Customer Reviews

Now Voyager

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

 

 

Barry Gibb's landmark album, "Now, Voyager" from 1984 is a masterpiece. Sadly, MCA did nothing to promote it and it barely charted. The top 40 hit "Shine Shine" was to be followed by the white rap "Fine Line", but without the help of the producers, this fantastic Gibb project was lost. The duet, "Face To Face" with Olivia Newton-John was released as a single, but went nowhere, unfortunately. There are some truly inventive R&B songs here including the, bouncy `call-response' vocals of "Shatterproof" and the frantic paced work on "Temptation". "She Says" harkens back to the Streisand ballad days and "One Night (For Lovers)" received great FM airplay for its sultry sexiness. Only one song contains the songwriting skills of all three brothers and "The Hunter" is a dramatic and eclectic piece of drama that nicely finishes the album.

This CD will be re-released in late 2005 with a different cover!

Voyager seems to be the only solo album of Barry Gibb! He actually recorded three, one is unreleased, recorded after Cucumber Castle. The other two are Voyager and Hawks. Voyager was later produced as a film.
This CD is no longer available elsewhere in the world, so better buy a used one!

Barry Gibb's 1984 album Now Voyager is one album I still remember. It's very dynamic pop, adventurous in most places. Several songs are still in my head such as She Says, Face to Face with Olivia Newton-John, Shine Shine, and other songs. The standout on here is the very addictive I am Your Driver, which makes you feel like you're on an airplane when you hear it. It has such a nice midtempo dance groove to it, with cool sounding keyboards. I am pleased that Universal is rereleasing the album in December 2005 since it has been out of print for a long time.This is one of Barry's best solo albums and he still continues being a strong songwriter on here. He is a master at writing catchy and melodic pop songs and Now Voyager proved that he could make good songs after the Bee Gees' massive late '70s peak.

This is a great album. I remember watching the album video back in the 80's when I worked a video store and enjoyed the artistic presentation along with the music. Each song flows very well to the next. It's hard to pick out favorites as I enjoy the entire album. This is definitely a must have album for Barry Gibb fans.

By the way, if you're going digital with your music collection, check out ITunes. You can download the entire album for $4.99. An absolutely AWESOME deal!

Yay my Jason for getting me the record and CD of Now Voyager! He traveled the world through Ebay to get me this rare 1984 Barry project. As with the later Barry solo project Hawks, Voyager is supposed to have some companion videos. Again, has anyone actually seen it?

I Am Your Driver leads off the set and is the first of five tracks penned by Barry, Maurice, and musician friend George Blitzer. Some typical eighties effects open Driver. Barry's vocal also sounds mechanically tweaked, obviously so in the chorus. I wish I knew what he was saying without consulting the jacket's lyrics. A fitting opening then, but not today.

Fine Line is the first track written by Barry and George Blitzer and is the longest tack presented at over Five minutes. Barry's opening breathy rap and strong chorus seem against each other, as is the too fast beat. Three strikes, ouch! The details are also confusing. Roger Daltry is supposed to be singing here?! And KC from KC and The Sunshine Band?! I don't hear or feel this one.

Face To Face, another by the new BMB trio, introduces Olivia Newton-John to the album. Thank you! Actually credited in very fine print for Fine Line, John's opening verse makes the album, and it is so pleasing to hear, understand, and like the words being sung. Barry's breathy echoes work perfectly with this slow style. The trade offs and ad-libbed ending are top notch. But I must say, this duet sounds almost exactly like Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John! The best of the album.

Barry takes a totally solo gander with Shatterproof. The chorus isn't bad, even if it is way too eighties now. The dirrrty Barry on the verses might be hot if it wasn't mixed with the easy Barry chorus. Already it seems the production and `trying something new' went overboard. Especially in 1984, Barry didn't need to stray from the Guilty or Heartbreaker formula.

Shine Shine was the single from Barry, Maurice, and George. Quickly you notice a much lighter feel. Barry's commercial and mambo feel is so nice to here in comparison with this imitation Miami Vice thing earlier. The lyrics don't try for anything serious. Dancing, laughter, and a little lovin'. Perfect.

