Customer Reviews

Now Voyager [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

1984. The majority of the world might have thought that the BeeGees i.e. the Brothers Gibb had thrown in the towel in 1984 after being blamed for the seventies disco craze. That in itself is silly, because disco existed long before the BeeGees ever made a dance song, but as soon as they had done that, the word "disco" was invented and suddenly THEY were to blame. Still, the BeeGees worldwide boycott was a fact and so many assumed that the media silence around the brothers was just them having given up and wither away. Of course this was as far from reality as could be. After their outstanding album "Spirits Having Flown", their equally titled monstrously successful mega tour and their, by then, boycotted album "Living Eyes" the Gibbs had many outstanding engagements they had to fulfill. Such as pre planned solo projects, movie soundtracks and productions for other artists. Barry Gibb alone had the mega hitalbum "Guilty" with Barbra Streisand (her most successful up to date!), the "Heartbreaker" album with Dionne Warwick (her best seller also!) as well as this ambitious solo effort called "Now Voyager" both an album as well as a longplay video. The Now Voyager video runs 79 minutes which is great viewing, since Mr. Barry Gibb's matinee idol looks aren't exactly hard on the eye! (Tho' he seems a bit chubby in some shots). Not all of the album's songs are in the video. To be honest, even as a true BeeGees and especially Barry Gibb fan, I have mixed feelings about the project. In the positive it must be said that A) Barry looks breathtaking in 80% of the video and actually shows some real acting talent. B) most of the songs are quite good and well captured especially "Temptation", "One Night", "Shine Shine" and "The Hunter" C) Barry's vocals are as always impeccable and D) just for all 3 abovementioned reasons this video is certainly a must for all BeeGees fans and all who love to watch a beautiful man undergo all kinds of situations for the duration of 79 minutes. In the negative however, referring in the same order to what is said in the positive A) Good looks are nice, but can't cover up a warbly concept, which I presume, can only be understood fully after getting somewhat intoxicated B) BeeGees compositions are stronger and have a more lasting quality, some of the videos for the songs are downright stupid ("Lesson in Love" and "Shatterproof"). C) Having a perfect singing voice by yourself is sometimes not enough, his brothers harmonizing vocals are sometimes dearly missed. Recap: 79 pleasant minutes of watching a beautiful man who can actually sing (and act a bit too) perform songs he's composed himself. Too bad he didn't make any more of these longplay videos before his looks went out the door. 5 stars for looks, between 3 and 4 stars for songmaterial, he can do so much better!

Barry Gibb is a very talented artist. Not only does he write the music, he performs his work as well. The man has never tried to portray himself as an actor. I congratulate him for producing what I consider to be a film that has the power to draw you to watching it over and over to sort out each segment of the story in your own mind. I'm sure he did not set out to have this music sound like the music of the Bee Gees as a group. Watch the video and judge for yourself. So many different styles of writing on one film is incredible. If you are a Bee Gees or Barry fan, this video is a must.

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. However, this VHS tape contains videos of all the songs strung together in a coherent and slightly psychedelic manner. Only the duet, "Face To Face" is omitted. It all starts with a car being driven by Barry crashing into the water, which forms the 'mode of transportation' for Mr. Gibb to travel to many different worlds and through numerous stories. The visuals are high quality for 1984 and it is rare to see a concept video made for an entire album. This is a hard to find piece of artwork and musical achievement. The music alone is amazing. Maybe someday it will be available on DVD.

I REALLY LOVED THE CONCEPT OF THIS VIDEO AND I ALSO LIKED THE FACT THAT BARRY GIBB GOT TO GO TO DIFFERENT PLACES BY USING A SWIMMING POOL AS SORT OF A TRANSPORTING MACHINE

Any fan of Barry Gibb's would enjoy his different roles he plays, his costumes, his state of dress and undress, and the natural wonders of his beautiful body. As far as the strangeness of the music videos, I felt like If I was going to take LSD or acid I would've been able to understand it a little better. I believe the whole idea was fear, selflessness and selfishness. Barry Gibb fans will like it, and I in contrast to the last post enjoyed his un beegee falsetto voice.

This is a must for all Barry Gibb fans! The music is terrific and the chance to see him perform the songs is a treat! I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Does anyone have the CD or info on whether it was ever released? I have been looking for it all over but to no avail. Would really appreciate it if you would write to me about this.

I think Barry did a great job with this. I'm a big Barry Gibb (and BeeGee) fan, not sure you would enjoy this if you're not a Barry fan. "Shine Shine" is one of my favorites with a bit of an island beat. The music is great ...

I bought the video from an amazon seller, then was fortunate enough to find the DVD from another seller--Amazon UK.
Being a young teen in the mid seventies, this just made me fall in love with Barry all over again. Watching him is thrilling, and I really loved the music, especially the ballads. There is an interview included about the making of this video, and listening to him speak is enough to make me weak in the knees. God gave this man a beautiful voice, a talent for writing wonderful music and lyrics, and it doesn't hurt that he is one of the most beautiful men ever on this earth!

Back in the MTV-crazed world of 1984, it seemed that every recording artist was following Michael Jackson's glitter-gloved path and making entire video albums. Barry Gibb, the eldest and most photogenic of the Bee Gees, decided to take this route and create "Now Voyager," a collection of videos based on his solo album of the same name. "Now Voyager" attempts to have an actual story--spoiled pop star crashes his car in an irrigation ditch and comes to in a public indoor pool supervised by a mysterious man (Michael Hordern) who attempts to show him the error of his ways between the videos. The music sounds extremely dated now (and most of the songs aren't that good), but Barry looks terrific in the vast majority of the videos, particularly in the eighteenth-century sea captain's garb in "Stay Alone," which by itself is worth the price of the tape! However, the cheesy spacefest that is "I Am Your Driver" (hey, Barry, what's the deal with that blue eyeshadow?) and the neo-Vietnam take on "The Hunter" are hilariously bad. Overall, "Now Voyager" is a nice collectors item for Bee Gees freaks, but to non-fans it's just another reminder of days gone by.