Nearly twenty years after the creation of the band, and over a decade since the music was last available to fans, the music of The Traveling Wilburys will be reissued on June 12th in the U.S. and June 11th worldwide. Rhino Entertainment has announced the project and will distribute the package from the Wilbury Records label.
The previously released albums ‘Traveling Wilburys Volume 1’ and ‘Traveling Wilburys Volume 3’ feature inarguably some of music's greatest singer- songwriters - George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan - as the iconic band The Traveling Wilburys.
Both CDs will be combined into one release, ‘The Traveling Wilburys Collection,’ and will feature bonus tracks of rare and newly mixed previously unreleased music along with a bonus DVD featuring a 24-minute documentary showing unseen footage of the Wilburys and their five video clips.
* Standard Package - features 2 CDs (Volumes 1 and 3) with bonus tracks, bonus DVD of content and a 16-page collectible book.
* Deluxe Edition Set - Linen-bound deluxe edition features 2 CDs (Volumes 1 and 3) with bonus tracks, bonus DVD, and a 40-page collectible book with photos, original liner notes, new liner notes and a uniquely numbered certificate of authenticity.
* Vinyl Edition - features 2 vinyl releases of Volumes 1 and 3 with an additional 12-inch featuring bonus tracks, a collectible album-sized book, plus additional postcards/posters.
* Digital Edition Bundle - features downloadable editions of both CDs (Volumes 1 and 3) with bonus tracks, video content and an interactive booklet.
The Traveling Wilburys release marks the first time in ten years the product has been issued. Marking the occasion, Rhino Entertainment President Scott Pascucci commented, "We're honored to be involved with making the music of this extraordinary group available again."
In trying to explain how the Wilburys originally came together, George Harrison once said, "The thing about the Wilburys for me is - if we'd tried to plan it, or if anybody had said, let's form this band and get these people in it - it would never happen, it's impossible. It happened completely, just by magic, just by circumstance. Maybe there was a full moon that night or something like that. It was quite a magical little thing really."
George Harrison needed a B-side song to accompany a European single release from his widely regarded Cloud Nine album. While in Los Angeles, George approached Jeff Lynne for help with the B-side, since he had co-produced the album. It happened that Jeff was working with Roy Orbison on the upcoming Mystery Girl album. Roy readily agreed to lend a hand in the musical effort.
As fate would luckily dictate, George's guitar was at Tom Petty's house, and he too offered to join in and make some music. When the group showed up to record, Dylan also lent a hand to help complete the half-finished song George had written.
George has often been quoted as saying, "And so everybody was there and I thought, I'm not gonna just sing it myself, I've got Roy Orbison standing there. I'm gonna write a bit for Roy to sing. And then, as it progressed, then I started doing the vocals and I just thought I might as well push it a bit and get Tom and Bob to sing the bridge." The final result was a song called "Handle With Care."
George later said, "I liked the song and the way that it turned out with all these people on it so much that I just carried it around in my pocket for ages thinking, well what can I do with this thing? And the only thing to do I could think of was do another nine. Make an album."
The album they created was called the ‘Traveling Wilburys Volume 1’ - a playful nod to the reality that subsequent volumes were unlikely. ‘Volume 1’ was released in October 1988 preceded by the single "Handle With Care." The album achieved wide critical acclaim, and most critics agreed that the music was so extraordinary because of the modest ambitions of the band, which translated to a fresh and relaxing sound. Rolling Stone Magazine instantly called it one of the Top 100 Albums of all time.
The album also saw commercial success; it reached #3 on the Album charts, garnered double-platinum status and earned the group a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
In 1990, following the unexpected death of Roy Orbison in December 1988, the remaining members reconvened to record ‘Traveling Wilburys Volume 3,’ dedicating the album to Lefty (Roy) Wilbury. With Harrison and Lynne producing again, both "She's My Baby" and "Wilbury Twist" became radio hits as the album reached #11 in the U.S. and achieved Platinum success. Amazon . Visit the music database for more information.
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