BMB present Lesson In Love next. The opening beats crescendo, I want to hear more, and then....more Miami Vice. Love might be the most similar track here to what The Bee Gees did during the Staying Alive era. Not perfect but not bad either. Nice rhythm and storyline.

One Night (For Lovers) (Away parenthesis, away!) gives us more of that tropical feel from Barry. Complete with sweet lyrics, vocals, and that sway ability vibe, One Night in one of the keepers here. Not only do I not like the overkill eighties sound, but Now Voyager also presents three or four laid back tunes that give the album a bi-polar feel. I would rather have an album with others like One Night (For Lovers) (Parenthesis included!)

Stay Alone continues the ballad feeling. Barry's easy tone showcases his voice and the story in the song. It's nice to be able to hear the story in the song. Great echoes here. It almost sounds like The Bee Gees. I wonder what would have happened if Side A Fine Line and Side B Stay Alone would have been flipped? Barry might have had a chart denter with Stay Alone, had anyone heard it.

BMB strike again with Temptation. I didn't like Duran Duran then, so I don't want to hear Hungry Like The Wolf again. Some Gibb nay sayers think Barry's falsetto pitches are too much like screaming. On Temptation, Barry sounds like he's winded and can't keep up with his melody.

She Says tries to combine Barry's soft sounds with his newfound love of the synthesizer. Surprisingly, It doesn't fail. Baz's voice is solid, and the lyrics make sense. The ominous five o'clock shadow sound fits the melancholy words. No inner struggles here, eureka.

I was surprised to see The Hunter credited to Barry, Maurice, George Blizter and Robin. The boys' serious story starts off harsh but warms into a pleasant little tune. The title vocal and rift is over the top, but the verses and easy delivery in between makes The Hunter tolerable. For the first time since Face to Face, Barry actually belts something out. Of ten songs presented, I'll keep 6 and leave 4. I won't say which are which, so as not to feel like a total basher. Blimey!

Now Voyager is a must for Barry collectors, even if the contemporary style of the album has come and gone. If you're looking for Gibb traditional, you'll find it elsewhere. Barry's best work is in his voice, lyrics, and artistry. That can't be replicated or synthesized or produced. The experiments on Now Voyager need a tuned ear, but who knows? The eighties sound could come back! 80)

I just finished listening to the album and watching the film produced along side it back in 1984 and I loved it! I knew Barry had recorded several solo albums, however, none had been released until this one and later on the "Hawks" LP which contained the songs previously recorded for the "Midnight Madness" solo project never released. Barry has always been one all time greatest producers, singers and songwriters. His songs are every bit as good as any I've heard and the material he's produced is truly legendary. I had always hoped he would not only record but actually release a solo album.

"Now Voyager" is a wish come true and I was pleasantly surprised by the material, the songs have all the qualities we've come to know and love. He deals with love, romance, betrayal, fears, doubt and triumph all with wonderfully crafted Jazz influenced melodies. His vocals are majestic as ever and he really shows off his range, both the low and high end, on this record. There's a gorgeous duet with Olivia Newton-John, whose another singer with an angelic voice titled "Face to Face" that's worth the price of the album by itself. The music has that early 80's feel but as I said with a strong Jazz influence and I really love how he pulls it off.

There are also the wonderful ballads written and sung as only Barry can and a caribbean flavored tune "Shine Shine" that really has an awesome groove to it and the video for it is outstanding and one of the best filmed for the record. This is truly a great and fun album and it appears that Barry had a blast recording and filming it. I highly recommend both album and video if you can find them. You won't be disappointed with this fine effort by one of music's truest poets and vocalists.

Great Job Barry!

This album is an underrated, overlooked gem. The songs are great and BG's voice is in great form.

This is a pretty good solo album of Barry singing in his usual BeeGees voice. Shine Shine was a hit in 1984, I remember when it aired for a few weeks on FM radio. I bought the vinyl album that same year because I am a huge BeeGees fan. The CD version is out of print now and almost impossible to find. I think some of the songs are pretty good, but not nearly as good as any of the BeeGees albums. All in all, If i could get this on CD, I would certainly buy it.