Bee Gees "Bee Gees' 1st"

Bee Gees' 1st is the third studio album by English band Bee Gees, and their first international full-length recording after two albums distributed only in Australia and New Zealand. Bee Gees' 1st was the group's debut album for the UK Polydor label, and for the US Atco label. Bee Gees 1st was released on 14 July 1967 in the UK. On 9 August it entered the UK charts, on that same day, the album was released in the US, and it entered the US charts on 26 August.

Reflecting the group's early style, Bee Gees' 1st was a psychedelic pop album. The album cover was designed by Klaus Voormann, who had previously done the cover for Revolver by The Beatles, amongst others. Bee Gees 1st peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2006, Reprise Records (sister label to Atco under Warner Music Group) reissued the album with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs and alternate takes. (This 2-CD set on Reprise corrected the fluttering on the lead-off stereo track "Turn of the Century". The mono version never had this problem.)

Drummer Colin Petersen and lead guitarist Vince Melouney, both Australians, were hired to make the Bee Gees into a full band. Both played on the first English recorded album and became official members of the group between its completion and release. Petersen had played with the Bee Gees at St. Clair studio in 1966 on the Spicks and Specks sessions and was officially added first, accounting for some early photos with him and not Melouney, such as the one later used on the cover of Best of Bee Gees. Melouney had worked with the Gibbs in 1966 in Australia when he recorded his first solo single "Mystery Train" as the brothers provided backing vocals on the song. He had been lead guitarist in top Australian band, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, later led his own group The Vince Melouney Sect and had most recently been in Melbourne-based outfit The Blue Jays. Melouney, who had recently relocated to London heard that the Gibb brothers were in town and made contact. He was asked to join them, with Petersen, in the studio and after this album was completed, Melouney became the fifth official member of the band.

Most of the band's recording for the next five years took place at IBC Studios. IBC had a four-track recording facility, the standard in Britain at the time. The Bee Gees also recorded at various other studios during this first year in England.

Recording sessions began on 7 March, not long after the Gibb Brothers' return to England, with overdubbing a week later. Orchestral parts were then added to many of the songs. Most were arranged by Bill Shepherd (who for the next six years would act as the Bee Gees' arranger and conductor in the studio and on tour); four were done by Phil Dennys.

Barry Gibb commented about the recording process: "We drive the producer and technicians mad. We have nothing knocked out. We sit about and think up a subject, then write a song on the spot. We did the whole of the LP like this. It's the really the only way we can work, spontaneously off the cuff."

Maurice Gibb has sometimes been given writing credits for the songs "To Love Somebody" and "I Can't See Nobody" when the songs appeared on albums by other artists, but almost never on a Bee Gees album. "Bee Gees Gold, Vol. 1" (1976) credited "I Can't See Nobody" to Barry, Maurice and Robin on both the album jacket back cover and on the record label. The brothers often spoke of their hits from "Bee Gees 1st" as having been written by all three rather than what was shown on the official writing credit which only credited Maurice on three tracks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Barry and Robin Gibb except where noted.

Side one

1. "Turn of the Century" 2:25
2. "Holiday" 2:53
3. "Red Chair, Fade Away" 2:16
4. "One Minute Woman" 2:18
5. "In My Own Time" 2:15
6. "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb 3:38
7. "Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts" 2:16

Side two

1. "New York Mining Disaster 1941" 2:09
2. "Cucumber Castle" 2:04
3. "To Love Somebody" 3:00
4. "I Close My Eyes" Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb 2:22
5. "I Can't See Nobody" 3:45
6. "Please Read Me" 2:15
7. "Close Another Door" Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb 3:29