Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
Studio album by Traveling Wilburys
Released October 18, 1988 (US)
October 24, 1988 (UK)
Recorded April–May 1988
FPSHOT, Lucky Studios and Dave Stewart Studios
Genre Heartland rock, folk rock
Length 36:22
Label Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records
25796
Producer Otis Wilbury, Nelson Wilbury
Traveling Wilburys chronology
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
(1988)		 Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA–[2]
Houston Chronicle[3]
MusicHound[4]
Q[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Uncut[7]

The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the debut album by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and was recorded and released in 1988 to commercial success and critical acclaim.[8] It has been certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Background

In early April 1988, George Harrison was in Los Angeles and needed to record a B-side for a European 12-inch single. Jeff Lynne was also in Los Angeles writing and producing some tracks for Roy Orbison on his album Mystery Girl (released posthumously), as well as Tom Petty’s first solo album, Full Moon Fever. While having dinner with Lynne and Orbison, Harrison related how he needed to record a new track and wanted to do it the next day. Harrison asked if Lynne would help, and Orbison offered his old friend his hand as well, seeing how fun it would be. Needing a studio on short notice, Harrison suggested they call Bob Dylan, who had a home studio. Dylan gladly let the group use his studio; and not wanting to intrude, Dylan asked kindly to join. After dinner, George stopped by Petty’s house to pick up a guitar of his, and invited Petty along too. Gathering at Dylan’s Malibu home the following day, they wrote and recorded the song "Handle With Care" in five hours, with all five sharing the vocals.[9]

The track was considered too good to be used as a B-side, so Harrison decided to form a band and record another nine songs for an album. The group got together again for nine days in May, recording the basic tracks and vocals at Dave Stewart’s home studio in Los Angeles. Overdubs and mixing were carried out in England at Harrison’s home studio, FPSHOT (short for Friar Park Studio, Henley-on-Thames).

Masquerading as the Wilbury brothers, the participants would be known as Nelson (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Lucky (Dylan), Lefty (Orbison), and Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) Wilbury with drummer Jim Keltner sitting in as Buster Sidebury. Harrison was no stranger to the use of alternate identities, as he had adopted them with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and with his plethora of pseudonyms as a session musician, such as L'Angelo Misterioso, George O'Hara and Hari Georgeson. This concept, however, was taken a step further: their real names never appear anywhere on the album, liner notes, or even the songwriting credits.

With Harrison having the greatest claim to the band, he signed them up to Warner Bros. Records (which Petty eventually signed to himself, and which, through Reprise Records, released Lynne's solo album Armchair Theatre in 1990), his current label, and incorporated their own Wilbury Records label, in addition to producing the sessions with Lynne that spring.

Songwriting

According to statements by Harrison in the documentary The True History of the Traveling Wilburys (filmed in 1988 about the making of the album and re-released on the bonus DVD included in The Traveling Wilburys Collection), the whole band gave various contributions to all songs, although each song was mainly written by a single member; the joint songwriting credit came from the fact that giving individualized credits looked egotistical.[10]

Lynne commented that the songwriting process was relaxed and enjoyable:

“ We would arrive about twelve or one o'clock and have some coffee. Somebody would say, 'What about this?' and start on a riff. Then we'd all join in, and it'd turn into something. We'd finish around midnight and just sit for a bit while Roy would tell us fabulous stories about Sun Records or hanging out with Elvis. Then we'd come back the next day to work on another one. That's why the songs are so good and fresh — because they haven't been second-guessed and dissected and replaced. It's so tempting to add stuff to a song when you've got unlimited time.[11] ”

However, the publishing credits on the Collection book are more revealing about the actual songwriter, as each of the credited publishers belongs to a single member:

The separation was not repeated for the publishing credits of Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, which show all songs as being published by all four publishers.[12]

Release and aftermath

Released October 18, 1988, Volume One became the surprise hit of the year, selling two million copies within six months in the U.S., reaching No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 16 in the UK. With over 50 weeks on the charts, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was later certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. While Harrison and Petty had had recent successes, Dylan, Orbison (who died of a sudden heart attack on December 6, 1988) 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". The single "Handle With Care" was a significant hit in the UK charts, peaking at No. 21, and an even bigger hit in Australia (No. 3) and New Zealand (No. 4), though it stalled at No. 45 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Most critics said the group's modest ambitions were fresh and relaxing. During 1989 and 1990 the album won many accolades, including a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. The album was also nominated for Album of the Year.

After Harrison’s distribution deal with Warner Bros. expired in 1995, ownership of the Dark Horse Records catalog as well as the two Traveling Wilburys albums reverted to Harrison and the albums went out of print.[13] On June 12, 2007, Volume One and Vol. 3 were reissued by Rhino Records as The Traveling Wilburys Collection, packaged together with bonus tracks and a DVD. The box set debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Traveling Wilburys. 

