Bee Gees

Heraus kam CHILDREN OF THE WORLD: Zum ersten Mal prägt Barrys Falsett den Großteil eines Albums, zum Ersten mal seit 1966 sind keine Streicher auf einem Bee Gees Album eingesetzt, zum ersten Mal arbeiten Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson und Albhy Galuten als Produktionsteam zusammen (das später für Alben wie GUILTY [Barbra Streisand] oder HEARTBREAKER [Dionne Warwick] aber auch für viele weitere Bee Gees Produktionen [z.B. Andy Gibb] verantwortlich zeichnete).
Und obwohl 'You Should Be Dancing' als die Disco-Single schlechthin gilt, ist dieses Album musikalisch interessanter und vielschichtiger (und auch besser) als der etwas alberne und kaum Ernst gemeinte Titelsong. Es überzeugt zum einen (wenig überraschend) mit großartigen Songs wie 'Love So Right', 'Can't Keep A Good Man Down', 'Love Me' oder dem grandiosen 'Boogie Child' und überrascht äußerst eindrucksvoll mit einer Produktion, die zeigt, dass die Bee Gees durch ihre Zusammenarbeit mit Arif Mardin viel dazu gelernt hatten. (Im Übrigen dokumentiert CHILDREN OF THE WORLD die hohe Qualität der Band, die die Bee Gees in der zweiten Hälfte der 70er Jahre zur Seite hatten).

Ein musikalisch allgemein unterschätztes Album, das im Übrigen ein Mega Seller war. Bis dahin war es das bestverkaufte Album der Bee Gees und prägte deren Image auf Jahre.

Self Produced Masterpiece!      5 von 5 Punkten
After the enormous come-back sucess of "Main Course", the Gibbs' followed with this album and the #1 'across the charts' hit "You Should Be Dancing". Arif Mardin could not produce for them again, due to record contractual conflicts. But, at the same time, Billboard magazine had just started a "dance" chart and this single topped it the summer of 1976. Followed closely to #3 was "Love So Right", a severe 'Stylistics' sound copy. "Boogie Child" surprised everyone with it's complex instrumental backing and the funkadelic vocals.

It was another step up for the Bee Gees. Again, with too many hits to release in a year, other artists like Melba Moore "You Stepped Into My Life" and an old Gibb friend Yvonne Elliman, "Love Me", snatched these songs up and made them their own giant hits. Radio Host Casey Kasem remarked during the showcasing of "Love So Right", that the Bee Gees have had more songs copied by any other artists, other than the Beatles! This was in 1976 before "Saturday Night Fever".!

The title track made a big hit in Europe and several other tracks became concert staples. Who knew that the next studio album would be the biggest selling soundtrack of all time?

"Children Of The World" is another amazing groundbreaker. History will probably never repeat itself like this again.

Auch wenn das Album aus heutiger Sicht sicher etwas angestaubt klingt, so ist es doch das erste Bee Gees Album, das im 16-Spur Verfahren aufgenommen wurde, und was auch - neben der perfekten Produktion - dazu führte, dass es 1996 als MFSL-Masterdisc veröffentlicht wurde.

'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart' war wochenlang die #1 in den Billboard Charts und die erste #1-Single der Bee Gees in den Staaten. Zugleich aber auch der letzte grosse Hit der Brüder für einige Jahre.

The True Bee Gees Concept Album!      5 von 5 Punkten
Although "Odessa" has been stated to be a concept album, "Trafalgar" seems to be more consistent in it's theme and musical harmony. Taking the motif from the battle of Trafalgar, this album excels in diversity and vocal variety. "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" was #1 in the United States for four weeks but "Israel" was only released in Europe as a single. No matter. "Israel" shows demonstrates Barry's flair for screaming rhythm and blues with a marvelously typical passion. "Remembering" and "Dearest" are two ballads that Robin and Barry suck sorrow from their gut that surpasses anything they have sung before this album. Maurice also excels with a strong, consistent heavy bass and a piano pounding energy in songs such as "Somebody Stop The Music", "Israel" and "Walking Back To Waterloo". He was quoted as saying that Barry loved all his multi-layered work on the song "Trafalgar" and told him not to change a thing. He stated he felt surprised and happy to gain brother Barry's unconditional approval. "When Do I" shocks the listener with Robin's vocal range, stretching his pronounced vocals to the limit. Robin also screams out the blues on "Lion In Winter", fading into a rising orchestral arrangement. Maurice gets his way with "It's Just The Way" with some nice overlayed guitar work. Want to rock? "Somebody Stop The Music" pulls out all the stops and proves the Gibbs can still belt them out. On a more somber note, I wonder why "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was released as a US single. It is far too long for AM radio and somewhat sullen. However, it did get to #52 on the AM charts, so it couldn't have been that unpopular. What better a song to finish this masterpiece than "Walking Back To Waterloo", a grand finale. What make this album so consistent? All songs have a orchestral lushness that carries from song to song, giving it a rich and appealing feel. Once Maurice was joking that there were too many strings on this album, but in person he said he felt it was a "wonderful" disc. Now this is a concept album and it is no small wonder that Polydor chose to release it on Ultradisc Gold.

The True Bee Gees Concept Album!      5 von 5 Punkten
Although "Odessa" has been stated to be a concept album, "Trafalgar" seems to be more consistent in it's theme and musical harmony. Taking the motif from the battle of Trafalgar, this album excels in diversity and vocal variety. "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" was #1 in the United States for four weeks but "Israel" was only released in Europe as a single. No matter. "Israel" shows demonstrates Barry's flair for screaming rhythm and blues with a marvelously typical passion. "Remembering" and "Dearest" are two ballads that Robin and Barry suck sorrow from their gut that surpasses anything they have sung before this album. Maurice also excels with a strong, consistent heavy bass and a piano pounding energy in songs such as "Somebody Stop The Music", "Israel" and "Walking Back To Waterloo". He was quoted as saying that Barry loved all his multi-layered work on the song "Trafalgar" and told him not to change a thing. He stated he felt surprised and happy to gain brother Barry's unconditional approval. "When Do I" shocks the listener with Robin's vocal range, stretching his pronounced vocals to the limit. Robin also screams out the blues on "Lion In Winter", fading into a rising orchestral arrangement. Maurice gets his way with "It's Just The Way" with some nice overlayed guitar work. Want to rock? "Somebody Stop The Music" pulls out all the stops and proves the Gibbs can still belt them out. On a more somber note, I wonder why "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was released as a US single. It is far too long for AM radio and somewhat sullen. However, it did get to #52 on the AM charts, so it couldn't have been that unpopular. What better a song to finish this masterpiece than "Walking Back To Waterloo", a grand finale. What make this album so consistent? All songs have a orchestral lushness that carries from song to song, giving it a rich and appealing feel. Once Maurice was joking that there were too many strings on this album, but in person he said he felt it was a "wonderful" disc. Now this is a concept album and it is no small wonder that Polydor chose to release it on Ultradisc Gold.