Living Eyes

Living Eyes
Studio album by Bee Gees
Released	October 1981
Recorded	February - June 1981 Criteria Studios, Miami Beach, Florida, United States (strings arrangement) Media Sound, New York City, United States (horns arrangement)
Genre	Rock, pop, acoustic rock
Length	46:04
Label	RSO, Polydor Japan
Producer	Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Bee Gees chronology
Bee Gees Greatest (1979) Living Eyes (1981) Staying Alive (1983)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Living Eyes is the Bee Gees' sixteenth original album (fourteenth internationally), released in 1981. The Bee Gees began to break away from the disco sound that was prominent on their work in the mid-late 1970s with this album. However the album was not a commercial success, perhaps due to them being so strongly associated with disco. It sold 750,000 copies worldwide (compared to 30 million copies of their previous studio album Spirits Having Flown in 1979), and while it did not sell well in either the UK or the US, the album itself was a Top 40 hit in the majority of territories it was widely released in.

It would be the band's final album on RSO Records. The label would be absorbed into Polydor and subsequently discontinued.

History

After the summer break, the Bee Gees regrouped at Middle Ear studios in October 1980 to record their next album. They began work on some of the songs that would go onto Living Eyes. As with all their recordings since 1975, they were backed by Blue Weaver (keyboard, synthesiser, programming), Alan Kendall (guitar), and Dennis Bryon (drums), but the sessions broke down and the three backing musicians went their separate ways.^[2] Alan Kendall would return to working with the Bee Gees in 1989 and remained with them for the rest of their recording and touring career.

Production

Recording began early in 1981 without the Bee Gees band that recorded and toured with the group in the late 70's. Barry felt that he could create the sound he wanted with sessions musicians instead of a band. Also, the Bee Gees stated they were trying to avoid being pigeonholed as a disco act which is why the album also features minimal falsetto vocals (which had become a Bee Gees trademark by that time), with one notable exception being the song "Soldiers".

Barry, along with producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson had developed their own production style, with Spirits Having Flown and Barbra Streisand's album Guilty. But Robin and Maurice had become active in the studio again, contributing more to vocals and production, which created some tension between them and the Barry/Karl/Albhy production team.

Reception

Sales of Living Eyes were far lower than those of their previous album Spirits Having Flown. In the US, the disco backlash was still strong and many radio stations were not playing The Bee Gees by 1981. Also, RSO Records was not in a position to promote and sell records. Promotional staff had been cut to the bone mid-year because they just did not have any product to sell. There was also a Bee Gees lawsuit going on against Robert Stigwood and RSO Records which didn't help matters.

The Bee Gees themselves have since dismissed this album as weak, and having been recorded under pressure from their record company and management at a time when they needed to rethink their direction.

Compact Disc Release

The first ever CD

Living Eyes was chosen to be the first ever album to be manufactured on CD for demonstration purposes, as seen on the BBC TV program Tomorrow's World in 1981, and was featured on the inaugural issue of the Compact Disc trade magazine.^[3] It was the first Bee Gees album to be released on CD, in early 1983 when compact discs were first commercially available, though few were manufactured. After RSO Records was absorbed by Polygram Records, Living Eyes, ever so ironically, was the only Bee Gees album in their catalog not to be released on CD in the late 1980s, and ultimately became quite rare. To date, there is no word on whether Rhino Records or Reprise Records (who have reissued much of the Bee Gees back catalogue in recent years) will re-release it on CD. The album is, however, available as a download from iTunes and other online services.

Track listing

All songs written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb except where noted.

Outtakes

1. "Heart (Stop Beating in Time)" (later recorded by Leo Sayer and released as a single)
2. "Hold Her In Your Hand" (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb) (later recorded by Maurice Gibb in 1984 for the soundtrack to A Breed Apart)
3. "Heat of the Night" - 4:02
4. "Loving You Is Killing Me"
5. "Mind Over Matter" - 4:30
6. "The Promise You Made - 3:14

Personnel

Bee Gees

• Barry Gibb - vocals, guitar, strings and horns arrangement
• Robin Gibb - vocals
• Maurice Gibb - vocals, guitar, strings and horns arrangement

Guest and additional musicians

• Don Felder - guitar ("He's a liar"), ("Paradise"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Soldiers"), ("Wildflower")
• Richard Tee - piano ("Living Eyes"), ("He's a Liar"), ("Paradise"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Soldiers"), ("I Still Love You"), ("Nothing Could Be Good")
• Albhy Galuten - synthesiser ("Living Eyes"), ("He's a Liar"), ("Paradise"), ("Soldiers"), ("I Still Love You"), ("Cryin' Everyday"), ("Be Who You Are")
• George Bitzer - piano ("Living Eyes"), ("Paradise"), ("Wildflower"), ("Nothing Could Be Good"), synthesiser on ("He's a Liar")
• Harold Cowart - bass except ("Cryin' Everyday"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Steve Gadd - drums ("He's a Liar"), ("Paradise"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Soldiers"), ("I Still Love You"), ("Nothing Could Be Good")
• Chuck Kirkpatrick - guitar ("Living Eyes"), ("Nothing Could Be Good"), ("I Still Love You")
• George Terry - guitar ("Living Eyes"), ("Be Who You Are")
• David Wolinski - keyboards ("Be Who You Are")
• Bob Glaub - bass ("Be Who You Are")
• Jeff Porcaro - drums ("Living Eyes"), ("Soldiers"), ("Cryin' Everyday")
• Russ Kunkel - drums ("Wildflower"), ("Cryin' Everyday"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Ralph McDonald - percussion ("Living Eyes"), ("He's a Liar"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me")
• Joe Galdo - drums ("Be Who You Are")

The Boneroo Horns and Brass Sextet

• Peter Graves ("He's a Liar"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Ken Faulk ("He's a Liar"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Brett Murphey ("He's a Liar"), ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Neil Bonsanti ("He's a Liar")
• Don Bonsanti ("He's a Liar")
• Whit Sidener ("He's a Liar")
• Jerry Peel ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Greg Lonnman ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Ken Waldenpfhul ("Don't Fall in Love With Me"), ("Be Who You Are")
• Gene Orloff - concertmaster
• Karl Richardson - engineer
• Don Gehman - engineer

Chart performance

References