(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)
Song: “Handle with Care”
Album: Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1
Release Date: October 1988
After listening to All Things Must Pass all of last week, I am feeling on a roll with Beatle George, so I’ll stick with him for another entry.
The nicest Beatles-related surprise for me in this ever-growing post-Beatles (PB) period we live in, was not John Lennon’s last studio album (although that was a very pleasant surprise after his 5-year “house husband” hiatus from releasing music to the public), or their near-Beatles quasi-reunion (sans John, who may have been there in spirit) to record 3 tracks for Anthology 1 in 1995, or the fabulous “Concert for George” after Harrison’s death, or Paul McCartney and friends masterful performance of the latter-part of the Abbey Road side-2 medley at the “Concert for Montserrat” in 1997. No, it was none of these. Rather, it was George Harrison’s 2nd wind with the Travelling Wilburys.
The Wilburys were such a wonderful breath of fresh air in 1988, after nearly a decade of music being dominated by big hair and techno pop. Just the fact that five of the coolest musicians on the planet – George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne – decided to unite as a super group was in and of itself surreal. What really made it great, however, was the music they wrote together, which may have on its own prompted the death spiral of 80s plasticity.
George Harrison looked so comfortable as a member of the Travelling Wilburys. Makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, he grew up in a super band. He knew what collaboration meant. George was also very close with his fellow Wilbury’s, particularly the guy who probably knew the least of what it was like to be an equal-member ensemble: Bob Dylan. The longstanding relationship between Harrison and Dylan is, in my mind, what made the Travelling Wilburys work. Only Beatle George could bring out the “bandmate” in “The Bard”.
It should come as no surprise that of the Fab Four, it was Beatle George who Bob Dylan grew closest with. George Harrison’s quiet demeanor, integrity, and quest for a higher spiritual meaning in life are all traits that would appeal to Dylan. Harrison also had an underdog status in the Beatles, which seems to appeal to Bob Dylan as well, seeing as he grew closer to both Brian Jones and Ronnie Wood than he did to their dominant songwriting bandmates, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
George Harrison had another character trait however, and that was an uncanny ability to persuade. It may not have worked so well in the leadership structure of the Beatles, partly because George was the youngest in the group and partly because his song-writing ability took longer to develop than the team of Lennon & McCartney (hence the underdog status). Harrison’s persuasive powers were evident early on, however. He convinced the Beatles to travel to India to practice Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi (where many of their great “White Album” songs were written). After the Beatles broke up, his Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 was the first ever superstar Rock fundraiser. George did most of the recruiting, including getting a then-reclusive Bob Dylan to sign on.
And it worked again in the late 80s in his recruitment for the Travelling Wilburys. At the time, Harrison was in the process of a minor career revival with the then-recent release of his “comeback” album, Cloud Nine (which was where, by the way, my 2nd grade teacher, Sister Margaret Ester, would often derogatorily tell me I resided). George was interested in playing the game again, in much the same manner as John Lennon was just before he was murdered. Normally, George Harrison’s nature would be to recoil against the notion of a supergroup and the fanfare that would come along with it. But here he was diving headlong into it. This likely fascinated Bob Dylan and rest of the Wilburys. Here most certainly was a strange twist of fate. An ephemeral George-mood to capture before it disappeared. How could you resist.
The five Wilburys weave their uniquely-gifted talents beautifully on their first album The Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1 (the only album they did with Roy Orbison, who died not soon after its release). It comes across in their writing styles, which (thank goodness) was captured on film (this can all be can be viewed on the DVD component of The Travelling Wilburys Collection). One thing I got from watching the video was that the five of them were all learning from each other’s approach to songwriting. George Harrison, in very Beatles-like fashion, wrote some of his lyrics by compiling them from newspaper clippings. Jeff Lynne took cues from a drumbeat. Roy Orbison erected novel approaches to his lovely vocals with each take of a given song. Tom Petty took in everything around him and applied on impulse. Bob Dylan immersed himself in his hand-written notes, which evolved rapidly and masterfully into lyric and song (in the process amazing his bandmates).
The blending of talents comes through from the very beginning of the album, and it all gets funneled through George. “Handle with Care” was the first song the Wilburys constructed together. Everyone shines on it. The song has an upbeat tempo and some positive affirmation, but it also has heavy lyrics to contemplate, including “reputations changeable” and “I’ve been fobbed off and I’ve been fooled”. These are not happy-go-lucky pop lyrics. This is harsh reality speaking; about how you can suddenly find yourself in a vulnerable situation after years of success. As George Harrison and company sing in the refrain, its times like this where we need good love the most (a sentiment which is also reflected in the song title).
The official video for “Handle with Care” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4s1KVJaVA ) was very alluring when it first came out on MTV, for anyone who grew up in the 70s and loved Rock music (side note: Who/what is that shrouded figure behind drummer Jim Keltner at the 2:30-2:33 clip? It captures my attention). George Harrison looks elated to be singing in an equal ensemble again. Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne look mesmerized, almost in shock that this is happening. Roy Orbison’s vocals are as angelic as ever. Bob Dylan is cool, calm and collected, and we get to see in this all-too-fleeting band that he could be a team player. The vocals are the best part of the video. They all take center-stage at one moment or another. They all do their part to lift the song up to higher ground.
The Travelling Wilbury’s opened so many doors for me. My interest in Bob Dylan skyrocketed afterwards. So too did my concert attendance. I still say that 1989 was the pinnacle of live Rock music, and I was sucking it all in, attending multiple shows, both big and small throughout that magical year. It also kindled my then simmering belief that anything is possible. Maybe it did so for the Who and the Rolling Stones too, each of whom reunited not soon after (both bands were a big part of that 1989 concert-attendance magic-carpet-ride of mine).
George Harrison gets much of the credit for forming the Travelling Wilburys (with some credit going to Jeff Lynne) and so, in turn one could make the argument that he injected a second burst of wonderful energy into the Rock-music world and Western-youth culture in general (the first of course was with the Fab Four). In subsequent years, we would see the birth of grunge and the revival of both Bob Dylan’s and Neil Young’s songwriting mastery. That’s what such success does: It creates a chain reaction.
The power of persuasion can be a wonderful thing (it can also be disastrous if used in Machiavellian ways). I contemplated this some over the past week. George Harrison was loved by many people, including his fellow Travelling Wilburys. He had a soft touch. He had humor. He had empathy. He had knowledge as to the real meaning of life. All of these contribute to inspiring other seekers of truth and to them wanting to be with him and to do wonderful things themselves.
Most of all, however George Harrison knew love…. a Beatles “keyword”.
That’s really where persuasion exists; in love.
- Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment