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Bee Gees - Idea (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Let There Be Love 3:30
  2. Kitty Can 2:36
  3. In The Summer Of His Years 3:07
  4. Indian Gin And Whisky Dry 1:56
  5. Down To Earth 2:29
  6. Such A Shame 2:24
  7. I've Gotta Get A Message to You 2:53
  8. Idea 2:42
  9. When The Swallows Fly 2:24
  10. I Have Decided To Join The Airforce 2:07
  11. I Started A Joke 3:04
  12. Kilburn Towers 2:12
  13. Swan Song 2:52

Notes


The Bee Gees' third album is something of a departure, with more of a rocking sound and with the orchestra (apart from a few well-placed harp arpeggios) somewhat less prominent in the sound mix than on their first two LPs. The two hits, "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke," are very much of a piece with their earlier work, but on "Kitty Can," "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry," and "Such a Shame" (the latter written by the group's then lead guitarist, Vince Melouney), among other cuts, they sound much more like a working band with a cohesive group sound, rather than a harmony vocal group with accompaniment. Their writing still has a tendency toward the dramatic and the melodramatic, which would manifest itself prominently again on their next album, Odessa, six months later, but here the group seemed to be trying for a somewhat less moody, dark-toned overall sound, and some less surreal lyrical conceits, though "Kilburn Towers" (despite some pop-jazz inflections) and "Swan Song," as well as "I Started a Joke," retain elements of fantasy and profundity.