Bee Gees, Spirits Having Flown (1979)

Where bought? Good Time Records in Walton, north Liverpool. Went for a lockdown walk there when record shops were allowed to open and bought this and a couple of other cheap things. 

12 years on from First is almost a completely different band with two whole careers worth of drama, success, and change under their belts. This is post-Saturday Night Fever, a band of global megastars responding to the task of producing something that exists in the world that punk was about to change.

The result is quite astonishing. After writing one of the smash hit records of the 70s the Gibbs could have easily phoned in records for the rest of time. Instead, the first track here is 'Tragedy'. Listen to it. Every single section is a hook. Every single section is a good hook. And all the sections hang together. This is pop songwriting without peer: wry, sophisticated, but earthy and universal. An incredible song.

By 1979 Barry is the unopposed lead singer. I'm not even sure what Robin does anymore, though the songs are more democratically credited (all songs are Gibb/Gibb/Gibb, whereas 1st was B Gibb and occasionally the others). Perhaps this was part of the settlement that got Robin back in the band after he briefly took his ball home, or maybe they really were democratically working on these mega-hits together.

As my friend Paul says, not every moment rules. 'Reaching Out' goes a bit overblown with the layered vocals and searching key change near the end. And yes, maybe the diamond-edged production is just a bit too smooth in points. These songs stand up played by noise bands to Tascam; they don't need all the cocaine smoothing.

The better cuts are the more restrained ones like the title track, the peerless ballad 'Too Much Heaven', the sparse disco funker 'Living Together', and the almost yacht rocking 'I'm Satisfied'. I really love the stark synth closer 'Until'; it sounds like the lonely trudge home at the end of a failed night out and loops back round to the melancholy euphoria that opens the first side: 'Tragedy'. A masterclass.

A keeper. It's worth nothing in the market so go and get a copy. A brilliant album.