Part II, Chapter XXV: "Inside Out"
Written with @Drorac
“I think it’s quite easy to overlook the effect that the Traveling Wilburys had on the music industry. Sure, they weren’t hugely groundbreaking, but it was proof that the supergroup could work, and it revived the careers of Dylan and Orbison. When one looks at the work of the individuals during the time when the Wilburys were active, you see five talented artists producing some of their best work.”
- allohistory.com user gallifreyhands on a thread titled “Which musical groups are often forgotten, but nonetheless important?” [1]
The Traveling Wilburys
1991 would bring the release of the Wilburys’ third album, aptly titled “The Traveling Wilburys: Vol. 3”. The album would be released to primarily positive reviews, with particular praise being given to the lead single “Living the Dream”.
Work would shortly begin on the fourth album, which would be given the intentionally misleading name “The Traveling Wilburys: Vol. 5” by George Harrison. The group was, however, careful to spend plenty of time on solo projects, so as to avoid burning the concept out. [2]
Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison would spend much of 1991 working on his autobiography, though he would find time to start work on a collaborative project with Johnny Cash. The two had been friends for some time, and had discussed the possibility of a joint album shortly after Orbison’s 1989 heart attack. They had previously worked together for the album
The Class of ‘55, and had ideas for songs to perform together. [3]
Bob Dylan
Dylan’s 1990 album
Under the Red Sky was far less successful than his previous album
Oh Mercy, and Dylan would spend most of 1991 working on a follow-up that would be more successful. The album, titled
Good As I Been To You, would be released the following year.
Tom Petty
For Petty, 1991 would bring the release of
Into the Great Wide Open, which was warmly received by critics. Although Tom Petty enjoyed his time working with the Wilburys, he was beginning to miss recording with the Heartbreakers, and reached out to Campbell and the others about the potential for a new album. [4]
George Harrison
Harrison in particular wished for a break from the Wilburys, amid fears that they were becoming too commercialised. In December 1991, Harrison would join Eric Clapton for a tour in Japan, and shortly thereafter, they would begin collaborating for a new project. Realising that Harrison’s spiritualism clashed well with Clapton’s cynicism and realism, they began work on a new supergroup. [5]
1991 would also see the merger of Wilbury Records with Dark Horse Records. Dark Horse was owned by Harrison, though after the merger it would rename itself to Wilbury Records. This act would also see the distancing of the label from it’s distributor Warner Records, so as to avoid issues with any of the other Wilburys’ contracts. [6]
Jeff Lynne
Aside from the Wilburys, Lynne now worked primarily as a writer and a producer. His solo album
Armchair Theatre was well received, but by no means a critical success. To American audiences, he was always the most obscure Wilbury, though he would soon gain much more exposure.
Lynne had, for the past year, been working on the logistics of a film adaptation of the ELO album
Eldorado. Primarily, he had to negotiate with Bev Bevan, who still had a 50% ownership of the trademark. Bevan was eventually convinced after being offered a decent share of the profits of the film.
Eldorado was to be produced by Harrison’s HandMade Films, which had had success with films such as
Withnail and I, Time Bandits and
Monty Python’s Life of Brian. By the end of 1991, funding and casting would be sorted, with Terry Gilliam attached to direct and write.
The film would follow a man as he quests after the “eternal dream”, which he describes as “his Eldorado”. Following advice from a mystic that he can learn the secret through hints in his dreams, the film follows him as he explores his own mind to find his paradise. Through the dreamscape he finds himself in various situations, such as a war hero, a struggling musician, and one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. [7]
[1] Here's the TTL version of me again. Evidently, my musical tastes are much the same. A self-insert is a bit of a bad writing cliche, but I'm incredibly tangential to the story. Just thought it would be a bit fun to put me in, but not as me.
[2] I couldn't just let the intentional numbering inconsistency go. But as time goes on, the group is worried about them being too commercial, rather than the "show up and write a song over the day as mates" sort of group.
[3] Orbison is, as you may be able to tell, one of the two that we're having a harder time writing for. Suggestions would be appreciated, I have ideas for collaborations, but it looks like he'll have one of the more simple careers. Dylan is the other one.
[4] Petty is one of the people that @Drorac is taking more control with. He's far more well-versed in his music, and a good amount of the non-Lynne stuff in this update and pretty much all of the next update are his brainchild.
[5] An idea of @Drorac's that I absolutely fell in love with. I can't wait to show you this new group.
[6] Little hint for the future. I wasn't able to find much on the Wilburys label, so I've taken a bit of artistic license here.
[7] To be honest, Eldorado is going to be a bit of a springboard for something else I want to do, and that I've hinted at with the title of this part of the timeline. I see Gilliam being able to take the reins with this story, as it's sort of down his street.
Alright, part 1 of the big music update out. Next part should be out tomorrow, and will focus on some names I imagine that you're all familiar with. While I probably could have put all of that stuff into this update, it worked better to split it into the Wilburys stuff and the non-Wilburys stuff. See you tomorrow (hopefully).