In 1969 Robin Gibb left the Bee Gees
after his relationship with older
brother Barry had deteriorated
significantly. Barry and Maurice
Gibb went on to record the album
Cucumber Castle, which spawned
the number 2 hit 'Don't Forget To
Remember'. Robin went on to release his
first solo album, called Robin's
Reign.
OK, the cover is awful. But was the
music inside the album actually
good? Yes and no. The pluses are
that some of the songs are deeply
emotional and slightly out of the
ordinary, with one or two pleasant
melodies thrown in for good measure.
The first single, 'Saved by the
Bell' falls into this category,
being heavily influenced by the Bee
Gees track 'I Started a Joke'. It
has a powerful Robin Gibb lead vocal
and an infectious melody, although
the lyrics are somewhat simplistic
(possibly even banal). The follow-up
single, 'August October', is
similarly catchy, as is the jaunty
track 'Most Of My Life'. Other
pleasantly simple tracks include
'Give Me A Smile', 'Mother and Jack'
and 'Weekend'. But the album too
often gets bogged down in long,
quite dreary, songs that really go
nowhere, both lyrically and
melodically. Tracks like 'The Worst
Girl In This Town', 'Farmer
Ferdinand Hudson' and 'Lord Bless
All' all fall into this category,
being quite simply underdeveloped.
But what really drags this album
down is the production, which is
relatively poor throughout, even on
the better tracks. Incessant drum
machines and shoddy multi-track
vocals dominate, with uninspiring
use of strings and very little use
of guitar. The whole album is
much less fluid and
exciting than any of the previous
Bee Gees albums, which suggests that
Robin had, by this time either not
matured musically to sustain a
complete album, or that he had gone
down something of a blind alley in a
misguided attempt to do something
different. Whether the former or the
latter (and I suspect it is the
latter), this is not an album that
stands up to repeated listening. He
would, however, do much better in
future solo albums released in other
decades.
This album also did little to end
the feud between Robin and Barry,
both of whom at this point in their
careers believed they were the main
reason for the Bee Gees' success.
Perhaps if Robin's hit single,
'Saved By The Bell' had
outperformed 'Don't Forget To
Remember' in the UK charts (the
latter had made it to Number 2), things
would have been different and
Robin's belief that he was the main
talent in the group would have been
borne out. However, as it transpired,
'Saved By The Bell' managed to rise
to...number 2 in the charts,
equalling Barry and Maurice's
highest chart placing.
Perhaps we will never know.
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Where to Buy
Buy CD (release date unknown)
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