Okay, dominating my iPod's output this week is the recently remastered and boxed collection of Traveling Wilburys albums (vol.1 & 3... I know, they skipped vol. 2). I hadn't heard any of this stuff since it came out in '88, aside from the couple of radio staples that we still hear in the supermarket from time to time.
DAMN! This stuff is a joy to listen to.
If you don't know about the Traveling Wilbury's here's a brief recap: George Harrison (of the Beatles... Duh) was in the process of making his immensly successful Could 9 album with Jeff Lynne (ELO) producing. He wanted to write a B-side for the initial radio single, so he called his friend Tom Petty (who was holding onto George's guitar for some reason) to help him out. Jeff and George called Bob Dylan to see if they could use his studio to record. Roy Orbison happened to be tracking for his most recent album... Well, the upshot is that by a "simple twist of fate" (as Dylan coined the phrase), the unprecedented combo was formed... The song, "Handle With Care" was such a joy for the quintet to write and perform that they just kept going. The result is some of the coolest energy ever caught on record.
What I love is that the songs, while fantastic, are second to me... What I get mostly when I listen to this is five friends having fun and nodding to one another's unique talents: The arrangements and instrumental versatility of Jeff Lynne, the easygoing attitude of Tom Petty's songwring and melodic sense, the the grandeur of Dylan's persona and his presence, George Harrison's singular voice, impeccable playing and his gravitas, and the unimaginably beautiful tones of the one and only Roy Orbison. There is a positivity to these recordings (especially vol. 1) that just hits me.
Check it out. Cue up "You're Not Alone Anymore" and tell me that isn't one of the finest songs ever recorded... Roy Orbison nails it. "Heading For The Light" is just wonderful, a George Harrison original that Paul McCartney should rightly praise as Beatles-worthy. "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is pure Dylan, which may not be your cup of tea... But just the fact that these guys rally around it and make it as baffling and twisty a folk crime story as any gunslinger ballad or epic song ever created is just sweet. SWEET, I say.
I love it!
DAMN! This stuff is a joy to listen to.
If you don't know about the Traveling Wilbury's here's a brief recap: George Harrison (of the Beatles... Duh) was in the process of making his immensly successful Could 9 album with Jeff Lynne (ELO) producing. He wanted to write a B-side for the initial radio single, so he called his friend Tom Petty (who was holding onto George's guitar for some reason) to help him out. Jeff and George called Bob Dylan to see if they could use his studio to record. Roy Orbison happened to be tracking for his most recent album... Well, the upshot is that by a "simple twist of fate" (as Dylan coined the phrase), the unprecedented combo was formed... The song, "Handle With Care" was such a joy for the quintet to write and perform that they just kept going. The result is some of the coolest energy ever caught on record.
What I love is that the songs, while fantastic, are second to me... What I get mostly when I listen to this is five friends having fun and nodding to one another's unique talents: The arrangements and instrumental versatility of Jeff Lynne, the easygoing attitude of Tom Petty's songwring and melodic sense, the the grandeur of Dylan's persona and his presence, George Harrison's singular voice, impeccable playing and his gravitas, and the unimaginably beautiful tones of the one and only Roy Orbison. There is a positivity to these recordings (especially vol. 1) that just hits me.
Check it out. Cue up "You're Not Alone Anymore" and tell me that isn't one of the finest songs ever recorded... Roy Orbison nails it. "Heading For The Light" is just wonderful, a George Harrison original that Paul McCartney should rightly praise as Beatles-worthy. "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is pure Dylan, which may not be your cup of tea... But just the fact that these guys rally around it and make it as baffling and twisty a folk crime story as any gunslinger ballad or epic song ever created is just sweet. SWEET, I say.
I love it!
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