Idea - THE BEE GEES****

Let There Be Love/Kitty Can/In The Summer Of His Years/Indian Gin & Whisky Dry/Down To Earth/Such A Shame/Idea/When The Swallows Fly/I’ve Decided To Join The Air Force/I Started A Joke/Kilburn Towers/Swan Song. US version also includes I've Gotta Get A Message To You and omits Such A Shame

On Idea the multi talented Gibbs brothers turnout another set of catchy pop tunes that was their trademark in the late sixties. Features the UK chart topper I've Got A Get A Message To You plus the US No. 6 hit I Started A Joke. (US:17 UK:4)

"Wonderful tunes that come back as fresh as when first listened to. The Bee Gees were very clever composers, with melodies that were far more complex than other bands of the day, and lyrics that were rather mystical at times. They conveyed a love of music together with an understanding of musical structure and harmonies."

"I just love these early Bee Gees albums, they have so much verve and variety. There's a little less of the whimsical psychedelia which infused much of their first two albums, as they started to appreciate how good they were at writing big ballads."

"Idea is an example of the best The Bee Gees have to offer. I've Gotta Get A Message To You and I Started A Joke are the two best songs they ever wrote, brilliant both lyrically and instrumentally. At the same time, the rest of the songs are interesting and creative, though not so suited to being stand alone singles. It is albums like this, that made The Bee Gees such a great band."

"It's loaded with the usual great three part vocal harmonies we'd come to expect from the brothers. Their writing really started to develop and go through a tremendous experimental phase at this time. I love the contrasting styles of writing and singing you get from Barry and Robin. They were both outstanding writers, able to compose a song for pretty much every genre on this album, showing their versatility as both singers and songwriters. This is a complete album in every way."

"This is another highly enjoyable set of very different songs from a band whose ingenuity is sadly underrated, compared to some of their more critically lauded contemporaries."

"The sound is very dated from the late 60s British scene. Lots of horns, violins and electric guitars. If you dig The Bee Gees, Idea is a must for your collection."