Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. That's quite a lineup. The kind of lineup you might expect something truly epic from. Not at all what you would get, thankfully. The Traveling Wilburys was all about its band members having a really great time. It was a mythic jam session that got well out of control and went platinum. Why perform under a bunch of fake names and make up some elaborate silly backstory about a nomadic tribe of musicians when everybody is well aware of who you are and you make absolutely zero attempt to hide it? Well, because it's fun to make stuff up. That is the entire ethos of this group - a bunch of extremely talented people, legends in their own time, just kicking back without any ego and having a great time with their friends. I can get behind that. It really comes through in the songs, it really does sound like they're having a great time. Dylan's crazy improvisation of "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is still hilarious. Likewise George Harrison's concept of random words picked out of magazines for the closing section of "Dirty World". "Handle With Care" and "End of the Line" are still oddly touching.
TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL.1
Original released on LP Wilbury Records 25796-1
(US 1988, October 25)
TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL.3
Original released on LP Wilbury Records 26324-1
(US 1990, October 23)
The second album (Vol. 3, another instance of them just playing around) is hurt a bit by the loss of Orbison. I can't say exactly what it is, but there just seems some spark missing. It's still sounds like good times with friends though, if rather than a mixture of their styles, it comes off more like a series of songs that could be outtakes from the albums each of the members were working on at the time. The stabs at political consciousness don't really help (like "Inside Out"), although it still sounds like they're just messing around, and there is still much to enjoy here (I especially like "Cool Dry Place"). The DVD included in the set contains a bunch of footage from the original recording sessions, which is pretty illuminating, showcasing just how much of a 'hanging out with friends' project the whole thing was. Also all the original videos which are all pretty basic and charming if wonky, with "The Wilbury Twist" featuring John Candy dancing, and "End of the Line" (having been made shortly after Orbison's death) genuinely affecting with an empty chair with a guitar on it standing in for Orbison. No, it isn't genius, and lord help us if that's what they'd been going for, because it would have been a disaster. This is old-timey rock and roll and that's all it needed to be. With a group of great songwriters just having a fun time writing songs to entertain themselves and each other, the result is pure entertainment, a great party album. The collection adds an interesting DVD, four pretty good bonus tracks (three of them previously unreleased plus non-album track "Nobody's Child") including a cover version of Dion's "Runaway", a bunch of postcards and photos from the sessions, and a book detailing the real history of the band, a fake history of the nomadic Wilbury family, and a guide on how to do "The Wilbury Twist". Class act. (in RateYourMusic)
At the time Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' debut was released in 1976, they were fresh enough to almost be considered punk. They weren't as reckless or visionary as the Ramones, but they shared a similar love for pure '60s rock and, for the Heartbreakers, that meant embracing the Byrds as much as the Stones. And that's pretty much what this album is - tuneful jangle balanced by a tough garage swagger. At times, the attitude and the sound override the songwriting, but that's alright, since the slight songs ("Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll," to pick a random example) are still infused with spirit and an appealing surface. Petty & the Heartbreakers feel underground on this album, at least to the extent that power pop was underground in 1976; with Dwight Twilley providing backing vocals for "Strangered in the Night," the similarities between the two bands (adherence to pop hooks and melodies, love of guitars) become apparent. Petty wound up eclipsing Twilley because he rocked harder, something that's evident throughout this record. Take the closer "American Girl" - it's a Byrds song by any other name, but he pushed the Heartbreakers to treat it as a rock & roll song, not as something delicate. There are times where the album starts to drift, especially on the second side, but the highlights - "Rockin' Around (With You)," "Hometown Blues," "The Wild One, Forever," the AOR staples "Breakdown" and "American Girl" - still illustrate how refreshing Petty & the Heartbreakers sounded in 1976. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)
