For all you clever internet "hunters": THIS is the "secret gem" in the Bee Gees catalog! Recorded in Florida with producer Arif Mardin in charge, the brothers take the first few tentative steps towards converting their fading act into disco GOLD! Stylistically this is exactly half-way between the failed-rock sound of their last couple records and the unstoppable dynamite R&B of their next couple...but with the last few key pieces not yet in place (Barry's falsetto; ... read more

Definitely a couple of steps down from To Whom It May Concern, this forgettable album dabbles in country-rock, but very quickly runs out of steam. And it's only got 8 songs! This is the first (and maybe the only) Bee Gees album that has really has an air of falseness to it. The subsequent (unreleased) album A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants is much better--it's got songs about Nixon and Kissinger and Jesus and all the best topics...but the record company powers-that-be, still ... read more

This was the beginning of the "bad period" for the Bee Gees. There was a hit single off of this ("Run To Me"), but it was to be the last one for quite some time...and the album tracks have that sound of a band trying everything they can to remain relevant to contemporary music. That particular technique of remaining contemporary NO MATTER WHAT was later mastered (like wildfire!) by the Brothers Gibb, but, uh, not here. "Alive" is pretty good--and I wouldn't have my ... read more

"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" kicks things off here--one of the best Bee Gees songs EVER! Jesus, that one's unbeatable. No other hits on here, but the "album tracks" are of such uniform high quality that even without hits, this one's a strong "8". The production on this is probably the nicest of any of the Bee Gees' pre-disco efforts. In fact, I liked the general sound of this album so much that I sprung for the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version that's made of ... read more

Yay! All three of the "real" Bee Gees are back together again! Except that this album is not so hot. "Lonely Days" was a hit--most of the rest of it is unmemorable. The boys go for more of a "rock" sound on this album than in the past. "Sincere Relation" features one of Robin's most over-the-top "emotional" vocals--but isn't much of a song.

With the departure of not only Robin, but auxiliary members Vince Melouney and Colin Peterson as well, the Bee Gees were down to a duo. Barry and Maurice put together a television special called "Cucumber Castle" during this time, and this album served as a semi-soundtrack. The TV special is horrible beyond belief; it's as if the Bee Gees, often accused of imitating the Beatles, decided to imitate the incoherence and pointlessness of their "Magical Mystery Tour" film. The ... read more

The original double-LP version on Atco came in a red velvet gatefold jacket with fancy gold lettering...unless you kept it in a plastic bag, it tended to pick up a lot of lint, but still, what a package! Between the red velvet, the album's title, and the extra-heavily orchestrated songs, this thing sure appears to be some sort of high-brow concept album. But it's not. It's just a collection of tunes the Gibbs threw together whilst in the process of drinking too much and fighting with each ... read more

The "idea" here is to continue to make another good, solid album showcasing the entire spectrum of Bee Gees styles, from weepy emotional ballads to psychedelic rockers. The highlight of this album (and perhaps Robin Gibb's all-time finest moment with the Bee Gees) is surely "I Started A Joke," a massive chart-hit which encompasses everything that is beautiful and bizarre about the Bee Gees in one short song. The peculiar, theatrical nature of the song's lyrics makes it an ... read more

The follow-up didn't spawn quite so many hits, but it did showcase the boys' versatility. Whether you were a sentimental grandmother or a stoned hippie asshole, if this record was in your house in 1968, you were no doubt listening to it all day long, tears of joy streaming down your face. Years in the biz gave the Brothers Gibb the confidence and the know-how to pull this shit off! And Stigwood gave them the budget to corral that string section and whip 'em into place. These Bee Gees were not ... read more

The brothers moved back to England, quickly hooked up with manager and guiding light Robert Stigwood, and BINGO: a great album chock-full of distinctive, timeless CHART- HITS. With a rock band behind 'em and a full orchestra at their disposal, the boys crank out one terrific song after another: "Holiday," "To Love Somebody," "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "I Can't See Nobody"...Goddamn, they must've scared the shit out of their competition with this ... read more

