The Traveling Wilburys Collection by Traveling Wilburys (CD, Jun-2007, 2 Discs, Rhino Records USA)

For the Fabric 1st Release

In 1988, five titans of rock, whom had always wanted to play together informally, assembled for two studio records. The five: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. Many of them had worked in tandems before, but never all five together in some blender version of genius stew. The result was a finely toned mixture of folk and rock Americana even though Harrison and Lynne are Brits. Sadly, Orbison died a couple of weeks after the release of the first album. He didn’t get to contribute to the second album, “Volume 3” (don’t ask me why they named their 2nd album: Vol. 3. Makes no sense to me! )

Tom Petty performed ‘Handle With Care, one of two highly charted singles from the first album, live in concert for years. The first release is generally acknowledged as the most memorable of the two. “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” also got airplay as an FM favorite of alternative radio.

In June of 2007, both hard to find and out of print cds/albums were repackaged and put out as 2-cd and 1 DVD boxset. There are four total bonus cuts of previously unreleased Traveling Wilburys tracks. There are two versions of the boxset: The basic version (Suggested Retail $39.99- sells actually for $29 and up new) and the second ‘Deluxe/Limited Numbered Version (Suggested Retail $69.99 – a good price would be $50-60.)

Usually numbered versions of boxsets appreciate in value, especially if they are indeed limited. Both boxset versions have 2 CD’s and 1 DVD. The Limited boxset also includes a larger thicker box, bigger insert booklet with many more photos of the rockers, postcards and a fabric covered box.

The DVD contains two main elements: a 28 minute rockumentary of the band formation; and five different Wilburys videos. Just like the audio performances, there is a reality-check starkness to the video and audio quality of the DVD. I found it enthralling. Where else can you see five superstars of this magnitude, being humble, natural and just enjoying the moment?

Fans have long awaited a remastering of these long out of print (OOP) cds, and they were treated with a double choice of prime beef rock and roll. Highly recommended and an outstanding gift to the rock collector who already has every known album or cd known to man!

update: in late 2007, due to demand, the label DID re-release both versions of the expensive and inexpensive packaging, but differentiated them from the originals. The fabric box will only be in the first release. The only different between the new and old versions were the fabric box, and the specific numbering of the original releases with serial numbers.