No. TitleLead vocals Length
1. "Handle with Care"  George Harrison (Bridge: Roy Orbison) 3:20
2. "Dirty World"  Bob Dylan 3:30
3. "Rattled"  Jeff Lynne 3:00
4. "Last Night"  Tom Petty (Bridge: Roy Orbison) 3:48
5. "Not Alone Any More"  Roy Orbison 3:24
6. "Congratulations"  Bob Dylan 3:30
7. "Heading for the Light"  George Harrison (Bridge: Jeff Lynne) 3:37
8. "Margarita"  Bob Dylan/Tom Petty (Bridge: Jeff Lynne) 3:15
9. "Tweeter and the Monkey Man"  Bob Dylan 5:30
10. "End of the Line"  all (Bridge: Tom Petty) 3:30
11. "Maxine" (2007 reissue bonus track)George Harrison 2:49
12. "Like a Ship" (2007 reissue bonus track)Bob Dylan 3:31

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
1990 The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal[14] Won
Album of the Year[15] Nominated

American Music Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
1990 Traveling Wilburys (performer) Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist[16] Nominated

Certifications

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Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[17] 6× Platinum 600,000
Germany (BVMI)[18] Gold 250,000
Sweden (GLF)[19] Gold 50,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[20] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[22] 3× Platinum 3,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1988–89) Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[23] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[24] 3
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[25] 3
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[26] 33
German Media Control Albums Chart[27] 10
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[28] 46
New Zealand Albums Chart[29] 2
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[30] 2
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[32] 6
UK Albums Chart[33] 16
U.S. Billboard 200 [34] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1988) Position
Dutch Albums Chart[35] 99
UK Albums Chart[36] 78
Chart (1989) Position
Australian Albums Chart[37] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[38] 25
Canadian Albums Chart[39] 3
Swiss Albums Chart[40] 20
UK Albums Chart[36] 99
U.S. Billboard 200[41] 8

Decade-end charts

Chart (1980s) Position
Australian Albums Chart[42] 40

Preceded by
Cocktail (soundtrack) by Various artists		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
February 13–26, 1989 		Succeeded by
Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Racine, Martin (1988-11-06). "Records". Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  4. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1164. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  5. ↑ Shaar Murray, Charles (December 1988). "The Traveling Wilburys: Good to see the old folks enjoying themselves". Q. p. 139.
  6. ↑ Wild, David (18 October 1988). "The Traveling Wilburys Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Scoppa, Bud (6 June 2007). "The Traveling Wilburys – Volumes 1 and 3". Uncut. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Chart Stats – The Traveling Wilburys". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  9. ↑ Bauder, David. "Traveling Wilburys album a happy accident of music" The Associated Press December 11, 1988
  10. 1 2 3 The True History of the Traveling Wilburys documentary, The Traveling Wilburys Collection bonus DVD
  11. ↑ "100 Best Albums of the Eighties, No. 70: The Traveling Wilburys Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 Album Review". Rolling Stone. 16 November 1989. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  12. 1 2 The Traveling Wilburys Collection book
  13. ↑ White, Timothy. "Harrison, mates recommission Yellow Submarine" The Plain Dealer July 4, 1999: 1I
  14. ↑ "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  15. ↑ "HERE'S LIST OF NOMINEES FROM ALL 77 CATEGORIES". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  16. ↑ Times Wire Services (1990-01-23). "Milli Vanilli, Travis and Dancers Star at American Music Awards". Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  17. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Traveling Wilburys – Volume 1". Music Canada.
  18. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Traveling Wilburys; 'Traveling Wilburys')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  19. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  20. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Traveling Wilburys; 'Traveling Wilburys')". Hung Medien.
  21. ↑ "British album certifications – Traveling Wilburys – Traveling Wilburys". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Traveling Wilburys in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  22. ↑ "American album certifications – Traveling Wilburys – Traveling Wilburys". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  23. ↑ "australian-charts.com Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  24. ↑ "austriancharts.at Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  25. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-29
  26. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  27. ↑ "Album Search: Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  28. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  29. ↑ "charts.org.nz Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  30. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  31. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  32. ↑ "Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1 - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  33. ↑ "Traveling Wilburys > Artist > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  34. ↑ "allmusic ((( The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  35. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1988" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  36. 1 2 articles with dead external links%5d%5d%5b%5bCategory:Articles with dead external links from February 2016%5d%5d "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts" Check |archiveurl= value (help). Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  37. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  38. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1989" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  39. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  40. ↑ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989" (ASP). Swiss Music Charts (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  41. ↑ articles with dead external links%5d%5d%5b%5bCategory:Articles with dead external links from February 2016%5d%5d "Billboard.BIZ: Top Pop Albums of 1989" Check |archiveurl= value (help). Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  42. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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