Traveling Wilburys “Vol. 1″

sfilzen — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 19:30:38 +0000

Traveling Wilburys “Vol. 1″ released 30 years ago, 1988, probably last week on Oct. 17th or 18th (my usual reliable source for such things kinda dropped the ball and listed its release date as today, Oct. 25th which is most likely incorrect. Oh well). One of the most charming super-groups ever formed, the Traveling Wilburys evolved with a visit by George Harrison to Los Angeles – Jeff Lynne was around, working on albums for Roy Orbison and Tom Petty and they asked Bob Dylan if they could use his home studio. One thing led to another and after Dylan threw some BBQ on the grill, “Handle with Care” emerged and then the rest of the album, which made it to #3 on the US album charts and won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. (I remember reading or hearing somewhere that Dylan’s inspiration for the lyrics/title of “Handle with Care” was some USPS packaging.)

Traveling Wilburys was one of my secret guilty pleasures in ‘88. I listened almost exclusively to punk and new wave back then but grew up on a steady diet of 60′s-era rock (my parents are huge Bob Dylan fans and listened to a lot of Beatles as well) so the guitar-folk-pop blend of Vol. I was familiar and beautiful. The guitar and vocal harmonies are amazing. My favorite tracks include the hit “Handle With Care” which went to #45 on the US Hot 100 chart (#2 on the Album Rock Tracks chart) and to #21 in the UK, the Tom Petty-forward “Last Night,” the Beatles-esque “Heading for the Light” (not surprisingly written by George Harrison, along with Jeff Lynne), the Petty guitar twang of “Margarita” and “End of the Line,” which always made me sad as the video for the single was filmed just after Roy Orbison’s death in December ‘88 and shows an empty rocking chair holding a guitar during his vocals. Even though Dylan usually drives me a bit nuts, I really do like “Rattled” on which he’s heavily featured, though it was written by Lynne, Petty, Harrison and Orbison.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Damn the Torpedoes”

sfilzen — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 19:42:03 +0000

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Damn the Torpedoes” 1979. Backstreet Records. I’ve been a casual Petty fan since forever (being a child of the 70′s I don’t remember a time not hearing some Tom Petty song on the radio) so his death yesterday, October 2nd, was a big loss to the world of music. We don’t have a ton of his recordings on vinyl in our collection but I chose this one because “Refugee” has always been one of my favorites. Damn the Torpedoes is about as classic rock-n-roll as rock can be. It was a huge hit upon its release, reaching #2 on the US charts (the only album stopping it from #1 was Pink Floyd’s monster The Wall) and remained relevant since, included on many best albums of all time lists. From the singles released (“Refugee,” which hit #15 on the charts, “Don’t Do Me Like That,” #10 and “Here Comes My Girl,” #59) to the non-singles like “Even the Losers,” “Century City” and “What Are You Doin’ In My Life?” it is BIG rock with giant production, multiple guitars, powerful keyboards, hard-driving rhythm and of course Petty’s distinct, all-American vocals. Allmusic says “there [is] purpose and passion behind the performances that makes Damn the Torpedoes an invigorating listen. Few mainstream rock albums of the late ‘70s and early ’80s were quite as strong as this, and it still stands as one of the great records of the album rock era.”

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Traveling Wilburys “Vol. 1″

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Damn the Torpedoes”