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June 1, 2007
Over the years, countless musical gatherings have been referred to as
"supergroups." But what do you call a band that not only marked the only
extended collaboration between a Beatle and Bob Dylan, but also added a couple of other Rock
and Roll Hall of Famers and a mega-platinum producer/songwriter to the mix? For
reasons probably best left as an elaborate inside joke, apparently you call it
the Traveling Wilburys -- and now the band's complete recordings
are back in stores, after being unavailable for over a decade.
It's kind of mind-boggling to think about Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne working side-by-side for an album project. But
it's truly unbelievable that they actually did it twice (minus Orbison the
second time around -- he passed away soon after the first album's release in
1988).
The creation of the Wilburys seems both entirely accidental and completely
fated. Electric Light Orchestra mastermind Lynne produced Harrison's
smash 1987 album, "Cloud Nine" -- his first release in five years (and his first
U.S. Top 10 in a dozen years). Harrison needed a B-side for a single in Europe,
and he asked Lynne to help. At the time, Lynne was working with Orbison on "Mystery Girl," his majestic comeback project. After Orbison
volunteered to lend his voice to the new song, Harrison had to swing by Petty's
house to pick up his guitar -- and, of course, Petty was eager to join in the
fun. By the time the group went in to record, Dylan had gotten wind of the
project and signed on to help.
The connections between these superstars ran deep. Harrison and Dylan's
friendship dated back to the '60s; Harrison had recently contributed to Petty's
Lynne-produced single "I Won't Back Down." Petty had spent the mid-'80s touring
with Dylan. And one thing they all shared was a love of Orbison's incomparable
voice.
The song they came up with together was an irresistible hard-luck lament
called "Handle With Care," and when Harrison played it for his label heads,
legendary record men Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker, they immediately urged him to
turn this into something more than an international B-side. Harrison took the
initiative and somehow convinced everyone to see where this whole band idea
might lead. The songs they created together ranged from the classic Orbison
drama of "Not Alone Anymore" to Dylan delivering what seemed to be a spoof of Bruce Springsteen's Jersey-based epics on "Tweeter and the
Monkey Man." The resultant album -- "The Traveling Wilburys, Volume 1" -- sold five
million copies worldwide, reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts and won a
Grammy.
Though the album's title seemed to be a joke about the impossibility of ever
pulling off this all-star team again, in fact Harrison was talking about touring
and keeping the Wilburys as an ongoing project. Orbison passed away just two
months after the album's release, though, throwing those plans into disarray.
But two years later, the four surviving Wilburys reconvened and, against all
odds, made another album. Given Harrison's Monty Python-esque sense of humor,
the title was probably inevitable -- "The Traveling Wilburys, Volume 3."
The record didn't sell as well as its predecessor, peaking at No. 11, but
truth be told, it's actually an improvement, more spontaneous and fun and harder
rocking. Again, there was talk of live performances and more collaborating. But
Harrison's failing health through the '90s and, ultimately, his death in 2001,
made any further Wilbury adventures impossible.
With the release of both albums as "The Traveling Wilburys Collection" --
complete with a handful of bonus tracks and a DVD collecting their music videos
with a documentary of unseen footage -- Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne recently got
together to discuss one of the most historic side projects rock and roll has
ever seen. "It was an amazing cast of characters," says Petty. "Great
friendships were made there. There was a lot of love in that band."
MSN MUSIC: To start with a mundane business question, why have these
albums been out of print for so long?
Lynne: That's a very good question. I have no idea why. People are always
asking me, why isn't that Wilburys stuff available?
Petty: I think our record deal ran out, and I guess we never got it together
to renew it.
Read more of this exclusive interview on page 2
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