Customer Reviews

Idea

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wrapped in a snug fold-out digipak, this Rhino re-issue of Bee Gees Idea is a wonder to behold. Being the third album by the three brothers, Rhino has beautifully remastered the original into one CD that has all the original thirteen songs in Stereo and Mono. These are different sounding recordings and not simply Stereo condensed into Mono. Classics like, "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" and "I Started A Joke" is given new life.

Disc 2 contains fantastic Alternate Versions and previously unreleased material. It's interesting to compare "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "Kitty Can", "Let There Be Love" or "Idea" to the original takes. Also include on album for the first time are singles, "Jumbo" and "The Singer Sang His Song". Other new delights are the rocking, "Bridges Crossing Rivers" and "Chocolate Symphony". "Completely Unoriginal" is `tongue in cheek', being one of the most original songs the Bee Gees have ever written. Also of note is the rare instrumental, "Gena's Theme" and two classic Coke commercials. With 39 songs and a running time of over 100 minutes, this is a long awaited release. "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" went to #8 on the Billboard Charts and "I Started A Joke" went to #6! The album hit #17 in the USA and #4 in the U.K.! Also includes a colorful booklet packed with trivia, history, album and single photos as well as comments from Barry and Robin Gibb.

As a hard core Bee Gees fan, I would think this item was excellent anyway. I have the original release and I was very surprised to hear this re-issue. It has the original album in both mono and stereo which makes for good listening. Although a very early Bee Gees release, this sounds just as fresh today as it did back then. I really loved the 2nd disc in this item. It has some alternate mixes and some unreleased tracks. Apparently the Bee Gees did a couple of Coke commercials which are included on the 2nd disc. If you're as big a Bee Gees fan as I am, then you will want to have this reissue.

By late 1968 the Bee Gees had already had a string of hit singles as well as two fairly successful albums 'The Bee Gees 1st' and 'Horizontal'. In the summer of 1968 the Bee Gees scored their biggest hit to date with I'VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU (which reached #8 in the U.S). Captilizing on the single's success the band released their third album 'Idea' in September (it reached #17). Unlike their bright lush pop rock debut, or their colder more hard rocking follow up, 'Idea' was more of a transitional stage for the group as their are various styles of music on this album.

The band decided to put I'VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU on the U.S. version of the album. For whatever reason it was omitted on the U.K. version in place of the blues rocking SUCH A SHAME which is the only song not sung or written by the brothers Gibb (it was written and sung by the group's guitarist Vince Melouney) Thankfully we can enjoy both songs on this cd version. The other hit here is the follow up single I STARTEDA JOKE which was released in December of '68 (it followed the same success peaking at #6). Apart from those two hits the rest of the album is filled with wonderful progressive pop rock of contrasting styles. LET THERE BE LOVE is a beautiful love ballad that could have been a single. Both Barry and Robin's voice are great on this one! The bouncy KITTY CAN and the catchy INDIAN GIN AND WHISKY DRY are nice simple novelty pop tunes. IN THE SUMMER OF HIS YEARS and DOWN TO EARTH are tragic ballads. DOWN TO EARTH is a particular is a great song. The title track IDEA is an awesome catchy rock 'n roll song. WHEN THE SWALLOWS FLY is a nice tune with a great Barry Gibb vocal. I HAVE DECIDED TO JOIN THE AIRFORCE is a novelty rock tune but it's by no means the best track here. Still it's listenable. KILBURN TOWERS is an excellent smooth jazz experimentation Barry's vocals are once again wonderful here. The last track SWAN SONG is a beautiful yet powerful ballad that appropriately closes 'Idea'.

The Bee Gees were definetly becoming more confident as a group third time around. Their song writing was improving and 'Idea' was another success for the Gibbs. Although the two singles GOTTA GET A MESSAGE and I STARTED A JOKE are the true highlights, other songs like LET THERE BE LOVE, DOWN TO EARTH, IDEA, WHEN THE SWALLOWS FLY, KILBURN TOWERS and SWAN SONG proved that 'Idea' wasn't just two singles and bunch of filler.

