Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Found this one hard to get through.
Sorry, but there's not a single Bee Gees album that's worth listening to in its entirety. Obtain a greatest hits, and thank me later.
Give Your Best is downright diabolical, why would they do that
I knew the Bee Gees sounded different than the disco-era tunes most of us know them for, but I didn't think they were a country/folk-adjacent group who made concept albums about shipwrecks. I learned this album itself was an anomaly, was poorly reviewed upon first release, and started a downpoint in their career that didn't turn around until Saturday Night Fever. Very interesting! I didn't hate this - I really liked "Marley Purt Drive" and a few others - but ultimately this didn't really hold my interest through to the end. I could see myself bumping it up to three stars if I gave it a few more listens, but alas, so much music and so little time.
Well, I am nothing if not notorious for my constant complaining about how the 1001 album list has excluded ALL Warren Zevon albums, but I have to wonder if Bee Gees fans might not have a better complaint about the list including only two albums by a group that is one of the best-selling pop acts of all time. And those two are both from the earlier days of the group, including this head-scratcher! I was never a disco fan myself, but to pretend that the Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees never existed or are completely unworthy of our musical attention is just crazy! Those late-70s, early-80s Bee Gees albums were far more influential and beloved than this ever was or ever will be.
VERY different then what I was expecting from the men who brought Disco to the highest of heights. folkyish? countryish? poppyish? psychedelicyish? classicalyish? i don't know and I am not sure this is what i come to the Bee Gees for Fav: Lamplight Least Fav: Give Your Best
Well that was disappointing, really wanted some songs I could dance to
Probably the most disappointing pick so far. I don't know why anyone would ever want Bee Gees without the disco
Aight
I don't think I have ever listened to pre-disco Bee Gees (beyond short clips) so I am interested to hear how this sounds. [2 minutes in:] Wow, I never thought I would miss disco music. I don't like this. I feel like I should disclose that I am having bad tooth pain and am in a bad mood because of it. It may be unfair to the Bee Gees for me to rate this under these conditions. But I don't think I would like this much even if I were in a good mood. I will give it two stars because I think my desire to give it one star is at least partially pain-related.
2/5
The Red flocked Album.
4/10
Maso
This was a hard one to digest - largely while driving with many people in the car. And yet everyone pretty quickly poopoo’d it primarily with comment “early Bee Gees sucked”. It didn’t come off so horrible I’d rate it a 1 but I certainly don’t expect to come back this way again. 2/5
Slow and melodic but also kind of boring. Nothing that makes me want to continue listening after a song is over or come back and listen again. Its okay over all but not for me.
I can’t believe these are the same guys as Saturday night fever. This is awful. I hate it. I mean I know they are talented guys but I really don’t like this at all.
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?’
Odd start and then album doesn’t feel cohesive. Great songs but it’s just all over the place.
Its ok but kind of disorganized
Not my thing that
The Beatles, but with Bee Gees tell-tale quaver. Something about the blatant rip-off makes me mad. And I kind of hate the quaver. Give me disco era Bee Gees, or give me… not this. The music of “Sound of Love” is really beautiful. “Marley Purt Drive” sounds exactly like “The Weight” by The Band.
1.75. Not what I was expecting from The Bee Gees. I don’t love it but it was different.
Nothing about this sounded like the Bee Gee's I know and love.
The first few tracks kind of reminded me of a Decemberists album, a little folksy, different genres, but it lost me the further along it went
Not bad. Corny as fuck but not bad at all.
Abandoning the concept part of a concept album? -10,000 social credits!
The Bee Gees are *the* disco band and thank god they found disco. It is so boring I wanted to quit. The opening tune is so strange. I like concept albums, but this ain't it. 2 stars.
beegees had a little identity crisis and wrote a boring beatles concept album.
Like many, my only exposure to the Bee Gees was disco going into this, so a concept album was the least of my expectations. Right off the jump, I found the vocal vibrato in the first couple tracks really grating, like it was either overdone or at too locked of a tempo. Melody Fair was pretty. Lamplight marks the return of the grating vibrato. The obligatory symphonic number in Seven Seas Symphony was pretty nice. First of May felt like the actual ending and while The British Opera was nice on its own, but it was a weird ending to the album when First of May was right there. An outro that didn't feel like one and didn't seem needed. Overall left a lot on the table and Jesus Christ Superstar did this so much better a year later.
1.75 - Not at all what I expected from a Bee Gees album. It felt like Christmas music at times.
I like strings. Pretentious
Pretty good. Unexpectedly so
I thought I was familiar with the Bee Gees, but I guess I never explored their pre-disco era work. And there is A LOT of it apparently. This almost sounds more country-like to be honest. Very slow, and almost too schmaltzy I felt. It got tiring about halfway through (and the fact that this is a double concept album didn't help matters...). Maybe I simply prefer the poppier Bee Gees sound.
Come on man.
I didn't hate this, and I see the talent, but very much not my thing.
This was long. And weird. And boring. And I don't like his voice, or the constant warbling. Orchestration was too much. Allmusic calls this the spiritual successor to the Beatles? Psh.
Too long. Got bored.
I always heard rumors about the pre-disco Bee-Gee's.
"Bee Gees? Nice ik heb wel zin in wat disco! Wacht? Wat? Dit is geen disco album? Dit is het politieke sad rock album van de Bee Gees? Maar er was mij fun beloofd!!!!?? Waarom sta ik nu te huilen in de discotheek? Waar is mijn night fever? Ok misschien moet ik me hier even overheen zetten, krijg ik halverwege een discoklapper en word het toch nog gezellig op dit album. Dat moet haast wel toch? Waarom zou iemand een saai folkrock achtig Bee Gees album op een lijst van beste en meest invloedrijke albums zetten? Dan moet je toch wel heel erg onuitstaanbaar zijn als muziek recensent... Oh Whisper Whisper is best wel wat meer fun, misschien dat het album nu dan eindelijk..! Nee nee wacht, wat is Lamplight? Een ballad? Een soort religieuze folkballad? Nee verdomme, nee! Oh nu zijn de laatste 2 nummers instrumentale opera nummers? Ik voel me niet serieus genomen, dit was niet waar ik op hoopte toen ik dit album aanzette. Tot overmaat van ramp krijg ik van de Spotify goden hierna meteen een disco nummer van Chic, dat is gewoon zout in open wonden strooien." FAVO: Melody Fair, Whisper Whisper
2.0 I had no clue there was a pre-disco Bee Gees. That fact was about the only thing that interested me from this selection but I can admit there is a certain amount of songwriting talent from the brothers. I was originally going to write my review with a reference to an internet clip I had seen where there is a guy in thailand snap chatting back to his friend in england. The person in thailand in engaging with a ladyboy and he is justifying to his friends, saying its like going to Turkey and not getting a kabob, going to Thailand and not shagging a ladyboy. Gotta do it. I guess my point was that non disco beegees is alot like not getting a kabob in turkey
This is slightly better than Trafalgar, but still nothing memorable.
