Traveling Wilburys | Vol. 3 | (Wilbury/Warner) | ★★★
By Greg Kot
Chicago Tribune - November 15, 1990

Does anyone really want to hear four aging rockers -- Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison -- sing a bunch of buoyant pop tunes with lyrics that sound as though they were scrawled on a napkin and recorded two minutes later? Of course. Where else can one hear Dylan belt out immortal lines such as "Where were you last year/You sure as hell weren't here" or hear Tom Petty singing about mildew ("Cool Dry Place")? Or hear Dylan rewrite "Blue Moon" as "Seven Deadly Sins" or Harrison lift a bit of the Byrds' "Chimes of Freedom" for a "new" song called "Inside Out"? For all its disposability, this record is loaded with charm. Dylan's "If You Belonged to Me" is stronger than anything on his last record, and "You Took My Breath Away" is a first-rate ballad.

Ratings:
Excellent ★★★★ | Good ★★★ | Fair ★★ | Poor ★