(Credits: Far Out / The Traveling Wilburys)
Sat 15 November 2025 18:30, UK
You’d be forgiven for thinking that every member of the Traveling Wilburys practically shared a brain when they played together.
All of them seemed to be adopted brothers of each other whenever they got guitars in their hands, and if one of them wanted to jam on an old Carl Perkins tune, it didn’t take them long to get on the same page. But even in a band that was this tight-knit, there were bound to be a few disagreements along the way.
After all, any band that has that many legends in it would commonly fall victim to ego problems if it were any other group of guys. While George Harrison was trying everything he could to distance himself from his stardom, none of his bandmates got their heads inflated when they got in there. The goal was only to make a bunch of great songs, but even then, there were some pieces that were lost in translation as well.
All of them had a healthy respect for the sounds of Americana music, but it’s not like Harrison or Jeff Lynne were going to know everything about what Bob Dylan was singing on ‘Tweeter and the Monkey Man’. Even if they had to take their foot off the gas more than a few times, they could always keep the train rolling until the one day when one of their own passed away.
And while Roy Orbison’s death cast a dark shadow on the rest of the band, Harrison wasn’t looking to spend that time sulking. He wanted to make another fun album, and Vol. III did at least give them a chance to work on some new ideas that they wouldn’t have tried before like on ‘The Devil’s Been Busy’ or the strange dance tune ‘Wilbury Twist’. Lynne was not as keen on doing another Wilburys record, but Harrison wholeheartedly embraced it.
Compared to the first record, Harrison even felt that their sophomore release was even better, saying, “I think in a way, it’s a stronger record. It’s more integrated. The first one was so new to us that we didn’t know what was going to come out of it. We were more comfortable.” And for someone who spent the entirely of the ‘Handle With Care’ video scowling into the camera and occasionally throwing in a backup vocal, even Dylan seemed to be in high spirits.
While Dylan is far from the most jovial person to talk to, he did have a very positive reaction to the record, saying, “Last time it was a pretty rushed affair. A lot of stuff was just scraped up from jam tapes. This time, there was a whole lot left over. The songs are more developed. If people liked the first one, they’ll love this one.” Judging by the songs, there’s also a Dylanesque mood to the record, with everything feeling like it was recorded on the right weekend when everyone was in good spirits.
Then again, it makes sense why Dylan would like this record. I mean, for one, he got to sing a little bit more. It helps when you are short one of the greatest rock and roll singers that ever lived, but there were also tracks that feel indebted to Dylan’s like ‘If You Belonged To Me’ and the bridge of ‘New Blue Moon’ with the various ‘yahoos’ that he throws into the mix.
Although Lynne might be right about the debut album being a little polished, Vol. III does end up having a lot more character because of how ramshackle it can sound. It’s not necessarily the first album that you show to people if you want them to truly “get” what the band was all about by any stretch, but when Harrison talked about wanting to be in this kind of group for the rest of his life, this is probably a lot closer to the music that he had in his mind.
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