At the beginning of this I was actually pretty intrigued. The opening track had me hooked and it was sounded like something I would never expect to hear from the Bee Gees. However, as it went on the tracklist became incredibly inconsistent. This album really worked for me when it leaned into the dramatic production matched by the harmonies of the vocals. These moments felt massive and I loved it. However for every one of those, you would get 3-4 Beatles like songs that really had nothing memorable going on. And I must say, occasionally I could feel the vocals grating at me, just a little. It’s all pretty listenable tho, but for me nothing special
I don't care much for the Bee Gees and this album certainly didn't do much to change my mind. I liked Edison for its strangeness, but the rest just sounds generic and unfocused. Got distracted by Kermit the pressed tape vibrato singer
weird, weird, weird. What is this? Was pleasantly surprised by the symphonies in the middle. Who decided this was in here? There's like 1001 better albums by Britney Spears.
Opens strong, gets more and more annoying from there. Hard to make it through in one sitting.
could not listen to all of it. was not really my thing at all.
Very much not my style. Just generally too much. Too much strings, too much choir, too much echo, too grandiose, too much whining, too much harmonizing.... Edison was my favorite, but will never listen to any of these songs again. Barely made it through.
For someone who only knew the disco Bee Gees this is weird to discover. Ultimately, I can see why this album failed to make an impact on its original release. I kept waiting for it to embrace its space opera progressive rock destiny and it never did. But it did flirt with country, and the biggest claim they can make for that effort is they made a song that sounded kind of like (the far superior) "The Weight" by The Band. I didn't actively hate listening to it but I didn't really enjoy it either.
Expected disco. Expected positive, upbeat vibes. Not really sure what I got. Definitely know I wasn't keen on it. I'm very glad Bee Gees changed their style because this was dull, self-indulgent and not fun to listen to.
Was waiting for this to be over.
Die Bee Gees, eine britisch-australische Band, nahmen Odessa 1968 überwiegend in den IBC Studios in London sowie teilweise in den Atlantic Studios in New York auf. Das Doppelalbum bewegt sich zwischen Baroque Pop, Psychedelic Pop und orchestraler Rockmusik. Bekannte Titel wie „First of May“, „Lamplight“ und „Marley Purt Drive“ zeigen die melodische Handschrift der Gibb-Brüder und ihren Hang zu aufwendigen Arrangements mit Orchesterbegleitung. Im Vergleich zu früheren Veröffentlichungen wirkt das Album konzeptioneller und geschlossener, zugleich aber auch schwerer zugänglich. Für mich ist Odessa ein ambitioniertes Werk, das weniger auf unmittelbare Hits setzt, sondern stärker auf Atmosphäre und kompositorische Dichte. Nicht jeder Song zündet sofort, doch die musikalische Sorgfalt bleibt hörbar.
Album 55 Top 3 "favorites" off the album: Seven Seas Symphony, Marley Purt Drive, Odessa (City On The Black Sea) It was nice for about a track and a half. Then the vibrato and nasal quality became too much, and it's all so slow except for Whisper Whisper which I didn't really rock with either. For maybe the second time on this project, I am asking for not a ballad. Marley Purt Drive made me laugh. Points back for that. Points as well for cello content. Seven Seas Symphony was pretty good. I was expecting... bops. Some grooves. Maybe even a little jam, ya know? Disco, if you will. Instead, I got a bland expression of love and sorrow and such that stayed largely at one volume level, no major instrumentation changes (the track started with the same number of instruments as it ended with and there was no development, is what I'm trying to say), and I was left wondering if the Bee Gees are actually *this* flavor of music and if the disco stuff was just a one-off. After some reading, I'm relieved that's not the case because I was going to lose my mind. Won't be coming back to this one.
I will admit that I like a lot of The Bee Gees pre-disco material, so I was looking forward to hearing this. However, this album disappointed me…nothing really memorable on here at all, at least I my book. It’s between two and three stars for me. I guess I will give it a two. I’m surprised this once is on the list.
man idc
Hat mich gar nicht abgeholt
Now why on Earth do we need to listen to a pre-disco Bee Gees album? What about this is so special? There are plenty of other albums like this from the same era that would've been much better inclusions... The dumb shit this list pulls never ceases to perplex me. Favorite track: Odessa
Very prog-operatic. Not my thing.
I don't get this inclusion. The band hadn't found what made them special yet. Behind the times. Too long
Where is the disco? Not what I was expecting. And after seeing the hate directed at the boys in the band I'm going to cut them some slack. I can't see that the Gee'zers have ever done anything particularly bad (no Eric Clapton racist rants or rapes) outside of crimes to fashion. There's creativity and musicianship on show and some of the vocal harmonies were great (although the bleating vocal style I found a bit unpleasant). It's still only getting a 2 from me, but its 2 more than I thought I would award when they popped up.
I only know the popular Beegees tracks so this came as a suprise (and disappointment) to me. Its a fairly generic sound and there are no technical qualms however the entire album is very boring at best, and takes far too long to achieve very little. The lyrics are very puzzling to me, as if they are trying to write like more accomplished contemporary writers than they seem to have been (e.g I declared war on Spain ???? ).
Man these double albums are tough to get through. I guess these guys went on a long journey to end up where they ended up.
I didn't realize The Bee Gees had albums before disco. After listening to this, I'm not sure I wanted to find that out. This album ranged from "ok" to "what the hell is this?". Nobody needs a concept double album of The Bee Gees trying to sound like The Beatles or other popular 60s bands. 2.5
Don't really know quite what to make of this?
Not my favorite. 2
What is this? Have they been subjected to fashion of a concept album?
kind of weird and not in a good way
Not as bad as I expected.
Well this was not what I was expecting at all from the Bee Gees, a band known for their disco offerings. I think my first impressions remained pretty much accurate for the entire album, a Beatles cover band made up of sheep. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a cartoon made with this as the soundtrack, where the main characters were all said sheep. This is the only explanation I can see for the singers impersonating sheep when they're not impersonating members of the Beatles. O(baa)de(baa)saaaa(baa)(baa)(baaaaaa)! Some of it is painfully bad, Edison is just so awful for example. Some of it is actually quite melodic, in a Beatles/ farmyard animals way of course. I would never listen to this again, but it's probably deserving of two stars.
Not my thing man
Very interesting album but still far from the avant garde qualities of their 1st album which is one of the better psychedelic gems, and the SNF soundtrack. 7/10 [DROP]
At a certain point, does this really matter in the long run? This is at least better than Trafalgar because it feels more like a Beatles-inspired record. But it drags and keeps dragging with idea after idea. It only became more pointless the more I sat through. If I'm late to my 10:20am tomorrow, I'm blaming it on Robin Gibb. The other guys are fine, but Robin Gibb's voice is grating to me. Once again, thank god for disco (4/10, 2/5 on this scale)
I much prefer my bee gees disco.
Bit of a Bee Gees fan, but didn't care for this one.
Not really my thing
I've never liked what I've heard of the Bee Gees and I've learned to dread the appearance of a concept album on this list, so this was not off to a good start. Musically I didn't hate it, but the mix of styles and subjects felt all over the place and incoherent. Why are pieces that sound like film scores sitting next to country music and faintly psychedelic songs?
I'm not liking this much. I'm not a fan of the sing song voices
Incredibly boring folk-y pop album thats waaaaay to long for what it gives you. Most of the songs have the same mellow beat. Damn near fell asleep. When I saw Bee Gees I was expecting disco which I don’t like and somehow this was worse than my expectations. Boring and tedious.
