The Bee Gees younger brother, Andy Gibb,
released his first ever album in 1977,
20 years after his older brothers had
released their first album,
Bee Gees 1st. He
didn't take his first steps alone, however.
The entire album was executive produced by
brother Barry Gibb. Barry also wrote one
song ('I Just Want To Be Your Everything')
and co-wrote one song with Andy ('Love Is
Thicker Than Water'). The two songs written
by Barry are not a million miles away from
the type of music the Bee Gees were
recording in that era; extremely catchy,
tightly produced contemporary pop songs. In
fact, the first of the two tracks even
features a falsetto chorus with Barry
clearly present in the background. It is not
surprising that the Bee Gees sound is
evident in these two tracks as Barry also
produced them.
For the remaining eight songs, however,
Barry let Andy go it alone. All the other
tracks are written by Andy and are a mixed
bag. The sound veers from country to pop, much of it aimed at a
younger teen audience than the Bee Gees. 'Words
and Music' is a simple, but effective,
sing-a-long, which uses Andy's strong vocals
effectively. 'Too Many Looks In Your Eyes'
and 'Starlight' are two emotional love
songs, with shiver-down-the-spine melodies
that rival his three more experienced
brothers. The stand out track from the Andy
Gibb-composed songs, however, is the title
track. This is an up-tempo, country tinged
ballad, beautifully produced by Albhy
Galuten and Karl Richardson (Barry Gibb's
co-producers on many early 1980s hit
albums). And 'In The End' is a fitting close to
the album, again using Andy's strong vocals
well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album is
forgettable, mainly comprising lightweight
country songs with generic lyrics and fairly
generic melodies too.
It is clear from listening to this very good
first album that Andy was a talented guy.
His voice was almost as strong as his
brothers Barry and Robin, and his song
writing abilities showed promise (but was
certainly not in the same league at this
stage in his career, nor was he as creative
in his subjects and styles). This album is a
recommended buy for those wanting to find
out whether Barry, Robin and Maurice's
talent had rubbed off onto their younger
brother. As you will find out, it had.
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Where to Buy
Buy CD (release date 1998)
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