It almost feels like a mistake that the Traveling Wilburys managed to exist at all.
The thought of having that many legends together in one band simply wasn’t possible at the time, but since they all saw their jam sessions as getting together with a bunch of friends, it was a lot easier for them to leave their egos at the door and have some fun. But it turns out that if you have five legends that know exactly what they were doing, you can manage to put together a damn good rock and roll band when the tape starts rolling.
Granted, it’s not like they didn’t have some help along the way. Getting Dave Stewart’s house to work in was a great help for them, and while Jim Keltner does have his status as ‘sixth Wilbury’ in many respects, his accolades behind the scenes would have more than enough to put him in the big leagues with George Harrison and Roy Orbison had he been worried about putting his name out there.
Then again, being the greatest musician in the world was never a qualifier to get a spot in the band. Harrison wanted to have a band with people that he could hang out with once they stopped playing instruments, and while that did leave them as a band with five rhythm guitarists, it’s not like he didn’t know how to surround himself with people who excelled in their field. Bob Dylan was a huge get, and with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne as the new kids, they had the potential to be one of the most incredible touring acts had they decided to go out on the road.
And when listening to their record, it’s not exactly great in the same way that masterpieces like Dark Side of the Moon are great. Not all of the songs are meant to call too much attention to themselves, but from beginning to end, their debut is the kind of record that’s almost impossible to put down, thanks to its absolute charm, whether listening to ‘Dirty World’ or the kind of operatic voice Orbison unleashes on ‘Not Alone Any More’.
Any other artist would have been shaking to even be in the same room with Orbison, much less be the next person to sing, but when Petty got to singing with the band, he knew he hadn’t sung with people with that much power. Howie Epstein was a fantastic backup singer in the Heartbreakers, but the idea of all those legends singing together was what gave the band a shot in the arm in his mind.
It shouldn’t come as a shock that one of The Beatles knew how to deal with harmonies, but Petty couldn’t believe how well they sounded when they came out of the speakers, saying, “George and Jeff produced the record. Jeff had a huge contribution to all that. And as far as arranging the harmonies, because it was really a harmony group. That’s what we did the best. Jeff was the one who would figure out [the] harmonies, and what we were going to sing. His contribution was enormous to the Wilburys.”
And while Lynne did a lot of the heavy lifting alongside Harrison, it’s a lot easier to hear him shining through the mix half the time. He may have been the least recognisable member once the music stopped, but when listening to everyone sing on ‘New Blue Moon’, there’s a certain sweetness to his voice that none of the other members were able to capture after Orbison passed away.
But those kinds of harmonies didn’t suddenly come on a whim, either. Every member of the band was a clear student of people like The Everly Brothers, and while not every one of their vocals was the most complicated thing in the world, sometimes it’s better to listen to a couple of legends playing off each other for a laugh than trying to outdo one another.