Album #30 Bee Gees: Odessa The Bee Gees are sort of like the chameleons of music; not to be confused with The Chameleons, who blow the Bee Gees out of the water. If you were to ask someone what Bee Gees album would be placed on a list documenting the most essential albums of all time, most would instantly go to their wildly successful disco-era, with songs such as Stayin' Alive and How Deep Is Your Love remaining culturally relevant long after disco faded. Or if you were perhaps more of a hipster, you would point to their earlier psychedelic albums, such as the Bee Gees’ 1st. As someone who never got into the band, I often hear mention of them followed swiftly by: “Their earlier stuff was actually better. But never once have I heard of their hour-long concept double album “Odessa”. The concept seems to revolve around a ship that has gone missing, though I didn’t delve too deep into the lyrics during my listen. I can understand why this album has received middling reviews on this website, as it certainly does feel like a weird selection. It almost feels like the Bee Gees are trying to do their best Beatles imitation at times, which for the 60s is not out of the ordinary. Side note, I am incredibly surprised to find out that they are actually Australian, as this seems like one of the most British albums of all time to me. The lyricism is quite simple, but perhaps that lends to them attempting to tell a story, I’m not sure. But the highlights for me come through the melody; there really isn’t a song here that isn’t at least pleasant and simple to listen to. I actually quite like the classical and orchestral instrumental tracks as well, though I can see how they would come across as boring. It’s not an album which I would recommend to everyone, as I myself didn’t exactly fall in love with it. But if you are a fan of pretentious baroque pop, with lush instrumentals, it is quite a nice album. But not one that will exactly blow you away. Best Tracks: Seven Seas Symphony, First of May, I Laugh In Your Face Worst Track: Whisper, Whisper Score out of 10: 5.5
Definitely wanted to like this. I knew it would be disco, but man I just could not get into it.
The Bee Gees doing budget beatles... Id rather just listen to the Beatles
2 out of 5. Nice enough production.
The Bee Gees do English folk with a splash of country... Really?
boah idk:((( es ist halt lowk nicht so herausgestochen aber es ist schon sehr vibey!!
Where’s the disco and the high pitched voices lads? Without them it’s a not very interesting country or folky or 60s guitar pop collection. Johnny 5 would never dance and learn to be human to any of this.
This was extremely boring
2.4 I've heard murmurings that the Bee Gees are underrated, being a solid outfit before their disco dies. Not on that showing I'm afraid. From Beatles rip offs (Melody Fair) to awful faux americana (Marley Purt Drive), that was a tough 64 minutes with whisper whisper being the only song I didn't immediately dislike. Also, stop trying to make vibrato happen. It's not going to happen.
I'm really glad I looked at what this album is before I started listening, and was primed for it a little bit. I'm still trying really hard not to let my disappointment at it not being disco impact my feelings about it and my rating, but even with that preparedness it's difficult. This was obviously not Saturday Night Fever (which I think should be on this list in place of Odessa, despite being technically a soundtrack (although I'd have no issue with the inclusion of soundtracks and maybe others would)) and so I knew I wasn't expecting "Stayin' Alive", "You Should Be Dancing", "More Than A Woman"... not to mention my personal favourite: "How Deep Is Your Love?", and yet I had still hoped for something similar at least. Again, good thing I checked first. Anyway, this album is quite long, and doesn't have many standouts... It's all a bit flat and miserable in a way. The one song I actually really enjoyed - "Never Say Never Again" - is unfortunately burdened with the terrible lyric "I never lived inside your hole, child". This gets a 2 from me, and a strong urge to go and listen to Saturday Night Fever instead.
Another dud. Nothing all that wrong with it but its a big old nothing burger to this guy here. Whisper whisper was the only save this record got and it almost feels like a pity like. Its almost 20 tracks and over an hour I gotta pick something out of all that time spent. It will pop up sometime when im shuffling and I won't even know who it is. Thats the story I guess. Its fine enough but like why is it at all either?
classic rock before the disco. didn’t find anything to be memorable or playlist worthy
I've had my ups and downs with the BG's over the years....would like to have given a 2.5
No es el más popular
Beatles cover
This album really surprised me. I’ve never heard the Bee Gees like this at all, and I didn’t expect it. I went in expecting some funky Bee Gees to energise my day, but instead found something more profound and emotionally rich. It’s much more serious, orchestral, and reflective than the version of the Bee Gees I was familiar with. It’s very different from the disco Bee Gees everyone knows later on. Not too confident about the Bee Gees pre disco albums. Can really hear their late 60s ambition here, with baroque pop, psychedelic folk, and soft rock all blended together. The arrangements are beautiful, strings everywhere, rich harmonies, and a very romantic, melancholic tone throughout. The double album length makes it a bit uneven for me however, there are moments that feel bloated, and it was a bit too long for me. Overall, it’s not something I’d listen to all the time. It feels like the Bee Gees at their most ambitious and artistic time, dramatic and emotional. My favourite tracks are Melody Fair and Whisper Whisper.
Oof, long and not great - bad combo. The more country-sounding songs were the better ones. 2/5
CLIVE ANDERSON: And here we welcome Odessa by the Bee Gees which was a hit album back in 1969, or should I say ‘shit’ album because shit is one letter away from hit. And what an ugly bunch of bastards these freak show lads are. The band used to be known as Les Tosseurs but they’ll always be Les Tosseurs to me! BARRY GIBB: We’re getting on like a storm, aren’t we? In fact I might just leave. CLIVE: Don’t go! I’ve never had anyone leave before except Adele, Fever Ray, Franz Ferdinand and Christina Aguilera. BARRY GIBB: Well you’re the tosser, pal! CLIVE: Hey Maurice, won’t you stay to fill in the chat of your missing brothers? MAURICE GIBB: I’m sorry, I don’t do impressions. See ya later, Clive. CLIVE: But you have shown quite well that you do grandiosely shit Beatles and Scott Walker impressions?! And there we have it. The Bee Gees and Odessa, who look like they have just walked off the 1001 List as of this moment. Good night!
Na. Not for me
Interesting. Good harmonies. Desperately wants to be The Beatles but falls very short. Didn't really like or dislike.
man what a let down after hearing Trafalgar. The disco guys making a concept album about a missing ship in 1899. Okay cool I guess, but the lyrics are just capital b Bad, also way too many shades of Beatles. Too drawn out and overwrought, I feel like they pitched this for a broadway show and had to settle for this instead. It sucks because the Bee Gees are a legitimately good sounding band and the music they put out here is produced well, its just everything around it crashes and burns, like their fictional boat.
A bright shining example of why artists shouldn’t be allowed to make double albums or hell, even concept albums. I’d wager 99/100 of them are bloated, pretentious garbage. Nowhere nearly as deep or interesting as the artist thinks they are. But the line “it makes me laugh, you’ve got no friends” is very funny and that is a dope album cover!
This wasn’t very good at all, but it wasn’t as awful as Trafalgar, at least.
Meh. Bit weird and it goes on too long.