Forget your Bee Gees First: this is the TRUE Bee Gees debut LP. Of course, it only came out in Australia, and in such small quantities that if you do ever see one (and you won't), it'll set you back a cool GRAND. But nonetheless, it's real! It exists! And in addition to being a mind-boggling artifact, it's not a bad record. Somehow--I'll never quite understand how or why--I scored a copy of this in Vancouver, Canada, in 1992, for the measly cost of $75 Canadian dollars. This same store also had ... read more

I hated it as a youngster cuz it was so country-western. Now I love it cuz it's so raw. Like a good hamburger. Sounds more like The Band than the Beatles, but The Band were never anywhere near this good. It's got Billy Preston playing lots of piano on it, and it's a real rhythm-and-bluesy 70's-sounding album (much of it recorded live!). PLUS, THERE'S A FART JOKE AT THE BEGINNING OF "I DIG A PONY!!!!!!!" AND HOW CAN YOU BEAT A DAMN FART JOKE???????? Even though The Beatles themselves ... read more

Their last recorded effort. Goofy but spectacular. Like a shorter, tighter White Album, still full of silly novelty tunes and weird rock originals, but ending too damn quickly for my personal tastes. What's there is great, though. "Come Together" is the most bizarre blues rock song I've ever heard, thank you very much to Paul's el weirdo bass line and John's druggy vocal, lyrics, and guitar solo (unless that's George). Likewise, "I Want You" may not seem like much at first, ... read more

Sorry about the low grade, but this soundtrack to the psychedelic cartoon movie of the same name features only FOUR previously unreleased Beatles songs. The rest of the thang is slopped up with a couple of old Beatles classics and a whole goddamned side of George Martin's classical music crap. I'm all for George Martin in the photo booth, but his soundtrack music is wussy, boring and overall amazingly irritating.
But the four new Beatles songs are great! Had they been released as a four-song ... read more

You might know it as "The White Album," as the cover is, quite frankly, awfully white. It gets a 10 mainly because it's longer than the others, and more Beatles is better Beatles. Also, it's weird as a talking pat of butter. The most varied Beatles record, it mostly sounds like three or four solo albums going on at once, alternating between basic goodtime rock and roll ("Back In The U.S.S.R.," "Birthday"), eye-peelin' blues rock ("Revolution 1," "Yer ... read more

It's perfectly possible that, had I been alive and kicking like a weak Simple Minds single at this point in our nation's history, I may have rolled my eyes upon first hearing this album. "Oh boy," I might have said aloud to one or several of my worthless drug addict flag-burning long hippy hair friends, "how long are they gonna be doing this Sgt. Pepper crap? I mean, it was CUTE the first time, but.... jeez, where's the damn rock and roll?" Time heals all wounds, however, ... read more

Off the deep end. This isn't rock and roll at all. It's cabaret music! Horns and violins and bouncy little pianos create this crazyass mood of a big band pop explosion parade. Interesting experiment. This isn't a Beatles album, see? It's this band called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band who dress in old-timey military outfits and have old-timey fancy mustaches and sing happy little tunes like "A Little Help From My Friends" and "When I'm Sixty-Four." Write it off! ... read more

I spent my entire life wondering why John Lennon only contributed two tracks to this record. "Was he too drugged up to write songs?" I wondered quietly to those in power. Then whammo! I'll be darned if a long-overdue reissue of the British version didn't answer my question in a nutbeat. For some piece of shit reason, America's Capitol Records removed THREE Lennon compositions from this record to fill out their shitty (yet great) Yesterday...And Today release. Yep, that's right - for ... read more

This supposedly "original" version of the album, on the other hand, doesn't have "I've Just Seen A Face" or "It's Only Love," but instead features "Drive My Car," "Nowhere Man," "If I Needed Someone," and "What Goes On," all of which would end up on Yesterday... And Today in America, again for no clear reason. And I tell you what -- especially with the addition of "If I Needed Someone" and "What Goes On," ... read more

I've been politely asked by those in the know to please, EIGHT YEARS AFTER I WROTE THE REST OF THIS PAGE YOU ARE NOW READING, give a firm fresh listen to the original British releases of Help!, Rubber Soul and Revolver as reissued on CD some time in the last ten years or so when I wasn't paying attention. I'm nothing if not a go-dooder, so I've done just that. First up is Help! by The Beetles. Instead of being half-instrumental crap, this original version instead gives you "You Like Me Too ... read more