What would one last Traveling Wilburys album sound like?
The Traveling Wilburys were never supposed to hang around for too long. Even though every band member could have easily played that kind of old-time rock and roll with their mates until the sun burned out of the sky, there would always be a time when people would be itching for a new Bob Dylan or Tom Petty album rather than focusing solely on the main supergroup. If the band had decided to stick around for a third record, what would that have actually sounded like?
Granted, that’s if they actually wanted to make another record. As soon as Roy Orbison passed away, any hope of The Wilburys getting back together was dashed almost immediately, only scraping together enough material for one more record before deciding to call it a day and return to their solo careers.
But Orbison wasn’t the core of the band, so how would the surviving members manage to put together another album of material? Each of them was still a fine songwriter in their own right, and in some cases, their best material ended up coming directly after working on these projects, so why not see where they would have gone?
While all of the material that the rock legends released following Traveling Wilburys Vol. III works perfectly on its own, but there are definitely some spots in its catalogue that fit into Wilbury’s collective mindset. Regardless of their different styles, The Wilburys were always a brotherhood, and when you look at where every surviving member was, there was a way to sculpt a decent follow-up album.
Sculpting the perfect Traveling Wilburys follow-up
Jeff Lynne
Let’s start with Jeff Lynne on the basis that there is less to say. That’s not implying that Lynne is one of the lesser of the band, but he was more inclined to settle into life behind the production board than grandstanding in front of the microphone. He did have one solo record to churn out, and half of what he had worked on with Tom Petty was good enough to be on an imaginary Wilburys record.
Maybe it’s just the production talking, but a lot of the best moments from Lynne’s Armchair Theatre saw him in a similar Wilburys mood, featuring songs that were partway between pop rock, rockabilly, and the kind of sunshine-infused music that he was always known for. While there are definite connections to Lynne’s other outfit, none of these tunes fit as ELO songs. But if you added a George Harrison guitar solo, you would have the makings of a great Wilburys track on nearly half the tracklisting.
Tom Petty
Of all the members of rock’s most enduring dad band, Tom Petty was the one who was still the proven hitmaker. For as long as he had been in the rock world, not many sported the number of hits the heartland rocker was still getting by the time he started working with Jeff Lynne on Full Moon Fever. For all of the great songs he made during the 1990s, more than a few tunes never got out of Petty’s system.
Looking back on Full Moon Fever, there are already the makings of great Wilburys tracks on the back half of the record, like ‘Mind With a Heart of Its Own’ and ‘Zombie Zoo’, the latter of which even has Orbison singing some backing vocals. Since the band’s sophomore effort saw them going in a more rootsy direction, Petty may have had the chance to flesh out the music that would eventually end up on records like She’s the One or Wildflowers. You can take Petty out of his circle of friends, but that magic was always bound to rub off somewhere.
Bob Dylan
If there was any member of the group who needed a bit of a career shift during the late 1980s, it was Bob Dylan. He had started to shake off the born-again Christian ideologies he had started in the late 1970s, and getting the chance to play with the Heartbreakers on his solo tour reminded his audience that he still knew how to rock. Most of Dylan’s Wilburys may have been lighthearted, but a future instalment could have been his opportunity to put some depth into their work.
Despite most of the Wilburys’ tunes coming together just for a laugh, Dylan’s tunes on albums like Time Out of Mind would be a good way of bringing everything full circle, like with the excellent ballad ‘Make You Feel My Love’. The supergroup already sounded like a bunch of dads getting together for a jam session, but this would serve as the moment on the record where Dylan offers sage advice as a veteran of rock and roll.
George Harrison
For someone who was billed as ‘The Quiet One’ for the first chunk of his career, George Harrison was never afraid to speak up in the Wilburys. After all, he was the one who started everything, so he might as well have been the one to call the shots in the studio in case a session was going awry. Harrison was known to be blunt, but that came from the heart, and his post-Wilbury output contains the most tuneful tracks in their catalogue.
While we’re limited to just one album with Harrison’s Brainwashed, songs like ‘Any Road’ or ‘Run So Far’ are perfect for his “other” band’s vibe, dominated by acoustic guitars and putting some philosophy into his lyrics. But if there’s any ditty that would have left the project on a high note, it would be his cover of ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’. It’s not the most complicated song in the world, and it might be dominated by ukulele rather than guitar, but the entire charm of a track like this is what the Wilburys were always built for.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.