This turned out better than the first track would indicate, that song is atrocious. It's interesting to see how these guys started out, and the album goes on to be quite pleasant in the end.
this album is a collection of complete randomness
There were a few songs I enjoyed but not near enough to warrant a double album. This is my first exposure to their pre disco days. It’s cool from the lens of their growth as a group but the album itself is poor. Rating: 1.9
Not enjoyable. Pretentious, overwrought, and another concept album that doesn't hold up over time.
Not for me
No conocía este disco ni ninguna de sus canciones. Entiendo que seguía la estela de las óperas-rock de esa época. Sinceramente es bonito, pero parecen canciones de Eurovisión. No puedo darle más de 2 estrellas.
The Bee Gees must have switched genres on a whim, or they simply followed whatever musical direction the money took them.
The Good: We’re gonna be Jive Talkin’! The Bad: No disco in Odessa… The Ugly: Non-disco Bee Gees!!! Fuck me, that was horrid. Like many people of my generation, we know the Bee Gees for introducing us to John Travolta, white leisure suits and the power of the falsetto! As time went by, we probably got to see a documentary or two about these brothers and how they, single-handedly, were responsible for the collapse of the disco movement… So we have known that there was a period when the Bee Gees were just another group trying to get famous while jumping on the bandwagon of popular music at that time… regretfully for us, that time was the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, when tambourines were still considered critical additions to cool… To make things worse, this album is over an hour long of this pseudo hippy, singer-songwriter, folksy crap. To make things even worse than worse, the Bee Gees have 2 albums on this list, both hailing from the same dreadful period, while their opus majestus (is that spelled with a y?) is missing from the list as it is considered a compilation album / soundtrack, and fuck-face Dimery refuses to add these to the list. Sorry Barry, Robin and Maurice, you are responsible for iconic music, and should be celebrated, but I can’t give you more than 2* for this album which just isn’t at all to my liking.
Who knew that the Bee Gees did a concept album? Like the fictional ship that this album is about, this album appears to have sunk without trace; presumably this album was in response to the Moody Blues, their rivals at the time. Boring, with nothing of note, so perhaps it would be better if this album just disappeared below the waves again.
2.5 (63:49 but still a double vinyl record, not sure why. 17 tracks. 1969. Sixth studio album) So I totally associate the Bee Gees with disco, I'm guessing most everyone does, and the mid to late 70's. I had no idea by 1969 they had released six albums. The album opens with a long rock opera about (apparently, I had to google this) a made up shipwreck and I expected a rock opera. Not being a rock opera fan I wasn't terribly optimistic but given the Bee Gees success in the 70's I was intrigued. The album turned out to be mostly unrelated tracks with a 'sea shanty' theme. I really didn't find much in this album which I want to return to. I enjoyed the two instrumental tracks the most which is fairly damning in itself. It was hard to categorize what genre this album falls into chamber music? Pop Country (some tracks). I didn't hate it and I am super glad I did listen to it 'once' to understand the Bee Gees and the transition of music from the 60s to the 70s to 80s. It's easy for me to forget that music and entire genres (for example Disco) don't just 'happen' but a sound and a 'scene' evolves collaboratively over time.
A Bee Gees concept album? Not one disco ball in sight? Pass!
The Bee Gees are out of their depth here. A band in the 60's making a double album rock opera is a task that's only really able to be fulfilled by rock greats such as Frank Zappa, the Beatles or the Who. The Bee Gees already had a bunch of albums released in the three years prior and they are more of a singles band to begin with. What you end up with is an album that has some pleasant songs but no hits and an overly optimistic runtime. Better off with a greatest hits of their 60's output.
Disappointing album. They weren't that good in the 60's
No thanks. I'm down for a concept album, but this one is for sure not for me.
Overall: 4/10 I like the Bee Gees so I didn't expect to dislike this as much as I did. The biggest problem is that it's too long. The second problem is that it's incredibly boring. I'm not gonna diss it too much since the vocals are great and a couple of songs were interesting, but overall it's not for me. Fav Song: Suddenly
If I were to rank these albums using letters of the alphabet, this one would go under Y. Not for yes, but Y as in WHY is it on the list? Nothing about it really stood out as impressive or even all that interesting. It just seemed like a rather bland pop rock album, which this list seems to favor heavily. Knowing plenty of Bee Gees songs are out there that I do like, the tracks here were disappointing. Most of it sounded like an imitation of the Beatles. Some of it was almost country, but not done all that well. One song, which was probably my favorite on the album, sounded like a rip off of The Weight by The Band. Nothing about the songs really made the album seem like a worthwhile listen. Another issue is the runtime. This is another record that almost certainly would've been better if it wasn't over an hour long. It apparently started off as a concept album, but ended up as a double album that may or may not have kept the concept. Included in what they did keep were three instrumental tracks. While I'm not someone who hates instrumentals, I think that if you need to fill that much space by including three of them on an otherwise vocal album, maybe you shouldn't be making a double album. By the time I got to the third one (the final track), I was over it. That's a lot of negative criticism, which may be a little unfair since, as a whole, I don't think I would say the album was outright bad. To me though it just wasn't very good or memorable, as I feel like an album should be to have a spot in this list. This one doesn't get more than a "fine" from me. Overall: 2/5
Ei mikään erikoinen levy, en jaksanut kuunnella loppuun. 2/5.
didn't like it
I listened to this album a couple times and it went in one ear and out another. This was a boring listen: 1960s chanting folk rock that sounded like early/bad Genesis. Songs like "Whisper Whisper" picked things up but this isn't the fun Bee Gees that I enjoy from the 1970s. Top tracks: "Whisper Whisper," "Edison"
Rating: 5/10 Meh.
2/5
Meh
An interesting take at a concept album. The story was interesting but didn’t feel the music too music
I'm pretty sure this is the worst album the Bee Gees ever made.
Standouts Marley Purt Drive
Some good melodies and orchestral pieces. But it's dreary and far too long
Lots of nice music here but just nothing I would chose for myself. Except maybe the song about the Sunday drive, not that anyone can afford a Sunday drive anymore.
Didn’t know the Bee Gees had non disco stuff but this still wasn’t very good
What in the world is this? This is not the Bee Gees I was expecting, but it does confirm that I don't particularly like the way the Bee Gees sing. This is very warbly. The vocal style is just bad. The disco Bee Gees are all falsetto--this is all vibrato. This album is taking itself entirely too seriously. Some of the music is good. It's almost interesting, but it is overly long and suffers due to the singing. Bad Beatles ripoff. Strange/cringy lyrics. Some really awful songs (Marley Purt Drive, Edison, and Melody Fair is a particularly dreadful string of music). Whisper Whisper is bizarre. What is happening in this album? How did the Bee Gees survive this mess? The first song lasts about three hours, and the record just keeps going from there. Endless. Two stars for being weird.
Oh no, those Gibb boys have done it again, and gone country! All in all this did not need to be a double album. Some very cool ideas that couldve been trimmed. You can definitely hear the influence from the Beatles, and it's interesting that this came out a few years before Sticky Fingers, which was also country-inflected. Never listened to a non-Disco BeeGee's album, but this was pretty decent.
..
