Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
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| Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 | ||
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| Studio album by Traveling Wilburys | ||
| Released | 24 October 1988 | |
| Recorded | April - May 1988 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 36:22 | |
| Label | Wilbury/Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | Otis and Nelson Wilbury | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Traveling Wilburys chronology | ||
| Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988) |
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990) |
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Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the debut album by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and was recorded and released in 1988 to enormous commercial success and critical acclaim.
Contents |
[edit] Background
In the afterglow of George Harrison's 1987 comeback album Cloud Nine, he initiated a musical jam early the following year between friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Lynne was involved in producing songs for Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl album and invited him along. At the jam session, an idea was proposed to record a one-off album together under the name of Traveling Wilburys. Masquerading as the Wilbury brothers, the participants would be known as Nelson (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Lucky (Dylan), Lefty (Orbison) and Charlie T. Jnr (Petty).
With Harrison having the greatest claim to the band, he signed them up to Warner Bros. Records, his current label, and incorporated their own Wilbury Records label, in addition to producing the sessions with Lynne that spring.
[edit] The album
In October, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (so named because of the unlikelihood of there being another) was released, preceded by "Handle With Care" as the lead single. Although the single did not scale the pop charts (it stalled at US #45), the album did, reaching #16 in the UK and an impressive #3 in the US. With over forty weeks on the charts, the album was later certified double-platinum. While Harrison and Petty had had recent successes, Dylan, Orbison and Lynne had not seen an album climb that high in several years. At the time, no Dylan album had ever achieved two million in sales. As one critic put it, it was "one of the great commercial coups of the decade."
Most critics said the group's modest ambitions were fresh and relaxing. During 1989 and 1990 the album won many accolades, not least a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
Orbison suddenly died of a heart attack on 6 December 1988, surprising much of the music industry and press. The sleeve cover for "End Of The Line", the group's second single, was photographed four days after Orbison's death. Depicting a guitar in Orbison's rocking chair, it was taken as a tribute. As for Orbison, this album was released at the same time as his Mystery Girl album in 1989, and both their success made Orbison one of two singers (Elvis Presley being the other) to have two albums both reach the charts posthumously.
Both Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and its unexpected 1990 follow-up Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 were deleted in the mid-1990's with rights reverting to Harrison and his estate after his 2001 death. With all of his solo catalogue having reverted to EMI after almost twenty years with Warner Bros. Records, who distributed his Dark Horse Records label, both Traveling Wilburys albums appear set to be re-issued through EMI. Tom Petty was recently quoted to have said that they would be re-released in late 2005, though nothing, as of December 2006, has come of these claims.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by the Traveling Wilburys.
- "Handle with Care" – 3:20
- "Dirty World" – 3:30
- "Rattled" – 3:00
- "Last Night" – 3:48
- "Not Alone Any More" – 3:24
- "Congratulations" – 3:30
- "Heading for the Light" – 3:37
- "Margarita" – 3:15
- "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" – 5:30
- "End of the Line" – 3:30
[edit] Personnel
- Otis Wilbury – keyboards, guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Nelson Wilbury – guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Charlie T. Jnr – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Lefty Wilbury – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Lucky Wilbury – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
[edit] Additional personnel
- Jim Keltner – drum kit
- Jim Horn – saxophones
- Ray Cooper – percussion
- Ian Wallace – Tom toms on "Handle with Care"
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Billboard 200 | 3 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Handle with Care" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1988 | "Handle with Care" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 45 |
| 1988 | "Last Night" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 |
| 1989 | "End of the Line" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 28 |
| 1989 | "End of the Line" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1989 | "End of the Line" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 63 |
| 1989 | "Heading for the Light" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Album/Track |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Grammy Award – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (album) | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Gold | November 24, 1988 |
| RIAA – USA | Gold | January 4, 1989 |
| RIAA – USA | Platinum | January 4, 1989 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | January 20, 1989 |
| RIAA – USA | Double Platinum | March 1, 1989 |
| RIAA – USA | Triple Platinum | August 4, 1994 |
| CRIA – Canada | 6X Platinum | May 26, 2003 |
| George Harrison |
|---|
| Studio Albums |
| All Things Must Pass | Living in the Material World | Dark Horse | Extra Texture (Read All About It) Thirty Three & 1/3 | George Harrison | Somewhere in England | Gone Troppo | Cloud Nine | Brainwashed |
| Live Albums |
| The Concert for Bangla Desh | Live in Japan |
| Compilations |
| The Best of George Harrison | Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989 |
| Soundtracks |
| Wonderwall Music | Concert for George |
| Experimental Albums |
| Electronic Sound |
| Box Sets |
| The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 |
| With Traveling Wilburys |
| Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 |
| Related Articles |
| The Beatles | thenewno2 |
