Classic ALbums;Main Course by the Bee Gees

Let's have a look at the 1975 album by the Bee Gees called Main Course which was the 13th album for the group. The Bee Gees by this time 1975 had been through an rough patch in the 1972-74 period after the success they had after returning to England in 1967 after 9 years living in Australia which they lived in brisbane,gold coast and Sydney where they had recorded for Festival records and later Spin where they released 12 singles including Wine and Women no 19 and the big hit Spicks and Specks went to no 5 and the successful period after returning to ENgland included New York Mining Disaster 1941, To Love Somebody, Massachusetts, WOrld, Words, Jumbo, I've Gotta Get A Message to you, I started A Joke, First of May as well as having the 15 month break up from 1969-70 and coming back in 1070 with hits like Lonely Days, How Can you Mend A Broken Heart, Run To Me and My World and after that went to rut which they were'nt getting successful and even at one point they recorded an album called A Kick In the Head IS Worth Eight In The Pants which was never released. it was at the suggestion of Ahmet Ertegun who was the head of Atlantic Records which was the bee Gees' US record label Robert Stigwood who was their manager at that time arranged for the group to record with soul music producer Arif Mardin who had worked with The Young Rascals, Aretha Franklin, Petula Clark, Judy Collins and many others and also the group changed their musical direction from the Beatleseque type songs and ballads to more R&B stuff which one of the stuff that had influenced the Bee Gees and the first album they did with Mardin was the Mr Natural album which was not an success that went to no 178 in the USA and no 20 in Australia but it was the start of that change of their style of music. It was at the suggestion of Eric Clapton that the group relocate to Miami, Florida in early 1975 and it was there when they began recording the album that was to become Main Course. the recording of Main COurse began on January 6th 1975 at the Criteria Studios in Miami,FLoria as well as ATlantic Recording Studios in New York and it lasted until February 21st 1975 with Arif Mardin again producing the album and engineering done by Karl RIchardson in Miami and Lew Hahn in New York. The album was released in June 1975 in the UK and August 1975 in the USA where it went to number 14 and number 29 in Australia which it eventually went gold. this album had 3 hits on it were- Jive Talkin Number 1 in the USA,no 5 in the Uk and no 14 in Australia, Nights on Broadway no 7 in the USA and Fanny be Tender no 12 in the USA and the album had more disco songs which was that sound and style that would created their output through the rest of the 70's. The back up musicians on it were on guitar ands steel guitar Alan Kendall who had played with them since 1971, on piano Blue Weaver as well as playing keyboard and Synthesier & dennis Byron on drums as well as DOnny Brooks on harmonica, Joe Farrell on tenor sax and Ray Baretto on conga drums. This album is BRILLIANt and excellent as it sounds so good today as it was in 1975 and it was this album that started the successful period for the Bee Gees which would lead to the successful stuff that would happen through the decade including Saturday Night Fever as well as the albums Children of the World and Spirits Having FLown and hits like you should be Dancing, How Deep is Your Love, Stayin Alive, Night Fever, Tragedy. Too Much Heaven and others. The songs on this album are just excellent which besides from the 3 hits has stuff like Wind of Change, Country LAnes, Come On Over, Edge of the Universe and others and it holds up very today and is well worth listening to which still endures. As with the sad passing of RObin Gibb on Sunday which sadly leaves Barry Gibb as the only surviving Bee Gee I thought it would appropiate for me to pay tribute by doing an classic album to the Bee Gees which was not easy for me to choose which they had great albums throughout their career but I choose Main Course as it was the start as I said of an successful period for the group and though it right to do that. it's still in the shops somewhere in the world and i think it's one of the best Bee Gees album ever made.