That vibrato is too much
What a strange album. I don't know that I can classify this as good or bad, it is simply an artifact. It's definitely interesting to see an earlier phase of this band, who I only knew previously through their disco hits, but ultimately I do think this is really uneven. Because it's like, oh Marley Purt Drive is great, Suddenly is great, Whisper Whisper is great. But then it's like, why is there a whole song about Thomas Edison? Why are there two random symphonic instrumentals in a row? Why is the title track seven and a half minutes long? The most interesting thing about this album to me personally is that I think this style of music is overall much more to my taste than their disco era stuff, but also sounds exactly like a lot of other popular bands of the era. So my knee jerk take was "well, I'd be much more likely to listen to this than later Bee Gees, probably", but actually no, I wouldn't. I'd be much more likely to listen to the Byrds or whatever, if this was the kind of music I was in the mood for. So I guess I've learned that going disco was the right move for them, that's what I've gotten out of the listening experience. Is it good? ...Maybe Do I like it? Not really Is it essential? Absolutely not Would I purchase it? No Will I ever listen to it again? No 1/1089
Got a lot going on here. Mostly feels pretty dated. Like something mom's in the 70s enjoyed listening to.
A couple good songs but mostly not my thing
Mmmm not really liked it but some "decent" songs...but unlike the track "Never Say Never Again", it will be probably never again for me...
Tedious rather than flat-out terrible. The best bits were when I left the room.
sorry, still don't like it.
I get why it’s supposed to be epic, it’s just not very good.
The pre-disco BeeGees are not very good.
This had potential at some points, and failed to sustain. If it were separated from the Beegees title, it would never have touched ground
Favourite track(s): Edison; Lamplight; I Laugh In Your Face Was expecting a disco album - speaks volumes of my lack of knowledge with regard to music history. When listening to this, I am reminded of The Mamas & The Papas or Barclay James Harvest, the latter of which was actually most active when this album had been released for a good few years. While that may be positive references, I did not like this album all that much. Many songs feature strangely vibrating vocals (not to be confused with the falsetto which the Bee Gees are known for and which is not really present here). There are some Progressive Pop elements here, but that does not bring the excitement one might get from Progressive Rock. Weirdness is cool, but considering tracks on the second half (some of which feel downright disney), this just lacks cohesion.
So this is the early beegees pre falsetto. Seems fairly well crafted I guess, but there is no identity here. One song sounds like a rip off of the weight. One sounds a bit early pink Floyd, one is maybe beatlesy, then there was a classical concerto, did the opening track even have any audio on it at all? The jumps back and forward didn't help, the fact half of them make them sound American when they're from the isle of man felt jarring. It's not really bad, but it's not cohesive and if I'm talking about the album as a whole it feels pretty messy.
A bit of a puzzler, but a dull one.
some of this is too beatlesy and some of it feels like someone perfecting the best parts of the beatles and adding to it in ways that are interesting instead of the insane things the beatles did after a horse named fame kicked them in the head
They don’t half take themselves seriously here despite the daft lyrics and sometimes ludicrous vocals. There is something pompous about this. I too prefer disco Bee Gees
This was not at all what I expected—the only Bee Gees tracks I recall hearing before are very disco. This album was pleasant-enough, non-descript, and what I would define as easy-listening or 1960s-70s folk-esque. I'm not sure why this is noteworthy—maybe because it WASN'T disco? While not bad music, I don't hear anything that would draw me back to it ever again, so it gets a hesitant 2.4 star rating.
Bleh. Sounded like discount Beatles to me. 1.5
i do love the bee gees in their disco phase, but this album was tedious and boring. when a musical act releases a concept album, it has the potential to either be really good or self-important garbage, and this album falls into the latter category.
The Bee Gees Pre-Disco feels just like another 60s band. I never thought I would think that disco actually made something better ...
Found this so tedious. Generic 60s rock and relaly not what I expected. 2.5
Second dull pre-disco Bee Gees album in three days, generator please stop this my guy
I’d much rather listen to their disco albums.
I actually just recently discovered The Bee Gees had a pre-disco era and I liked the songs I had heard. Of course I’ve been doing this generator long enough to not be surprised that those songs I liked don’t appear on the album that was chosen. This was ok. I don’t understand what it’s doing on a list like this one.
Another pre-disco Bee Gees album that’s all over the place. This one was better than Trafalgar, but still went on too way long for the little good that was on here. It’s a shame there’s none of their later album on the list, because that stuff walks all over this.
This isn't the funky disco music most think of when they think of the Bee Gees. Instead, it's some rather vapid 60s pop/rock. Pretty boring album without much of note. Some songs veer towards country, others are orchestral chamber pop.
Hmm… clearly a lot of effort went into this recording, I can tell it’s a proper work of art, but it’s not for me. This is not the Bee Gees I know and love. I struggled a bit to get through this.
Aggressively boring
Was this naff? Was it any worse than the other stuff we've listened to? Can't beat the other cheesy stuff they do.
This gets off to a slow start. That first long song drags and feels kind of formless. As the album goes on, there are plenty of good songs, but also a fair amount of songs that didn’t gel together for me. They lacked a certain spark. But I love “Marley Purt Drive” — great song. So fun. There’s a version by Jose Feliciano that’s particularly great. I might have actually heard his before the original. I wish there were more hooky songs like that one. Or maybe just some more editing on the album to make the strong songs stand out more. Wow, this last instrumental is impressive. Very cinematic. 2.5
While it’s not to my tastes it’s an interesting listen. You don’t get concept albums with such literary aims as telling the story of a ship lost at sea nowadays. It’s very operatic and I like how it weaves in classical elements, but it’s a bit dry for me.
Largely forgettable to me. Not bad, just nothing stood out. 2/5
I expected a poppy, disco album given that’s where the Bee Gees hits lie. I couldn’t have been more wrong and I’m not sure I liked what I discovered. It was okay but it went forever. Some of the instrumentation was good and the Bee Gees are great vocalists with great harmonies but this just wasn’t their best stuff.
I feel like if you asked ChatGPT to give you something that sounds like the 60's, it woukd give you this album. It does a lot of things, but nothing oarticularly well. The performances are just ok, the songs drag on a bit and it's way too long overall
holy boring
Today I learned the Bee Gees weren't always a disco/R&B band, and in fact had eleven (!!!) albums before making one with R&B influences. Definitely feeling this album though is at the intersection of stuff like Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead??? Folk rock, baroque pop, country influences. But honestly, almost immediately this is boring me. It's fine, but not really what I am looking for and at over an hour long, its a lot to ask. Very much "grandma" music to my ears. I'd definitely rank the best of their disco output as better than this.
I rates this low but in a weird way I think this actually is an album you need to hear to be believed.
This was bland, long and not very interesting at all.
Yeah… I’ll pass. It’s pretty weird and pretentious. Musically it’s fine, but the melodies are uninteresting. Suddenly, I like disco more than usual
Not their best imo
could i write poetry to this? n
chato
Mix of Beach and Beatle
Oh dear. I've listened to my elders and betters, and I do believe the people who tell me that the Bee Gees are seriously good songwriters, rather than just a band that did two great disco tracks (Stayin' Alive and Night Fever, obviously). But this didn't do it for me. Objectively good, some of the songs may be. "Nice", even, in places. It seems sincerely meant, and ambitious in scope. But it sucked all of the energy out of my evening, except for when it made me laugh for the wrong reasons. I thought it was pretty awful. Like they'd taken the dreariest bits from other artists of the day, and sat strumming and harmonising earnestly until they had enough for an album. Two albums. The Gibbs are/were very nice guys (hence the second star, I'd feel mean giving them one), but I can think of much more interesting things that were going on in 1969: Led Zep, The Stooges etc. It strikes me that David Bowie (all hail) briefly dabbled in this sort of thing, too. Thank goodness they all moved on from it. And the difference being that, by 1969, Bowie *had* moved on, and was writing such incredible songs as Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed. If I need a thoughtful and authentic folk album from 1969, that doesn't sound twee, I'll stick to Nick Drake.
