Trafalgar

by

Bee Gees

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Although "Odessa" has been stated to be a concept album, "Trafalgar" seems to be more consistent in it's theme and musical harmony. Taking the motif from the battle of Trafalgar, this album excels in diversity and vocal variety. "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" was #1 in the United States for four weeks but "Israel" was only released in Europe as a single. No matter. "Israel" shows demonstrates Barry's flair for screaming rhythm and blues with a marvelously typical passion. "Remembering" and "Dearest" are two ballads that Robin and Barry suck sorrow from their gut that surpasses anything they have sung before this album. Maurice also excels with a strong, consistent heavy bass and a piano pounding energy in songs such as "Somebody Stop The Music", "Israel" and "Walking Back To Waterloo". He was quoted as saying that Barry loved all his multi-layered work on the song "Trafalgar" and told him not to change a thing. He stated he felt surprised and happy to gain brother Barry's unconditional approval. "When Do I" shocks the listener with Robin's vocal range, stretching his pronounced vocals to the limit. Robin also screams out the blues on "Lion In Winter", fading into a rising orchestral arrangement. Maurice gets his way with "It's Just The Way" with some nice overlayed guitar work. Want to rock? "Somebody Stop The Music" pulls out all the stops and proves the Gibbs can still belt them out. On a more somber note, I wonder why "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was released as a US single. It is far too long for AM radio and somewhat sullen. However, it did get to #52 on the AM charts, so it couldn't have been that unpopular. What better a song to finish this masterpiece than "Walking Back To Waterloo", a grand finale. What make this album so consistent? All songs have a orchestral lushness that carries from song to song, giving it a rich and appealing feel. Once Maurice was joking that there were too many strings on this album, but in person he said he felt it was a "wonderful" disc. Now this is a concept album and it is no small wonder that Polydor chose to release it on Ultradisc Gold.

It would not be a good idea to acquire this album if you are only beginning to know the early works of the Bee Gees. Go and buy Horizontal or Idea instead. I find this album to be more for completists who love the music of the Bee Gees and want more, even if they are risking to buy a record where only four or five songs are worth listening more than a couple of times.

It starts with "How can you mend a broken heart", but that #1 song - and "Dont wanna live inside myself", the other single from the record - can be found in any decent compilation. Without those two, three gems remain in Trafalgar: the title song, a solid song with Maurice in vocals, Going back to waterloo, the closing song, and the EXCELLENT "Lion in winter". The rest of the album is too soft and sugary. They can do better.