I just downloaded the Traveling Wilburys' Collection, which was remastered and released by Rhino records. I've always enjoyed Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 is better than I remember it. The sound quality is greatly hightened.

The Traveling Wilburys on paper are fantastic. The band is made up of:

The greatest rock songwriter of all time (Bob Dylan)

The greatest rock voice of all time (Roy Orbison)

The guitarist from the greatest rock band of all time (George Harrison)

A southern rock icon (Tom Petty)

And a very accomplished producer who fronted one of the more interesting bands of the 70s (Jeff Lynne)

So, what do you think? Does the sum of these parts add up to a great band or were you disappointed with the albums?

I cannot say that the end result (songs)was as great as the components (band members), but wow it sure seemed like those guys were just having fun and a whole lot of it. Top marks in my book.

quote:

So, what do you think? Does the sum of these parts add up to a great band or were you disappointed with the albums?

When the Traveling Wilburys came around the first time, I was a bit too young to appreciate them. I revisited those albums several years ago and thought it was a pretty solid body of work-- especially considering the "side project" nature of the whole thing. In the 80s what other supergroup came close? Asia? The Firm? The Honeydrippers? The Power Station? So was it the sum of its parts? Probably not. Still pretty good for throwaways-- and better than what most of those individuals were doing on their own in the 80s (Petty, maybe being the exception).

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:

quote:

So, what do you think? Does the sum of these parts add up to a great band or were you disappointed with the albums?

When the Traveling Wilburys came around the first time, I was a bit too young to appreciate them. I revisited those albums several years ago and thought it was a pretty solid body of work-- especially considering the "side project" nature of the whole thing. In the 80s what other supergroup came close? Asia? The Firm? The Honeydrippers? The Power Station? So was it the sum of its parts? Probably not. Still pretty good for throwaways-- and better than what most of those individuals were doing on their own in the 80s (Petty, maybe being the exception).

This was a group of guys who had been in the business for a very long time and they were just playing around. Nonetheless, they made some fine music. I wish Orbison was still with us and Harrison as well. Tom Petty? He is the journeyman of musicians along with guys like GEorge Thoroughgood. Ace!

Until I picked up the recent Wilburys collection, it'd been years since I heard the albums. If I remember right, Vol.1 was my favorite album of whatever year it came out. It was such fun and totally joyful. Orbison's spine-tingling voice, that was a killer. The follow-up album didn't get the good marks it deserved. Even though Roy was gone, it was still a fine batch of songs.