Overall 'Idea' is a good effort by The Bee Gees. Whether or not it's their best 60's album is up to you but it is worth getting thats all I can say! Highly recommended.

After their unique introduction on "Bee Gees 1st" and a more somber 2nd album, "Horizontal", the Bee Gees are far more confident in their writing, singing and performing on this CD. Barry Gibb's guitar work is exemplary and his voice is strongest on "When The Swallows Fly" and "Swan Song", as well as Robin Gibb on "In The Summer Of His Years" and the huge hit, "I Started A Joke". Maurice experiments a great deal with his bass guitar on the bouncy "Kitty Can", the pensive "Down To Earth" and strong pulsating bass notes (and piano) on the massive hit "I've Gotta Get A Mesage To You". Lead guitarist Vince Melouney writes the only Bee Gees song never written by the brothers; "Such A Shame", an upbeat, harmonica driven rocker with his Mickey Dolenz sound-alike voice. It is the last strong group effort of an album, before the Bee Gees, temporarily went their separate mucical ways.

Showing young vocal abilities in Let There Be Love and Down To Earth make them the best songs on the album. But I Started A Joke and I Gotta Get A Message To You are two great hits that zoomed to the top of charts. Kilburn Towers has a beautiful tune and a great Barry Gibb single voice. The rest of the songs are all great and show different vocal stuff except the silly non-BeeGee written Such A Shame.

The Brothers Gibb score again with "Idea". There are lots of great songs to be found here. My faves: "Let There Be Love", "Kitty Can", "Such A Shame", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", and "I Started A Joke". I also like "In The Summer Of His Years" and "I've Decided To Join The Air Force". All and all, another classic Bee Gees album. Anyone who likes the Bee Gees and doesn't have this should get it. You will not be disappointed. This deserves a 10-star rating!

Many fine performances and compositions. A hit in the U.K. (#4 on the charts, their best showing until 1975), and did well in the U.S. along with their first top 10 hits in the States. A couple of silly songs (there always seem to be some on their discs up to the early 1970s) (Kitty Can, ...Airforce). Perhaps the Bee Gees were meant to be more than just the three brothers in the future; one song in this album is not by the brothers (Such A Shame). This album, plus Bee Gees 1st, are my best bets from 1967-1970, perhaps even up to 1974. Really top-notch. Faves: Let There Be Love, Idea, Down To Earth, When The Swallows Fly, Gotta Get A Message To You, I Started A Joke, Swan Song.

Other than the boring "In The Summer of His Years" and the weird non-BeeGees written "Such A Shame", the rest of this album is incredible. Amongst my favorites are the hit "Let There Be Love" and the hard toned "Down To Earth". "I Started A Joke" is one of Robin's all-time most successful single hits, and it's also awesome. So is the other, hard-bassed chorus of "I've Gotta Get A Message To You". The weird lyrics of "Kitty Can" mean nothing next to its catchy tune. "Kilburn Towers" has a beautiful melody and so does the album finale "Swan Song". "I Have Decided To Join The Airforce" is also a good song, but why would he wanna join the airforce just to not be alone? "Idea" and "Indian Gin And Whisky Dry" have catchy tunes. And I also love the Barry Gibb song "When The Swallows Fly". So for only their third album, I think they had a tremendous success, especially with those two songs.

I had this album on vinyl back in the late '60s. I loved it then and my opinion hasn't changed with the CD version. Beginning with the delicate but dramatic "Let there be love", this is a remarkably diverse album, with stunning tracks throughout. "I Started a Joke" started out as merely an album cut, but was released as a single by popular demand. Of course, the huge hit "I've Gotta Get a message to you" stands out, but by no means overshadows the rest. Of their four pre-breakup LPs, "Idea" is the strongest overall. As a bonus, this contains "Such a Shame" Vince's track which was deleted from the US LP (Such a shame, indeed!).

My three favorite Bee Gee cd's are the first three. Although not quite as good as First and Horizontal, Idea is still a killer effort-two more hit singles and lots of other good stuff. "Down to Earth" is my favorite Robin song from that era.

Three hit ablums and tons of hit singles here and around the world made for a tough act to follow, and sadly I don't think they ever were quite this good again. But hey, nobody else was either.