a half minutes, but trust me, that time will fly by before you know it.
Now it’s time to close out the record with “End of the Line.” Like in “Heading for the Light,” Harrison channeled his optimism toward an unknown future into this song as its head writer. Also like “Handle With Care,” the other members of the band have their moments to shine. As a closing track, it’s hard for me to think of others that come close to having the same sense of bittersweetness as this, and I think part of that came from the music video. Roy Orbison passed away only a few months after the album was released, and so the video for “End of the Line” featured shots of a rocking chair bearing his guitar and photo when his vocals played. On a track with such an optimistic message, it’s an incredibly sweet way for the band to pay tribute to good old Lefty Wilbury. Even in the wake of our own mortality and worst anxieties, as the song goes: “well it’s alright.” It’ll all be okay, and life will go on despite.
Trying to put my heavy biases aside (and failing spectacularly), Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is an incredible lightning-in-a-bottle kind of record. Everything feels like it was done perfectly, and the brotherly chemistry between the band gives the music they made together a sense of fun that simply can’t be replicated. My top three tracks would be “Handle With Care,” “Rattled,” and “Heading for the Light,” which was stupidly hard to narrow down! There are no bottom-tier tracks to be seen here.
Rating: 10/10
Feature Photo designed by Becca Fauteux