Bee Gees: "One"

I'm no Bee Gees hater...in fact, I really appreciate much of their music. From the early stuff ("Man For All Seasons", "How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?") to their successful mid-period ("Too Much Heaven", "Love So Right") and even some of the more recent songs (especially "Alone"), they have been, if not consistant, at least a sporadically excellent mainstream pop outfit. It's hard to doubt that there was a certain kind of magic that filled the recording studio when the brothers Gibb congregated to make a record. It may have been a hit-or-miss kind of thing, but when it hit, it really hit big.

And when it missed you got albums like "One".

"One" is, by Bee Gees standards, a terribly bland affair. The production sounds half-finished, the fidelity of the recording lacks the "sheen" that is one of the group's strengths. The songwriting is average at best. Only the vocals are worthy of attention. The Gibb's greatest asset may well be the merging of those three distinct voices, which they had been honing for over 35 years when this album was released.

Still, even the best singers have a hard time working with crap songs. The great ones have the ability to save such a dismal song by their vocal work alone. Not to say that Barry, Robin and Maurice aren't capable of performing this feat. They sure can't seem to do it on "One". The vocals are, indeed, the best thing here, but that's not saying much. They still pale in comparison to what they've proved themselves capable of.

I don't even want to discuss individual tracks here, because frankly I can't remember a single one, not even the titles. I am not going to sit through it again, at least not in the foreseeable future. I will say this...There may be a great song tucked into the sequence of the last three or three & a half songs. I wouldn't know...I fell asleep around that time.

If you're in the mood for late-90's period Bee Gees music, take my advice: avoid "One" and check out their 1997 album "Still Waters". From the first track on that album, "Alone", you will see that they still have what it takes to make an excellent album. They may never have a repeat of the success they enjoyed in the seventies, but they still knock out some fine music every once in awhile.