The Traveling Wilbury albums are being re-released on June 12! I am beside myself with giddiness today!
I don't know how this news escaped me. This is truly a “stop the press” kind of moment. I was wandering around the internet and saw the announcement on Tom Petty's web site. This might be the re-issue of the entire year, even if we do get Beatles' remasters.
The Traveling Wilburys, for those of you who don't know or don't remember, was one of the great supergroups ever: Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. Is that any good? You better believe it. The first album, Vol. 1 was released in 1988 and spawned the marvelous hit single “Handle With Care.” A second album, Vol. 3 was recorded and released in 1990 following the passing of Roy Orbison. Both albums have been out of print for more than 10 years.
I was in middle school in 1988, firmly ensconced in my hair metal period. I grew up on The Beatles and would never have knocked George Harrison, but these were old people making old music. I was indifferent about The Wilburys and forgot all about them until last year.
I went through a pretty serious Petty phase last year. That phase caused me to want to add albums of his I'd previously missed and was reminded of The Traveling Wilburys. I was horrified to discover the albums were out of print and pissed to find out they were fetching a fortune on eBay.
What the fuck is going on with this world when an album that loaded with legendary talent can be out of print? I am sure there was some nasty record label jackassery at work, but the roadblocks that once existed have been cleared and these records are returning to store shelves.
I did get to hear “Handle With Care” last year when I bought Petty's Soundstage live DVD. The experience got even better when I got to hear him perform the song live in Atlanta last fall. Petty started playing the song in concert again when George Harrison's widow, Olivia, asked him to do the song at “The Concert for George.” Since then, “Handle With Care” has been a staple of his live shows and it gets a great response every time he plays it. In other words, this is a song people like even if they haven't been able to buy it for 10 years. It was well past time to get it back in stores, and the wait is nearly over.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i don't remember much about them either. "Handle With Care" and "End Of The Line" (though i had to look that one up to remember). there was also something from the second record where Dylan had this cringe-worthy lyric about a woman sticking her tongue down his throat. yeesh.
anyway, glad the jackassery (dang, i love that word...so appropriate!) has been pushed aside. i'm sure i'll be getting this set.
2 - Mark Dillman
There was a long version of "Handle With Care" that came out on a 10" 45rpm single and a long version of "End of the Line" that came out on a 12" 45rpm single. I have both and I think they are great. I really wish both would be included as bonus tracks. I urge fans to plead to Rhino Records to included both on the reissue coming out in a few months.
3 - Chaz
Bought the originals the day they came out years ago.Big Beatles,Petty,ELO fan.This re-release will be great,especially the bonus tracks which I have heard already.I will definitely get this and the LP version.By the way,the song Mark Saleski is thinking of with the great"She like to stick her tongue right down my throat"line is "She's My Baby",first song on the Volume 3 original release(Gary Moore does the guitar solo on it!)Can't wait and definitely long overdue for such a masterful release of music hierarchy.!!!!
4 - Tom Johnson
Mark D, those will reportedly be on the vinyl version of this set, believe it or not. Vinyl bonus tracks - what is this world coming to.
I'm totally down for this set. I never got into the Wilburys when the albums were available, so I'm pretty excited to see that this is coming out. I think most people that are interested will buy both anyway, which is why they're packaged together. The market for separate discs is probably pretty slim.
5 - Rodney Welch
I never thought they were all that great. It was a novelty act. "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" was pretty funny, though.
6 - sonicarchitect
The first album is flawless, every single track is brilliant and you will not be disappointed. 10 absolute solid gold nuggets of sonic excellence. The remastering job for this new set is superb and I can guarantee you'll love it!
7 - MrG
Huh. I had no idea they were out of print. I bought them both on CD when they first came out, and I still have them. Depending on the quality of the bonus tracks and DVD content, I may have to pick up the re-issues. Thanks for the info.
8 - Ross
This is great news indeed. Though I have both CD's already, I will likely pick up the re-issues anyway, for the DVD if nothing else. It's funny (to me) how infrequently the Wilburys are mentioned when folks talk about 'supergroups' - as they truly are one of the very best.
Tweeter and the Monkey Man & Congratulations have both been on my portable mp3 players for years, along w/ various other tracks making frequent 'appearances' :)
9 - Reg Grundies
Fantastic news! Many consider that "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is/was Mr Zimmerman's best effort.
10 - El Bicho
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is/was Mr Zimmerman's best effort.
It's certainly Zimmerman's best Springsteen effort.
11 - JC Mosquito
I'll fall in with those that thought this was mediocre - man, you'd think if each of these heavyweights would've bought in 2 of their best songs each, this would've been a better album.
12 - The Mod
Vol. 1 is a masterpiece. I was also in a hair-metal mood when this first came out, and ran across this cassette a few months back. It's a fun, smooth album from five superstars making cool music.
If you're only familiar with Handle With Care, the other tracks are absolutely solid. I'm definitely picking up the re-releases, and might pick up a few for some friends.
It should be spread around.
13 - Dannyboy
Holey Moley !!
14 - Gary Owen
When the first Wilburys album was released in late 1988, I was 21 years old. I had always been wise enough to know to stay away from the lame heavy metal hair bands, rap and the like (and very proud to know I was right). I had always been a Beatles fanatic and knew that ANY band featuring George Harrison is going to kick ass. I bought Volume 1 on cassette and vinyl. My brother bought the LP, cassette and CD. We bought the seven inch, the TEN inch (yes 10 inch!) vinyl and three inch and regular CD singles of "Handle With Care" plus all the configurations of the "End Of The Line" single. We followed the same routine two years later with Volume 3 and also bought "Nobody's Child" on 45, 12 inch single, CD single etc. Bla bla bla. These are two of the best albums that were released during the the early days of dreariness that has plagued rock music ever since. I love that they are coming out as 2-fer's and in all different configurations. Hmmmmmmmm....do you think I'll be buying more than one? You guys who have never heard these classics are in for a real treat. Just beware of Volume 3 as it does suffer from one downfall: way too much singing from Bob Dylan.