The Traveling Wilburys’ 10 best songs

Not every supergroup can claim to be genuinely super once they get together. Although most people assume that lightning will strike once they get superstars in a room together, it’s all down to chemistry whether a tune will take off or be completely botched once it makes its way outside the studio doors. Although The Traveling Wilburys were already made up of rock royalty, no one could have predicted how well their songs would work in the context of the supergroup.

Because, really, what classic bands come together purely by accident like this? Even though every member of the group was friends with each other before getting together, the idea of Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan somehow having material left over from their solo careers that sounded this good is one of the strangest happy accidents in all of rock and roll.

And while their debut is considered a stone-cold classic, there are still pieces of their humorously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 that are still among the finest of any of their careers. Even if they didn’t have Orbison in the mix, that chemistry and pure fun were still in the air whenever hearing each of them harmonise with each other.

Whereas most older rock fans would understandably go with a group like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as the archetype for a supergroup, the tunes these rock giants made were more than enough to put them alongside the best side projects in rock history. For a project that seemed like nothing more than a fun jam session, there is still some material on these records that anyone else would count among their greatest hit if they could.

The 10 best Traveling Wilburys songs:

10. ‘Wilbury Twist’ – Vol. 3

Every single member of the Traveling Wilburys was more than a little bit familiar with the blues. Even though the genre had been folded into rock and roll for years, they weren’t above doing the traditional 12-bar style song if that’s what was called for. And while a tune like ‘Rattled’ leaned a little too much into the world of rockabilly, ‘Wilbury Twist’ is the right amount of fun this kind of song needs.

While it stings not having Orbison on the track, ‘Wilbury Twist’ is the kind of nonsensical dance tune that operates as a nice palette cleanser. Since most of the lyrics on the last few albums were penned by Dylan, hearing all of them loosen up taking lead vocals is like hearing them perform in some juke joint, especially when the saxophones come in behind them and when they drag the song out for the elongated ending.

Despite the final tune on Vol. 3 ultimately being the final track they would put together during their tenure, it seems fairly appropriate. Most of them were focused on their own projects at this point, but it’s nice to have a band that started so lighthearted end up in an equally lighthearted place.

9. ‘You Got It’ – Mystery Girl

OK, so this might be a little bit of a workaround. Although there were pieces of the Traveling Wilburys coming together throughout the late 1980s, it didn’t quite solidify until all of them started woodshedding ideas together and ending up with what became their debut. Until then, Roy Orbison was still considered one of the living legends of rock and roll’s golden age, but while another song brought the group under one roof, ‘You Got It’ earned its spot as song number zero.

While the tune is a brilliant solo tune from Orbison’s Mystery Girl, it has all the trappings of a Wilburys classic. From the dominance of acoustic guitars to the layered vocal harmonies, every piece of the band is accounted for, especially with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty helping to pen the tune.

With Harrison adding a few rhythm guitars in the background, all the song needs is maybe a slightly sarcastic line from Dylan, and there would be something for everyone here. Even if some don’t consider this to be a true Traveling Wilburys song, it’s certainly worth revisiting for anyone who hadn’t done their homework on Orbison’s storied career before he ended up joining his fellow legends.

8. ‘New Blue Moon’ – Vol. 3

All of the greatest tunes the Wilburys made felt like a stunning tribute to the rock and roll of days gone by. Compared to the other albums they had made that looked towards the future, some of the best moments on their collective records sounded like they hadn’t listened to a single song that came out past 1968. That’s an easy way for someone to be considered ‘over the hill’, but ‘New Blue Moon’ proves that that mentality works for a reason.

Since Lynne and Petty were about to be knee-deep on the heartland rocker’s album Into the Great Wide Open after Full Moon Fever, this feels like a stop-gap between those sessions where they break out the acoustic guitars for a singalong. Compared to the other Wilburys tracks, the star of the show here is the tight harmonies, which feel like they are somewhere between the Everly Brothers’ harmonies and the kind of girl group voices that became legendary back in the early 1960s.

Most people could have considered this middle-aged rock at best, but given how it sounds, this doesn’t feel like they are mining nostalgia for the hell of it. They wanted to twist those songs inside out, and by adding some better production, ‘New Blue Moon’ feels like a lost relic from the past that happened to get recorded in 1991. 

7. ‘She’s My Baby’ – Vol. 3

For as much star power was among their ranks, there weren’t too many guitar hero moments sprinkled throughout the Wilburys’ discography. Petty once joked that they were the only group in the world with five rhythm guitar players, so the goal was never to make something shredders would immediately want to pick up. When we got the first taste of new Wilburys music with ‘She’s My Baby’, Gary Moore became an honourary member by annihilating the solo.

The song itself is the typical Wilburys affair of talking about the narrator’s love for a woman, but when paired next to Moore’s chops, nothing else really matters. Although Harrison’s delicate touch on the slide guitar suited the material much better, this is where they got some muscle back into their sound when they started to feel a little bit lightweight.

While this was the kind of experiment that screams of being a one-off, it’s nice to see that they were still willing to take chances. They could have simply rehashed the rest of the material they had left over, but this is the kind of solo that not even Eric Clapton could have touched if he were in the group.

6. ‘Not Alone Anymore’ – Vol. 1

There was always a certain equality amongst the band members working with their fellow Wilburys. A room with that many legends could have devolved into an ego contest really quickly, but the entire mentality was to check your head at the door and let the music do the talking. Then again, if anyone wanted to talk about their singing prowess, no one was going to possibly compete with Orbison’s croon on ‘Not Alone Any More’.

