I don't know whether to be elated or depressed by The Traveling Wilburys. On one hand you have some of the great musicians of our time: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne putting egos aside to make music. On the other hand, you expect some transcendental songs to come out of this type of project, but you mostly get a batch of barroom burners with the occasional bona fide hit, "Handle Me With Care", "Last Night", "End Of The Line". Even the hits are lightweight, with mostly homogenous lyrics and cliches. I guess this is the result when egos are taken out of the equation as the desire for perfection and precision decreases. But the sense of fun these heavyweights derive from playing together is palpable, as this collection happily bounces between the two records. Unfortunately Roy Orbison died after recording the first Wilbury's record so his majestic voice is under-represented in whole. You basically need to be an asshole not to like the Traveling Wilburys unless you're holding out for the Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele, Mariah Carey supergroup to assemble.
www.travelingwilburys.com
