|
Spotlight...
on
The Traveling
Wilburys
(The other Super Band...)
The Traveling Wilburys (1988-1990) were a great example
of how good things can actually get when superstar
musicians get together and say, "Wouldn't it be cool
if...?" Pictured here with both sets of "Wilbury" names
in order (Vol1/Vol3)
Speaking of Super
Bands...okay, I can't
resist doing this, even though I can't believe there is actually one (poor) soul in the whole
world who hasn't heard of these guys or this band, and
so I'm sure this page is entirely unnecessary.
However, as an avid George Harrison fan (and a
fairly serious admirer of the other guys' talents, as
well) having the opportunity to do a tribute page on the
Traveling Wilburys is something of a dream, and quite
frankly, irresistible, now that Wakin's become part of
the Super Band. So...I beg your indulgence,
please, even if I'm talking to the wall....I thoroughly
enjoyed the Wilburys back in the day, and am still a
bit giddy over having downloaded their entire catalog
from iTunes shortly after its release last year--it's
only been about fifteen years since I've heard some of
these songs...okay, anyway! Here we go--
Who they are:
George Harrison (The Beatles), Jeff Lynne (Electric
Light Orchestra), Bob Dylan, Tom Petty (The
Heartbreakers) and Roy Orbison.
What they did: Two
albums and a handful of corresponding music videos.
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988) and The
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. (1990). Oh
yeah--and a lovely 30 minute documentary on the "True
History of the Traveling Wilburys", all of which is
currently available in a box set edition issued in 2007,
available either on disc or at iTunes! (Yes, I own it!)
Signature Tracks:
"Handle with Care", "The End of the Line", and "She's My
Baby".
Points of Note:
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was later
nominated for a Grammy award for "Album of the Year"
(1989), and is also listed as #70 on Rolling Stone's top
100 albums of the 1980's.
Traveling Wilburys FAQ's
Where did they get their name?
George Harrison and Jeff Lynne coined the term during
the making of Harrison's Cloud Nine, to refer to
mistakes made during the recording process that could be
easily covered up during the mixing process.
"Wilburys"="we'll bury" them in the mix.
Why do
they have "Wilbury" names?/Why do they have more than
one "Wilbury" name?
Much of the whole Traveling Wilburys project was done
"tongue-in-cheek", or in other words, all in fun.
Basically the guys created the idea of this roving band
of musicians, and what that would look like if it were
true. This included the made-up names. Why
they picked new names for the second album, I don't
know. That may have been in honor of Roy Orbison,
who sadly died of a heart attack shortly after Volume
1 was released.
What Happened to Volume 2?
There never was a Volume 2! Some say
that perhaps Volume 2 was bootlegged. George
Harrison himself once said (tongue-in-cheek) that they
did record a volume 2 but it was stolen. Some say
that Volume 2 was Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever,
since Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne also
performed on that album. Still another faction, on
a more somber note, believes that they skipped Volume 2
to pay tribute to Roy Orbison. But the real answer
is that skipping Vol. 2 was a practical joke of George
Harrison's, to see how many people would actually go
through their local record store tearing up the place to
find the non-existent album! (It worked! I've
broken the news to many frustrated shoppers myself.)
In
fact, much of the Wilbury's success can be attributed to
the guys light-hearted approach to the whole thing.
Many of the songs have fun, quirky lyrics ("Its a
Dirty World", "Wilbury Twist" and "Cool Dry Place" are
three of my favorites for this.) But the music quality
is fantastic, as you'd expect coming from these guys,
and the songs have a great eclectic, yet homogenous
feel. Their main goal in the group was to have
fun, and to enjoy writing and recording music with each
other. Their simple formula paid off--the result
was a fusion of their five different, yet compatible
musical styles creating a whole new sound that is
refreshing and upbeat--a sound that only belongs to the
Traveling Wilburys.
What
on EARTH does any of this have to do with Wakin Chau?
Apart from the
fact that Wakin loves the Beatles (which makes for a
good excuse for the webmaster)--hit the "next"
button to find out!
|