Very richly orchestrated album with the “Bee Gees” signature vocals. I never knew they did music outside of disco! Lyrics are impressive.
ion like this type of music
This album is alright but i'd prob give peak Bee Gees a 3 and this is kinda not as good as yea. Nice singing tho
I understand why the Bee Gees made this album, it was what they did best at the time, but what were the reviewers thinking?!?! Even Barry Gibb mentions that this album was pointless. Like, seriously, the list should've included their disco albums instead of this insignificant rubbish.
Bloated, messy and the decline of a disco powerhouse.
Bee Gees: Odessa: This was pretty boring, and REALLY long for no reason. Really samey and the sound is super bland and the dude's voice is a little annoying. Not the worst thing I've ever heard but pass. 4/10
Ugh. I like disco Bee Gees much more. I didn't think all of the songs were awful, but I audibly said, "what the fuck?!?!" to a lot of these songs. 2/5
And I thought the Bee Gees were bad before I'd heard of this album!!
The first thing I notice upon opening this in Spotify was that it was lacking any songs I recognised. An interesting selection? A genius left field addition? Well no. Actually, it turns out that it’s all just a bit rubbish so its no wonder there’s no hits on it. Some weak country music, some nondescript easy listening, “I laugh in your face” even sounds like they could be a Dylan parody band. It’s an album without a definitive sound. It also gives an indication of being a concept album seeking a concept and in doing so it breaks the golden rule of being over an hour long. Stick to the best of the Bee Gees, get your disco flares and metallic lamé out and have yourself a good time rather than force yourself through this forgettable tosh.
Someone once told me that the Bee Gees were much better before disco. After listening to this, I'm not sure I agree.
Started off well, the opening track is brilliant, but the album is otherwise far too long with too few highlights. Could have been cut down by 20 minutes at least, the songwriting isn't strong enough to keep your attention
Better than I expected, worse than I hoped.
Give me disco or give me death. This is a knockoff Beatles concept album in the worst possible way.
This is just middling 60's rock trying to be something it isn't - Good.
The Beatles but Hindu George Harrison took the creative wheel for 1 hour and 4 minutes.
Nothing interesting
Expectations: Roller disco vibes 🕺🏽 Reality: The Beatles ordered off Temu 2 ⭐️
Listenable enough, but certainly doesn’t seem like a critical piece of music history.
It's very eh to me
Not horrible but not up there with the best Bee Gees. I've learned though this that I prefer artistic direction shifts to not be done with double albums. EPs, EPs are fine.
I hated this less than I hate other Bee Gees music.
I didn't know I disliked the Bee Gees so much. The 2 albums I've gotten are awful. This one is slightly better than Trafalgar so I'll give it 2 stars.
I wasn't feeling it. A very long album with no memorable songs. The singing is great, but it's usually is from Bee Gees.
this was a tough listen. i actually enjoyed two of the songs so im not gonna give it the one star it deserves
This album is an enigma to me. It fits squarely within The Bee Gees pre-disco canon, and while they aspire to greatness, they are unable to attain it. They had to wait for disco where their mediocrity could save them. It does give me a better appreciation for disco, and on that note, John Travolta should be the most grateful man in the world.
I much prefer the Bee Gees' 70s and 80s output. This is just bleak acoustic rambling without any genuine ideas. Who would have thought? 1.5/5
Njaa. Nothing special here
Long, cinematic but not really memorable. Great production though
I laugh in your face, I know you did with this album!
Not The Bee Gees I was familiar with. Almost a folk album, enjoyed the first few songs
What an oddity. You can hear bits of The Beatles and hints of Creedence Clearwater Revival, fronted by the unmistakable sound of Bee Gees vocals. Then interspersed is an orchestral score for a movie that doesn’t exist. I don’t know if it actually holds together despite individual moments being pretty good. 2.5/5
🎧Big swing, big miss. Favorite track: Black Diamond
These guys better be glad disco became a thing because it would've looked real spooky for them if it didn't. This one right here? Not good. At All.
These guys needed disco more than disco needed them
An album with no identity to me. Thats not really the place where they sound good. Glad it has an ending. They still did 2-3 good songs. (2.0/5.0)
Not at all what I expected when Bee Gees popped up. A concept album about a fictional ship is such a weirdly specific idea that I can't help but be intrigued. I do not like this style at all for them, but the Bee Gees persist. They aren't quite sea shanties, but orchestral soft rock. I was surprised to hear "Never Say Never Again", as I didn't know it was a Bee Gees song. There are a handful of other enjoyable tracks ("I Laugh In Your Face" comes to mind), and plenty of decent-to-good vocal performances, but just nothing that really kept interest. I don't understand why this is on the list
Does feel a *bit* strange to have two of Bee Gees' early maritime-focused (naval-gazing?) albums on this list, yet nothing from their much loved disco period. This one feels like they didn't know what kind of record they wanted to make. Like they couldn't decide between a grand orchestral concept album or a collection of wacky pop and country songs, and never tried to reconcile the two. The result, as you might expect, is that they didn't really succeed at either.
Previously rated: Trafalgar (1/5) ********************* I had forgotten how much I hated the previous Bee Gees album. This is one two years earlier and a double album. Oh boy. You know how some people have punchable faces. One of these guys has a very punchable voice, whichever is Mr. Vibrato. The songs he sings lead on are very lame. There were a couple of decent tracks when they try to sing like the Beatles, so I didn't hate this one nearly as much.
4/10…baroque pop
i’ll never get over the fact that THIS is the real sound of the bee gees!! there were some really nice songs ngl, but overall it didn't pass the test 2,5/5 🕺🏽
Quite boring to be honest
Not disco - 70s soft rock ballads. Did not enjoy it, but giving it a 2 for the high production value on some tracks.
That was hard for me to listen to.
Keep your hands clean!!
4/10 I wouldn't have guessed this was a Bee Gees' album, although there is the odd moment where the future distinctive vocal can be discerned from the largely forgettable late 60s pop on offer. Sounds so much like the Beatles at times, it is almost comical, as are most of their lyrics. I have no doubt that in is time it would have been a decent listen, but today, with the wealth of other music around, it felt irrelevant.
Listening to a Bee Gees album prior to their massive commercial success, which peaked with the soundtrack of 'Saturday Night Fever', is quite interesting. 'Odessa' is intended as a concept album centered around a ship lost at sea, yet the concept fails to fully materialize in a satisfying manner. The album's challenge lies in its excessive musical diversity, incorporating elements of rock, pop, country, baroque, opera, and classical music, which can create a sense of aimlessness or disarray. While the Bee Gees' hallmark strengths, such as their vocal harmonies and instrumentals, are evident, many of the lyrics come across as trite and outdated, even by the standards of 1960s pop. For fans of the Bee Gees or those curious about the evolution of musical groups, this album may offer a worthwhile experience. Otherwise, it may be best to skip it.