Whereas most of the tunes on their debut benefit from everyone giving equally to each song, this song is practically a vehicle for Orbison’s voice, down to what sounds like Lynne and Harrison crooning ‘how long’ in the background as he delivers the kind of operatic performance that’s capable of bringing tears to your eyes.

And when he finally hits those dramatic high notes on the final chorus, most people could probably document when their soul leaves their body listening to it. Even though the idea of The Wilburys seemed like nothing more than a license to print money for record companies, this is where it stops being a joke and starts becoming a real collaborative process.

5. ‘Tweeter and the Monkey Man’ – Vol. 1

Considering where Dylan had been in the 1980s, coming together with the Wilburys could have been very hit-and-miss. His time as a born-again Christian making gospel records did fall on a few deaf ears, and while he was still capable of writing great songs, there was some doubt whether or not they would be taken seriously. After years in the dark, though, Dylan got his signature wit back out for ‘Tweeter and the Monkey Man’.

By far the hardest rocking song on their debut, Dylan’s vision for the tune was to be a mockup version of what Bruce Springsteen would have done. And it’s not like he holds back, either, telling a story about people getting lost on the highway and incorporating phrases that ‘The Boss’ could have used himself, like singing about ‘Jersey girls’ and giving names to these outlaws on the edge of town.

Even though the track could benefit from a different chorus, it’s not a song that’s meant to be a singalong. It may have started life as a Springsteen pastiche, but it became the kind of campfire song that people could sing for hundreds of years like the old cowboys used to do.

4. ‘Heading for the Light’ – Vol. 1

There was a lot of shakiness with George Harrison returning to the fold. Cloud Nine was bound to sound fantastic when it was finally released, but as he got his footing back as a solo artist, getting together with a completely different band was bound to throw anyone for a loop. But while Harrison’s solo career recovered just fine, ‘Heading for the Light’ was far too good to be left on the cutting room floor.

While the production levels are the same as any other Lynne production, the chord progression is everything Harrison’s greatest tracks were meant to be. He was never satisfied taking the easy route, and when he flips what should be a major chord to a minor chord when hitting the main line of the song, it’s a brilliant bit of magic that almost reminds you of those days when Harrison had some other Englishmen beside him.

Although a side project has no right to have a song this good in its ranks, Harrison never really saw it that way. Until the day he died, Harrison referred to the Wilburys as his “other band”, and that meant bringing everything he had to the table if it meant that the end results were going to be fun.

3. ‘Handle With Care’ – Vol. 1

And here we come to the song that started it all. Coming out of the 1980s, Harrison seemed re-energised for the first time since the late 1970s, and with the help of Jeff Lynne, he had finally regained his footing with songs like ‘Got My Mind Set on You’. Right as they got to the 11th hour on the album, they came up one B-side short, and when Harrison cut ‘Handle With Care’, he knew that it was worth more than being a throwaway track.

Bringing in Orbison was already an inspired decision for the chorus section, but working in Dylan’s studio and picking up his guitar from Petty’s house got the wheels turning in Harrison’s head to make it something more permanent. And even though this was the very first one, all of the pieces for the supergroup were already in top form.

While Harrison is dominant, with him singing the verses and playing the slide guitar solo that plays everything out, there’s a certain shimmer coming off the song that’s much more endearing than simply having a Harrison throwaway track. The group had nine more songs to go if they were going to make a complete album, but they didn’t really need that much help if they had laid the groundwork with something this great.

2. ‘Inside Out’ – Vol. 3

After Orbison’s passing following the debut’s release, there was some question as to whether the Wilburys should continue on. None of them seemed disposable, but while they checked their egos at the door for Vol. 3, ‘She’s My Baby’ invited the idea that this would be a completely different take on the group. Once people heard Dylan’s grizzly croon on ‘Inside Out’, though, everyone got faith again.

Despite not having as much vocal shine as Orbison’s voice, hearing the remaining Wilburys play off each other is like watching them support each other through the hard times. And while Dylan’s vocals can be extremely hit-and-miss with people, hearing Petty take over for the choruses and Harrison delivering one of the best bridges in any song ever is more than worth the price of admission.

The song’s kicker has got to be its tuning, which features the tape being played with a little bit, so it doesn’t quite sound in tune. It might make the song an absolute nightmare to play along with, but by adjusting the pitch, ‘Inside Out’ is the first time the group actually sounded like they were making something from a completely different world.

1. ‘End of the Line’ – Vol. 1

Every member of the Wilburys always knew the importance of bringing an album home properly. The Beatles’ greatest albums ended on a major high note, and Dylan knew that leaving someone on a tune that made people think worked wonders on ‘Desolation Row’. There was no time for that heaviness on a Wilburys record, so they settled on one of their most infectious singalongs instead.

With ‘Handle With Care’ starting everything off, ‘End of the Line’ is one of the best ways of showcasing everyone’s talents. While Dylan is left understandably absent behind the microphone, hearing them bouncing off each other to the train-like beat is the best way of watching them cap things off, especially with the assembly-line-esque gang vocals on the ‘alright’ sections.

And while this shouldn’t matter, special attention needs to be paid to the music video, where Orbison is featured in spirit in a rocking chair as the train car they’re playing in goes dark. They might have had a look at their own mortality when working on the video for this, but when each of them left this Earth or ultimately bows out for good, there’s a good chance that this song is playing in their heads to help send them off.

Related Topics

This post was originally published on here