Horizontal (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Horizontal
Type = studio
Artist = The Bee Gees

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Caption = British LP issue and 2006 Reissue in CD
Released = January 1968
Recorded = 1967, IBC Studios
Genre = Rock, Pop
Length = 36:40
Label = Polydor Records, ATCO [US/Canada]
Producer = Robert Stigwood
John Pantry (engineer)
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:21r67ul0h0jw link]
*"Rolling Stone" (Not Rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeegees/albums/album/174695/review/5941169/horizontal link]
Last album = "Bee Gees 1st"
(1967)
This album = "Horizontal"
(1968)
Next album = "Idea"
(1968)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = American LP issue
Type = studio


Lower caption = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = 1990 CD issue
Type = studio


Lower caption = Singles
Name = Horizontal
Type = studio
single 1 = Massachusetts
single 1 date = September 19, 1967 [UK] November 1967 [US]
single 2 = World
single 2 date = December 1967 (not U.S.)
single 3 = Words
single 3 date = January 26, 1968
single 4 = And the Sun Will Shine
single 4 date = February 1968 (France)

"Horizontal" is the Bee Gees' second album. It was released in early 1968, and included the international hit singles "Massachusetts" and "World".

Other standout tracks include "And the Sun Will Shine", a love ballad song by Robin complete with psychedelic references to trains walking by and pastoral orchestral backing conducted by Bill Shepherd. Two other Robin-led tracks are worth noting. "Harry Braff" is a rocking story about a racing driver that is reminiscent The Beatles or The Kinks and the poignant "Really and Sincerely", which documented Robin's emotions following his survival of the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/5/newsid_3135000/3135762.stm Hither Green train wreck] while the album was being made.

Psychedelia also abounds in the quirky "Lemons Never Forget" which without the familiar string-backing and featuring guitar work from Vince Melouney as well as the piano and bass interplay of Maurice Gibb, shows a side of the early Bee Gees rarely seen by singles buyers.

In 2006, Reprise Records reissued "Horizontal" with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs, non-album tracks, and alternate takes.

Track listing

# "World" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:13
# "And the Sun Will Shine" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:36
# "Lemons Never Forget" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:04
# "Really and Sincerely" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:29
# "Birdie Told Me" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:24
# "With the Sun in My Eyes" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:40
# "Massachusetts" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:25
# "Harry Braff" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:19
# "Daytime Girl" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:34
# "The Earnest of Being George" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:45
# "The Change is Made" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:37
# "Horizontal" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:34

* Bonus Disc for 2006 Reissue

# "Out of Line" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:00
# "Ring My Bell" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:16
# "Barker of the UFO" (B. Gibb) - 1:52
# "Words" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:19
# "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:18
# "Sinking Ships" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:22
# "Really and Sincerely" " [Alternate Version] " (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:28
# "Swan Song" " [Alternate Version] " (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:03
# "Mrs. Gillespie's Refrigerator" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb) – 2:14
# "Deeply, Deeply Me" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 3:09
# "All My Christmases Come at Once" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 2:59
# "Thank You for Christmas" (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb) – 1:54
# Medley: "Silent Night" (J. Mohr/F. Gruber) "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"* (C. Wesley/F. Mendelssohn) - 2:42

* PS: The Medley above is errouneously titled. Actually, the songs on the medley are: "Mary's Boy Child", "Silent Night" and "The First Noël".

"Seems that the brothers confused their chroniclers by singing the words ‘hark, the herald angels sing’ both times around in ‘Mary’s Boy Child’, which has two intentional variants of the famous carol title. The first verse should be ‘hark now hear the angels sing’ and the second ‘trumpets sound and angels sing’. The brothers did get the varying second lines right. They must have been singing purely from memory. The engineer wrote ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ on the tape box and the true nature of the medley was forgotten until 2006" [http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/67.html GibbSongs]

Personnel

* Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar, producer
* Robin Gibb — vocal, organ, producer
* Maurice Gibb — vocal, bass, piano, mellotron, producer
* Vince Melouney — lead guitar
* Colin Petersen — drums
* Bill Shepherd - orchestral arragement
* Mike Claydon - audio engineer
* Damon Lyon Shaw - audio engineer
* John Pantry - audio engineer
* Robert Stigwood - producer

* Recorded in:
** July 17th, 1967, Central Sound Studios, London
** July 25th to August 10th, 1967, Chappell Studios, London
** August 9th to December 1st, 1967, IBC Studios, London

Charted singles

Sep 1967 Massachusetts / Barker of the UFO UK #1 / AUS #1 / GER #1 / JAP #1 Nov 1967 Massachusetts / Sir Geoffrey Saved the World BRA #9 / US #11 Dec 1967 World / Sir Geoffrey Saved the World (not US) GER #1 / NZ #2 / UK #9 / JAP #24 Jan 1968 Words / Sinking Ships GER #1 / CAN #4 / UK #8 / US #15 Feb 1968 And the Sun Will Shine / Really and Sincerely (FR) FR #70