The Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990)

The Traveling Wilburys (sometimes shortened to the Wilburys) were an English-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. The band recorded two albums in 1988 and 1990, though Orbison died before the second was recorded.
The Traveling Wilburys built upon George Harrison's comeback with Cloud Nine and helped revitalize the other supergroup members' careers, setting the stage for Bob Dylan's 1989 comeback with Oh Mercy, Tom Petty's first solo album, Full Moon Fever, produced by Jeff Lynne (sounding and feeling strikingly similar to this lark), and Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl, which was released posthumously. Given the success of this record and how it boosted the creativity of the rest of the five, it's somewhat a shock that the second effort falls a little flat.
In retrospect, Vol. 3 plays a little bit better than it did at the time it's the kind of thing to appreciate more in retrospect, since you'll never get another album like it but it still labors mightily to recapture what came so effortlessly the first time around, a problem that can't merely be chalked up to the absence of Orbison (who after all, didn't write much on the first and only took lead on one song).
Where the humor flowed naturally and absurdly throughout the debut, it feels strained on Vol. 3  nowhere more so than on "Wilbury Twist," where Petty implores you to put your underwear on your head and get up and dance, the epitome of forced hilarity and the production is too polished and punchy to give it a joie de vivre similar to the debut.
That polish is an indication that Lynne and Petty dominate this record, which only makes sense because they made it between Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open, but it's striking that this sounds like more like their work, even when Dylan takes the lead on "Inside Out" or the doo wop-styled "7 Deadly Sins." Both of these are quite good songs and they have a few other companions here, like the quite wonderful country stomp "Poor House," but they're songs more notable for their craft than their impact nothing is as memorable as the throwaways on the debut and when combined with the precise production, it takes a bit for them to sink in.
But give the record some time, and these subtle pleasures are discernible, even if they surely pale compared to the open-hearted fun of the debut. But when paired with the debut on this set, it's a worthy companion and helps support the notion that the Traveling Wilburys were a band that possesses a unique, almost innocent, charm that isn't diminished after all this time.

Track listing

01. "She's My Baby"  - 3:15
02. "Inside Out"  - 3:35
03. "If You Belonged to Me"  - 3:13
04. "The Devil's Been Busy"  - 3:18
05. "7 Deadly Sins"  - 3:17
06. "Poor House"  - 3:16
07. "Where Were You Last Night?"  - 3:03
08. "Cool Dry Place"  - 3:37
09. "New Blue Moon"   3:20
10. "You Took My Breath Away" - 3:18
11. "Wilbury Twist"  - 2:58

Bonus tracks on 2007 re-release in The Traveling Wilburys Collection box set
12. "Nobody's Child" (Cy Coben, Mel Foree) - 3:28
13. "Runaway" (Max Crook, Del Shannon) - 2:30

All songs written and composed by Traveling Wilburys, except where noted.

Credits
Clayton Wilbury (Jeff Lynne) – acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, lead & backing vocals
Spike Wilbury (George Harrison) – acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, sitar, lead & backing vocals
Boo Wilbury (Bob Dylan) – acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead & backing vocals
Muddy Wilbury (Tom Petty) – acoustic guitar, bass, lead & backing vocals

Additional personnel
Jim Keltner – drums, percussion
Jim Horn – saxophones
Ray Cooper – percussion
Ken Wilbury (Gary Moore) – lead guitar on "She's My Baby"
Eric Idle (as Prof. "Tiny" Hampton) - liner notes
Producer - Clayton Wilbury and Spike Wilbury

Notes
Release date: October 29, 1990 (US)/ November 4, 1990 (UK)
Recorded: April–May 1990
Genre:  Rock
Length: 42:05
© 1982

Label - Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records

The Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys Vol.1 (1988)

“The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1” is the debut album by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and was recorded and released in 1988 to commercial success and critical acclaim.
There never was a supergroup more super than the Traveling Wilburys. They had Jeff Lynne, the leader of ELO; they had Roy Orbison, the best pop singer of the '60s; they had Tom Petty, the best roots rocker this side of Bruce Springsteen; they had a Beatle and Bob Dylan, for crying out loud! It's impossible to picture a supergroup with a stronger pedigree than that (all that's missing is a Rolling Stone), but in another sense it's hard to call the Wilburys a true supergroup, since they arrived nearly two decades after the all-star craze of the '70s peaked, and they never had the self-important air of nearly all the other supergroups. That, of course, was the key to their charm: they were a group of friends that fell together easily, almost effortlessly, to record a B-side for a single for George Harrison, then had such a good time they stuck around to record a full album, which became a hit upon its 1988 release.
Looking back, the group's success seems all the more remarkable because the first album is surely, even proudly, not a major statement. Even under the direction of Lynne, who seems incapable of not polishing a record till it gleams, it's loose and funny, even goofy.
It's clearly a lark, which makes the offhanded, casual virtuosity of some of the songs all the more affecting, particularly the two big hits, which are sunny and warm, partially because they wryly acknowledge the mileage on these rock & roll veterans.
"Handle with Care" and "End of the Line" are the two masterworks here, although Roy's showcase, "Not Alone Anymore" more grand and moving than anything on the Lynne-produced Mystery Girl comes close in the stature, but its stylized melodrama is a ringer here: it, along with Dylan's offhand heartbreak tune "Congratulations," is the only slow thing here, and the rest of the album just overspills with good vibes, whether it's Tom Petty's lite reggae of "Last Night," Jeff Lynne's excellent Jerry Lee Lewis update "Rattled," or Dylan's very funny "Dirty World," which is only slightly overshadowed by his very, very funny Springsteen swipe "Tweeter and the Monkey Man."
These high times keep The Traveling Wilburys fresh and fun years later, after Lynne's production becomes an emblem of the time instead of transcending it.

Track listing

01. "Handle with Care"  - 3:20
02. "Dirty World"  - 3:30
03. "Rattled" – -3:00
04. "Last Night"  - 3:48
05. "Not Alone Any More"  - 3:24
06. "Congratulations"  - 3:30
07. "Heading for the Light"  - 3:37
08. "Margarita"  - 3:15
09. "Tweeter and the Monkey Man"  - 5:30
10. "End of the Line"  - 3:30

2007 reissue bonus tracks
11."Maxine"  - 2:49
12."Like a Ship"  - 3:31

Credits
Nelson Wilbury (George Harrison) – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, slide guitar, backing vocals
Otis Wilbury (Jeff Lynne) – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Charlie T. Wilbury Jr (Tom Petty) – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison) – vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (except on "Tweeter and the Monkey Man")
Lucky Wilbury (Bob Dylan) – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
Additional personnelBuster Sidebury (Jim Keltner) – drums
Jim Horn – saxophones
Ray Cooper – percussion
Ian Wallace – tom-toms on "Handle with Care"
Michael Palin – album liner notes
Produced by Otis and Nelson Wilbury (Jeff Lynne and George Harrison)
Engineers – Bill Bottrell, Richard Dodd, Phil McDonald, Don Smith

Notes
All songs written by Traveling Wilburys.
Recorded: April–May 1988, FPSHOT, Lucky Studios and Dave Stewart Studios
Genre: Heartland Rock, Folk Rock
Length: 36:22
Label: Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records

© 1988