I forget that the Bee Gees weren't always a disco group. I think they're much better suited for that genre than whatever this is. I can see why the album wasn't particularly well-received upon release, as the description indicates. I'm just not really sure what this album is. It's boring and a bit odd, not something I will listen to again. 3.5/10 (1.75/5)
odessa- 4 youll never see my face again- 4 black diamond- 4 marley purt drive- 4 edison- 3 melody fair- 4 suddenly- 4 whisper whisper- 4 lamplight- 2 sound of love- 2 no more its not good
Odessa (City on the Black Sea) was good, but far too long. The rest of the songs sounded somewhat similar. I knew precisely what was coming, and sort of had my fill right before the instrumental tracks. I did not enjoy the instrumental tracks.
After their last album we had, I wasn't expecting much from this, but I would say it was better than I expected. Again, not the bee gees disco sound that they are known for though. I didn't really enjoy the more orchestral tracks they had here and a song about a British ship was strange. Some of it was ok though to be fair, but my main issue is that the stuff that was ok mainly sounded like they were trying to do the Beatles and it wasn't that exciting. 2.5
I was in the boat of not knowing the Bee Gees weren't only disco, and I can kind of see why. I'm having trouble seeing much of a narrative or concept in this concept album. Started being good for me on Marley Put Drive, then immediately lost me on Edison. Way too repetitive. The Whisper Whisper ending where it basically turns into a different song brought me back in. Seems like they might have actually had a little fun on that one. Give Your Best was a good one to mix it up a little. Surprised me with the country feel with the fiddle and energetic banjo picking, but in a good way! Seven Seas Symphony is very pretty. From that point, things return to form. Most of the songs feel like they drag on without saying much. They sound good enough, but it needs more substance. Unfortunately a lot of it is just boring.
This could be used to torture people. I don't enjoy disco Bee Gees but at least that shit is kinda funky and fun. 17 songs and over an hour of runtime of an odd concept album that highlights that these dudes aren't great singers.
I hate the Bee Gees. Their whiney high voices irritate me. I was surprised to hear that they have normal voices too. I didn't hate this like I thought, but it's from an era I'm not particularly fond of.
Ok
I knew not to expect Disco-era vibes from this record, but this doesn’t even sound like the same band. Where are the falsetto harmonies?! Where is any semblance of a groove?! Where is the rhythm section?! Where is the songwriting prowess?! Pick any song on this record and then immediately play a B-tier ‘70s Bee Gees hit (e.g. anything off of Spirits Having Flown), and you would think that those are two different bands with completely different singers and two radically different visions. But they’re not, it’s just a 10-year difference in culture that divides them, even though the ‘70s material sounds timeless and classic today, even if it’s not perfect or their best work. Odessa, on the other hand, sounds like a third-rate psychedelic band doing wayyyyyy too much to try and come off as smarter and more talented than they are. And, like, honestly…that is kind of who Bee Gees were prior to the Disco explosion. It sounds like copycat trend chasing because it IS copycat trend chasing. And when that’s your starting point, your record loses any listening value one year after it came out, let alone 50 years after it came out. I will admit that occasionally there are some okay late ‘60s hippie tunes here that I’m okay with, like “Edison,” “Sound of Love,” and “Black Diamond.” But I’m not in love with anything here, even when I’m able to tolerate it. And there’s a lot here! 5-ish songs that I can merely grit my teeth through out of 17 songs total and over an hour runtime? That’s a bad hit ratio. I already don’t like psychedelic anything, so this era is really already sandpaper against my eardrums. When it’s posing and derivative, though, it’s only worse. I think there’s better trend chasing records to show how culturally important the psychedelic movement was in the late ‘60s. I’ve heard them; they’re on this very list. Sure, they might not be good, but they tell a historic story about the genre and large-scale popular music trends, and I could see the argument for including that type of derivative material on a list like this if you believe the purpose of a list like this is to show the history of popular music, great and terrible, and not just highlight the “best” or most “essential” listening experiences ever made. But when you use a popular band who are known for chasing – and, debatably, thriving within– an entirely separate musical trend, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth if you’re on the side of the reader like everyone here is. Especially when that musical trend lasted the same amount of time as the hippie era and has wayyyyy less representation in this book. The fact that Odessa is also just a bad, bland, overwrought and overambitious trudge with nothing really original or appealing to the average listener who wasn’t a crate digger during the literal years of the Summer of Love only adds insult to injury.
Sentimental mawkish piss
okaaaaay not what i was expecting from these kings. nice easy listening, a few bangers and some less inspiring stuff
I'm not overly familiar with the Bee Gees' library, but I find the selection of Odessa for this list highly questionable... as if someone had an agenda to push this obscure (and fairly terrible) album onto the masses who otherwise would not have (and should not have) ever listened to it. And yet, there have been worse things on this list; so, I guess it'll get a 2 for its relativity.
Some of the musical ideas are good. The lyrics are not my thing. If I ignore the lyrics (which I am), it’s a pleasant listen. Further listening is revealing some truly terrible songs (Seven Seas Symphony, With All Nations… seriously what were they doing?).
Kaipaatko työmatkoihisi lisää... majesteettisuutta? Värisevää herraskaisuutta? Minä en kaipaa. Mutta tällä levyllä on myös tyydyttäviä hetkiä: kantripalasia, vähän rokkia. Lisäksi Never Say Never Again ja First of May muodostavat aika hyvän kaksikon loppuun. 2,5
Very forgettable. Standout songs: Lamplight Seven Seas Symphony
This is from before they were _The_ Bee Gees, right?
One doesn’t even sense that this band would become an iconic disco group. And but for the fact that they do this record probably wouldn’t be in this list.
It wasn't what I expected. And if it wasn't a double album it might've stayed at a 3. But it's too long for something I didn't really enjoy.
This tedious and boring. Give me the disco stuff.
2.5
Ick
Psychedelic, folky opus. No real stand out tracks.
Nooooo.... It's Friday (a glorious Friday), and I'm supposed to listen to Bee Gees? We'll see how this goes. It's over an hour?!? Okay, I can do this. ... Okay, that was not what I expected... didn't sound like the Bee Gees I know, but not better. It's a concept album.
So was this their we have to make a Sargent Peppers album? Not sure why it's here just like Trafalgar. I don't know what it's about but it was better then that one at least. I guess they were better at disco
I genuinely had no idea that the Bee Gees were releasing albums in the 60's. So this would be a pre-disco sound for the brothers. Vocally, this is as good as you'd expect and is easily the highlight of the album. There's absolutely no denying the vocal talents of the brothers Gibb. The harmonies and falsetto are as good as you'll hear. Musically it's odd. It's like if The Beatles were less good and started releasing folky prog music. 'Whisper Whisper' in particular sounds very Fab Four. A lot of the tracks just aren't that interesting and do sort of merge together. The only highlight I can remember is 'Edison' which I thought was a hugely catchy ear worm. It's not exactly bad, but it is pretty dull in places. Not exactly what the Bee Gees are known for.
