1/2 THE TRAVELING WILBURYS “Vol. 3” <i> Wilbury/Warner Bros.</i>

Casting off the burden of having to live up to their prodigious pasts and create important art, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne let fly zinger lines and licks with offhand elan, loose humor and camaraderie.

But as with “Vol. 1” it’s not just guffaws that make this second album a good one. The Wilburys come up with some fine songs, funny or not: “Inside Out” and “The Devil’s Been Busy” (the best rockin’ sitar since . . . well, you know) both carry strong environmental messages without belaboring them or sacrificing hook appeal.

The clincher, though, is “You Took My Breath Away,” a tribute to the irreplaceable Roy Orbison, though the Wilburys are not so mundane as to put it that specifically. In the middle there’s a brief, soaring bridge sung by Lynne, but clearly meant for Orbison’s voice:

Someday soon the sun will shine

There will be a silver lining.

A silver lining is just what the Wilburys are for these graying vets . . . and their fans.