Everyone knows the Bee Gees for their cheesy 70s disco records, sung in impeccable falsetto harmonies by three brothers with bouffant hair and impressive gnashers, but today I was surprised to find that they actually started as a band in 1958 and released five albums before this wildly ambitious concept project, originally titled An America Opera.
This opens with the title track which deals with the aftermath of a shipwreck in 1899. From that point it’s all over the place thematically and musically (ranging from orchestral to country to Sgt Peppers influences), and apparently led to the band breaking up for over a year as no one could agree on how it should be produced or what singles to release. Even the album cover caused problems - it was originally released as a double LP with gold embossed lettering and a red flock coating that caused record plant employees to suffer allergic reactions.
Robin Gibb eventually rejoined his brothers in August 1970 and they went on to record another concept album, this time about the battle of Trafalgar. Eventually they discovered tight white suits and disco and the rest is history, much like this album.
File under ‘What the heck were they thinking when they recorded this?’
https://album.link/gb/i/1467020922
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