It’s a 60s concept album by some dudes that sing really well. I think people hate on this because it’s The Bee Gees but honestly, it’s good that they did experiment. Trying to loook at this objectively, I think it suffers from a problem many concept albums have which is it never goes anywhere. Even “The Wall” has another brick pt2 to grab the listener eventually. Overall I’m glad they got to explore, but I don’t think it amounted to much.
It doesn't really sound at all like what I'm used to the Bee Gees sounding like, which is good. But it also doesn't sound like anything good, which is bad.
Haven't really forayed into the Bee Gees before, tbh. But boy this album (or I guess, double album) felt like a lot. That's the thing with concept albums (my favorites that come to mind from that era are The Wall, Sgt. Pepper's) is when they work, they can be great. When they don't, they sound a lot like this. I like to relisten to albums sometimes to get a better feel for them, but I just couldn't with this one. There might have been 1 or 2 tracks that I enjoyed and the rest felt like filler.
I honestly didn't know that the Bee Gees were active in the late 60s. I always associate them with some form of pop-rock, disco of the mid-late 70s. Not at all what I expected out of the gate. This has a traditional + folksy aspect to it with sweeping strings and drawn out harmonized balladry. Getting some heavy goat overtones from the vocals. Marley Purt Drive is an interesting detour into roots rock. I'm into it. Stepped away from this one and came back in to With All Nations... such a strange album this one. I guess this really sells the "baroque pop" categorization. This is one of those albums that, on the face of it, is completely fine and respectable. And yet, here I am an hour later and I fucking hated this. The whole thing felt pretty all over the place, but in the most boring way possible. There are parts that are individually nice (Marley Purt Drive, vocals on First of May), but my general takeaway is abject boredom. Never again, but also not deserving of a 1. So 2 it is.
This is... not what I was expecting with the Bee Gees. Really not liking these first few songs. I love skiing Black Diamonds but I H8 this one. Marley Purt Drive is much better and has The Band sound to it. Definitely starting to hate the baroqueness of this album and it's dragging on forever.
Very interesting to hear the Bee Gees before their disco hits that are so familiar. Kinda lost me at "remember you're just a woman." Also learned while listening that I was holding an old wives tale in my head, that the Brothers Gibb all died of cocaine in the '70s. So wrong! Two are still alive today and the other made it to 2012. Glad you're still here, guys.
Not my fave really. The warbley singing put me off a bit. I have a feeling if someone were to redo some of these songs with singing more to my taste and less Violins and stuff this has some promise.
There's better bee gees albums come on...
Not the Bee Gees that everyone knows and I don't know why i expected it to be that. It reminds me of the drastic change that Fleetwood Mac made to their sound after the Peter Green era. All the harmonies are still here but honestly, they aren't doing anything on this album that anyone during that era wasn't already doing. There's some clear Beatles influence on this record. The songs aren't bad they just don't stand out too much.
Nije potpuna kopija beatlesa ko prvi ali je bezveze
I’ll give them points for ambition but this is a mess of an album. For every good track there’s two or three bad ones and it falls under the weight of its own self importance and lengthy runtime. Lamplight is such a low point its almost hilarious that one of them left the band over it not being chosen as the A-side. It's horrendous.
the children yearn for disco. Overall I liked some of it and got bored for the other 45 mins
I thought that the songs were super unremarkable and forgettable.
Sounds like a boring amalgamation of every Beatles album we've had thus far. Not sure why this list loves the Bee Gees early stuff so much; seems to me like they were ripping people off both early and late in their careers, but at least their disco stuff is fun to listen to
OK.
I must admit I only knew about 3 or 4 of their songs, thought I'd like this album but not the case.
Majority of the songs don't land, and they feel like they're ultimately missing something. As if they hired half an orchestra, or forget to put soul into their epic single. It's not entirely without merit, but I'd rather much listen to something else.
Definitely not the Bee Gees you'd expect. And not for the better.
Didn’t hate it but won’t revisit
Too long, too boring. This guys should really switch genre or something
It’s crazy how many people The Beatles influenced isn’t it? Imagine it being 1969 and you releasing a song that the Beatles could have done 5 years ago? Just give up on trying to be good Bee Gees and pivot to disco. It’s bad, but in a good way and you do it well
Lidt et alternativt Bee Gees, ikke den gode disco vibe, men mere følsomt, langtrukkent
Not a fan of concept albums nor this flavor of The Bee Gees. This album isn’t fun and it’s pretty hard to get though.
"I knew that the Bee Gees had more of a soft rock sound before they went the disco route, and a lot of the songs I heard from that era were good. But this album is very boring and absolutely too long. I know it's a concept album, and I can understand why the critics at the time weren't too favorable toward it. It's just so monotone and lacks substance in terms of the concept's subject, which is a port in Ukraine; Not the best subject for an album is it?
Interesting album, though still mediocre. I don't think I'd ever listen to it again. Still better than their disco-era music.
It was okay. I saved one of the instrumentals but otherwise, background music that I didn't miss after it was gone.
This is not great, but just about as good as the Bee Gees get. There are some real stinkers in here, but a good bit of it is actually somewhat listenable.
Knockoff Beatles, but from the pre-psychadelic era.
Not very good and went on and on.
Weird to think this is the Bee Gees, but in a “huh” way, not a “this is great!” way.
Did the Bee Gees just copy what was popular at the time? As this is the second album in 2 weeks and was just as boring as the other. Still yet to hear their disco album.
why do the bee gees have two albums and neither are the ones with songs people like
Didn't expect this, didn't really enjoy it either
There were bits in there that spoke to talent, but it's just sort of a self important jumble veering from Beatles to Beach Boys to orchestral interludes.
The conceit of a concept album is a seriously difficult artistic endeavor to pull off. When it's done well (Sgt Peppers), it's pretty mind-blowing. When it's not, it's this.
Yikes!
Very boring
2.5 The instrumental part is very nice, but the vocals are boring.
Not the Bee Gees I knew or expected. Generous 2.
This is the best the bee gees have released.
I have a coworker who love The Bee Gees and Andy gibb. She always calls out last minute doubling my work load. I can’t wait to tell her I listened to this whole album and was underwhelmed by this knockoff Beatles album with nonsensical lyrics.
On another day I may have found things to appreciate but this was a very odd choice to make this list 2/5
This just didn’t work for me. Long and boring
Ambitious record from the Bee Gees and i think this sound works well for them when compared to their disco sound, but it just doesn't do anything for me unfortunately. 2/5 ⭐️
2.5
This is so NOT rainbow rhythms.
The Brothers Gibb giving us absolute generic Beatles clone soft rock music. It's serviceable, but you can see why no one knows anything outside the Bee Gees disco era. Not great, not terrible. Generic and forgettable. Give us a disco record next time thanks.
some alright songs but mostly rubbish.
of course the Bee Gees would see their greatest commercial successes when they came up with a different, even more annoying way of singing
I've never heard very early Bee Gees, and now I see why it doesn't get as much exposure. Basically an attempt at making a moving, serious, concept album, but it doesn't really work all that well. Way too much vibrato on the vocals, and the music is just like prog rock but not as interesting.
So syrupy.
njaae, jag vet inte riktigt vad jag lyssnar på. det är åtminstone inte så bra.
As if the disco era wasn't bad enough.