Album Club, August 2016: The Travelling Wilburys – ‘Volume 1’

The Album Club choice for August comes courtesy of Barry with The Travelling Wilburys - ‘Volume 1’.

As always, please listen to the album in its entirety before you vote.



The Travelling Wilburys ‘Volume 1’

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....CL._SY355_.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_Wilburys


The Travelling Wilburys are in my opinion the best supergroup ever assembled. Formed in 1988, The Wilburys consisted of Jeff Lynne (ex The Move and ELO), Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and George Harrison.

What I like about this album is here we have five consummate performers, each having had success on their own terms, coming together to play music, to enjoy themselves and not to have anything to prove. Despite having several vocalists in the group, different tracks feature different soloists, with the others joining in the chorus. Likewise the various tracks, whilst jointly penned and credited to The Travelling Wilburys, display the individual compositional style of the various members. For example: Track 2 ‘Dirty World’, not only has Bob Dylan singing, but sounds very much like a track he would have written himself.

There are 12 tracks on ‘Volume 1’:

1. Handle With Care
2. Dirty World
3. Rattled
4. Last Night
5. Not Alone Any More
6. Congratulations
7. Heading for the Light
8. Margarita
9. Tweeter and the Monkey Man
10. End of the Line
11. Maxine (bonus track on the CD version)
12. Like a Ship (bonus track on the CD version)

I can’t really single out any favourite tracks – they are all sufficiently varied for me to appreciate and enjoy them all. But if I did have to make a ‘Desert Island’ choice it would be track 10: ‘End of the Line’.

If you’re not moved to at least get up and bop around the room on the more up-tempo numbers, then I’m afraid sadly there is no cure for you.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hO4YtXUFJiUYS2uYFvHNK

Incidentally you might be wondering about the rather prosaic title: ‘Volume 1’. Well this is because there was a ‘Volume 2’ and a ‘Volume 3’. Volume 2 was a DVD of the Wilburys performing tracks from Volume 1 and from the later released (in 1990) ‘Volume 3’. (Sadly Roy Orbison died before the second recording was made.)

Finally the performers are credited as:

Lucky Wilbury – acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals

Otis Wilbury – keyboards, guitars, lead and backing vocals

Charlie T, Wilbury Jnr – acoustic guitars, lead and backing vocals

Lefty Wilbury – guitars, lead and backing vocals

Nelson Wilbury – guitars, lead and backing vocals.

(It is left as an ‘exercise to the reader’, to work out who is who.)

Superb choice for me as its one of my favs... in my collection too... Messrs Dylan, Petty, Beck, Harrison & Orbison all have a ball, and work really well together, with no-one trying to out do the others...Not Alone Any More is my personal favorite but they are all good. strong 8 out of 10....maybe 9

Also in my collection and gets regular use, just such a shame that they can no longer be all together again.

I really feel like I should love this album and I have tried many times to get into it and enjoy it. This latest attempt has fallen flat again however. I'm trying to put my finger on why:
I love all of the artists involved. I love the idea of supergroups and it's always really exciting when a bunch of very prominent and capable musicians come together to make an album. But this just leaves me cold. I think number one culprit is the production. I love Jeff Lynne's work with ELO and it has a very distinct sound, but at the same time it doesn't really have much in the way of dynamics or contrast and I think this album sounds a bit constricted as a result of that. I'd love to know what this would have sounded like if it had had more the sound of a band playing live and got someone like Glyn Johns or dare I say Steve Albini to do the recording engineering and given everyone the space to be heard in the mix.
Very much a meh! (5) for me.

I also listened all the way through but unfortunately it sounded like a group of lads on a jamming session , No one track jumped out at me as a :wow: All sort of OK ish , I would not buy this album and probably won't go out of my way to here it again

Sorry :(

All great musicians in their own right but for me only a 7/10.

Never liked it, sorry, 1 out of 10

Quote:

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Originally Posted by high.spirits

All great musicians in their own right but for me only a 7/10.

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Agree with this.

Well it seems that most of you liked it, that is, rated it 5/10 or higher.

Thanks for listening.

Haven't listened to this for years.

Three of my favourite solo artists (Dylan, Petty and most especially Roy Orbison) and I also have a soft spot for early ELO.....but somehow this LP never gets near the best of its main contributors...............
Orbison's stunning LP Mystery Girl was released the year after the first Wilburys LP and I'd listen to that over and over.

Still a solid 7/10 from me.