Who would be in the present-day Traveling Wilburys?
The coincidental magic that went into making a group like The Traveling Wilburys feels like one of the universe’s happy accidents. Although it shouldn’t make sense that every member of the band be a seasoned legend of the rock scene, every one of them was willing to give it a shot and became one of the most acclaimed supergroups of all time. They had their time in the sun, but what are the chances that something like that could happen again?
Granted, that’s not to say that the modern version of The Wilburys would have sounded the same as what George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan had dreamed up back in the day. Music has progressed by leaps and bounds since then, but are there any artists around today who are carrying on that status of amazing material?
After all, we’ve seen what a modern supergroup looks like with the likes of Boygenius in recent years, who have been compared to the modern-day female-led version of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. CSN had been the trio that steered rock and roll through its turbulent times in the 1970s, but the modern-day version of the Wilburys would be about getting artists together to have some fun.
It should be noted that just because you get a bunch of extremely talented people under one roof doesn’t necessarily mean that lightning is going to strike immediately when they start playing. Then again, if you have everyone serving their role in the right way, you’d be surprised at how much magic they are able to spit out.
A modern-day Traveling Wilburys?
Jeff Lynne – Jack Antonoff
Any good rock band knows that a good producer helps tie everything together. Even if there are some spotty songwriting skills, it takes a producer to hone what a band is good at and make sure it sounds pristine once it comes time to release the album. Jeff Lynne was the kind of musical wonder who could somehow do both, and Jack Antonoff has been carrying that kind of mentality his entire career.
Since turning in time working with everyone from Lorde to The 1975 to Taylor Swift to Lana Del Rey, Antonoff has been a shoo-in for one of the best producers working right now. What really seals the deal for him as one of this generation’s Jeff Lynne is his ability to make perfect pop rock with Bleachers. In a Traveling Wilburys context, Antonoff might not grandstand as much, but he would still be right at home lending backing vocals and occasionally writing a really great song.
Bob Dylan – Laura Marling
Out of all the Wilburys, Bob Dylan has always been the most elusive. Even when everyone seemed like they were having a good time in the ‘Handle With Care’ music video, one of the most unintentionally hilarious parts of it was seeing Dylan scowl throughout the entire thing and look like he didn’t want to be there. While Laura Marling doesn’t have as much of a chip on her shoulder as Dylan seems to, her lyrical depth could add the right level of credibility to the group.
Marling had already come from the same folk backgrounds that Dylan had, and hearing her bounce off of Antonoff’s production style would help sweeten up some of her best material. Even though Marling has the kind of soft croon that most Dylan fans probably wished he had in his prime, bringing in someone with a little more vocal range wouldn’t make for as many clashes when it comes time for everyone to harmonise.
Roy Orbison – Alex Turner
Compared to everyone else in the band, Roy Orbison was always the longshot that could have joined. His time in the sun seemed to be a little bit before everyone else in the group, and it didn’t look like he had the same kind of shared experiences as everyone else. Orbison was still a legend among legends, and for a modern version of that, we would need someone who was a little bit more of a seasoned pro of rock and roll.
While it would be stretching to call Alex Turner an old soul compared to anyone else on the list, he seems to have a few more years under his belt with Arctic Monkeys. Despite their insistence on getting even weirder on The Car, this kind of supergroup could be an excuse for Turner to recharge his batteries by working off other veterans of the indie scene. Since he has fully leaned into the band’s more eclectic sound, Turner joining could be the long-awaited sequel to the Submarine EP we all wanted but never got.
George Harrison – Maggie Rogers
For a man known as one-quarter of one of the biggest bands in the world, George Harrison was always reluctant to be the traditional rock star. Sure, he still fell in line with the pop flavours of the day whenever he got to make a record, but there were just as many opportunities for him to touch on something spiritual in his music as a by-the-numbers love song. While Maggie Rogers might not have the same star power as someone like Harrison, she fits in surprisingly well in terms of her lyrical focus.
Still indebted to the sounds of pop-flavoured music, Rogers coming into the fold might actually be a way of putting that added piece of fair dust into the song. While her last few albums saw her leaning into pop a little bit more, she could help make the album a bit more tuneful when she has someone like Marling working on the lyrical front. She has already found her niche, but being with a group of equals might actually give her a chance to be herself a lot more often than she is on her usual studio output.
Tom Petty – Brian D’Addario
Among the living legends in the group, Tom Petty left many people a bit confused. Sure, he had made some great music, but it felt almost too close to call him a legend in the same breath that George Harrison was. In terms of those who had been trying to evoke that kind of rootsy take on rock and roll, though, Brian D’Addario of the Lemon Twigs might be everyone’s best bet for a (comparative) new kid on the block.
Since Brian and his brother Michael have spent half their lives with instruments in their hands, their music seems more in line with what The Wilburys were doing than anyone else’s. Whereas everyone else in the band has approached rock and roll from their own unique angle, D’Addario could be the glue that helps hold everything together for them. It could be easy for a supergroup like this to become a little too indulgent, but having that Lemon Twigs-style harmony is the perfect way of bringing some good-natured fun into everything.
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