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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knocked Horizontal, March 28, 2003
Ahh the early years! Still in their teens, the brothers produce beautiful song after beautiful song on their follow up to the classic Bee Gees 1st. A classic in it's own right, Horizontal is full of memorable tunes with catchy melodies,thought provoking and sometimes eccentric lyrics, and stunning musical arrangerments.
There are songs that are whimsical and humorous, and songs whose lyrics can make you cry. 'Day Time Girl' is one of the most beautiful songs the Bee Gees have ever recorded, and it's not even the best song on this disc! 'World' is out of this world,and the title cut makes one float away. There is plenty of great guitar work by Vince Melouney, bass by Mo, and vocal work which features the brothers at the top of their game.
Robin's 'And The Sun Will Shine' and 'Really And Sincerely' just tug at the heart strings. Barry and Vince team up on 'The Change is Made' to create a bluesy masterpiece.
The intentionally silly 'Harry Braf' counterbalances the many songs that are sad. 'Birdie Told Me','The Earnest Of Being George', and'Lemons Never Forget' (how's that for some original titles?) , feature the Brothers at their creative best. Horizontal is inventive and unique, well produced and arranged, and beautifully performed. Every song is a winner, and they flow together perfectly. It's hard to believe that Horizontal was released less than a year after 1st was released. Prolific,enthusiastic and young!, the Bee Gees demonstrated to the world talent that was undeniable. And by creating an album where the memorable 'Massachusets' is almost an afterthought, it's easy to see why the Bee Gees are truly legendary. Horizontal absolutely must be part of any Bee Gees fan collection---- Indeed, part of any music lover's collection.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Second Album - They Breakaway!, July 16, 2001
This being the Bee Gees 2nd album, they distanced themselves a bit from the previous heavy orchestration and established themselves more of a rock/pop band. Featuring the #1 UK hit "Massachusetts" and the loud, rocking "World" (UK only), this set contains everything from plaintive sad ballads to rock and roll standards. Robin's "And The Sun Will Shine" is a classic tear-jerker and reputably, recorded on the first take. "Lemons Never Forget", "The Earnest Of Being George" and "The Change Is Made" are fine examples of late sixties rock and roll. The Beatles influenced is heard on "Birdie Told Me", a bouncy McCartney-esque tune and "Day Time Girl" also falls into this category. "Really And Sincerely" is a tad too melancholy and "Harry Braff" is simply annoying. However, the album succeeds in the end and finishes with "Horizontal", a brilliantly simple song with the piano chords reading - literally - horizontally.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FORMIDABLE FOLLOW UP!!!, September 7, 2002
The Bee Gees 2nd album 'Horizontal' was quite an escape from the beautiful lush orchestration from the band's debut. On this album the bands sounds more like a rock group than singers with a back up band. 'Horizontal' is quite different than the 'Bee Gees 1st' it's darker and more somber than it's bright and cheery debut. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, 'Horizontal' is quite a good album and a respectable follow up to the Bees Gees strong debut.The first gem that will probably catch your eye on this record is MASSACHUSETTS, one of The Bee Gees biggest early hits and a personal favourite of mine. The other song here that was released as a single (albeit in the UK only) was WORLD a rock song that made the group sound like the Beatles during Magical Mystery Tour. AND THE SUN WILL SHINE has become somewhat of a turntable hit over the years. This tear jerking ballad is the finest love song on the album. The late 60's hard rock sound comes out on tunes such as LEMONS NEVER FORGET, THE EARNEST OF BEING GEORGE, and THE CHANGE IS MADE. Indeed the band still sounds like The Beatles a lot on this record especially on THE BIRDIE TOLD ME and DAY TIME GIRL. Two songs that sound like something McCartney would have done. WITH THE SUN IN MY EYES is a bizarre yet beautiful love song. REALLY AND SINCERELY is a nice tune but a tad too depressing for me (also I don't think the accordian helps the song!) and HARRY BRAFF is a catchy novelty tune that can also be considered very annoying dependingon your taste. The final track HORIZONTAL is a pyschadelic retrospective tune that has some haunting piano and guitar work. The Bee Gees 'Horizontal' was once again another success for the group. It reached #12 on the charts in the US and had a near top ten hit with MASSACHUSETTS (peaking at #11 on the singles charts). However it has always puzzled me why they never put the hit single WORDS on the album? (which was released around the same time as this record)
Adding the b-sides SIR GEOFFEREY SAVED THE WORLD, SINKING SHIPS and BARKER OF THE UFO as bonus tracks wouldn't have hurt much either. However all in all this is a pretty good album. Highly recommended!
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