Idea (album)

Idea
Studio album by Bee Gees
Released	September 1968
Recorded	IBC Studios, 8 January – 12 July 1968 (except "Swan Song", 13 December 1967)
Genre	Rock, psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, baroque pop, ballad, acoustic rock
Length	36:11 (Stereo LP) 35:22 (Mono LP) 36:06 (CD issue) 107:06 (2006 CD reissue) (CD 1 71:42/CD 2 35:24)
Label	Polydor Atco Records (US/Canada)
Producer	Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robert Stigwood, John Pantry (engineer)
Bee Gees chronology
Horizontal (1968) Idea (1968) Odessa (1969)
American LP issue

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone	(not rated)
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Idea is the Bee Gees' fifth studio album, and their third international release on the ATCO label in the US and Polydor in the UK. Released in August, 1968, the album sold over a million copies worldwide. This album features "Such a Shame", the only Bee Gees song where lead vocals aren't sung by (nor written by) a Gibb brother. "Such a Shame" was included on the British version of the album but deleted from the American issue, which in turn included their recent hit "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", not on the UK LP. When the album was issued on CD in the 1980s, both tracks were included.

In 2006, Reprise Records reissued Idea (using the European cover) with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs, non-album tracks, and alternate mixes.

Track listing

Original LP

All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb except as indicated.

1. "Let There Be Love" – 3:32
2. "Kitty Can" – 2:39
3. "In The Summer of His Years" – 3:10
4. "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" – 2:01
5. "Down to Earth" – 2:32
6. "Such a Shame" (Vince Melouney) – 2:28
7. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" – 2:57
8. "Idea" – 2:51
9. "When the Swallows Fly" – 2:32
10. "I Have Decided to Join the Air Force" – 2:11
11. "I Started a Joke" – 3:08
12. "Kilburn Towers" – 2:19
13. "Swan Song" – 2:58

Notes

• The song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" did not appear in the UK edition and was only released as a single. In the US, the song replaced "Such a Shame" in the LP.

2006 reissue

All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb except as indicated.

Disc 1

1. "Let There Be Love" – 3:36
2. "Kitty Can" – 2:43
3. "In The Summer of His Years" – 3:14
4. "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" – 2:05
5. "Down to Earth" – 2:36
6. "Such a Shame" (Vince Melouney) – 2:29
7. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" – 3:01
8. "Idea" – 2:57
9. "When the Swallows Fly" – 2:36
10. "I Have Decided to Join the Air Force" – 2:17
11. "I Started a Joke" – 3:12
12. "Kilburn Towers" – 2:22
13. "Swan Song" – 3:03
14. "Let There Be Love" (mono mix) – 3:32
15. "Kitty Can" (mono mix) – 2:37
16. "In The Summer of His Years" (mono mix) – 3:09
17. "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" (mono mix) – 2:00
18. "Down to Earth" (mono mix) – 2:33
19. "Such a Shame" (Vince Melouney) (mono mix) – 2:31
20. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (mono mix) – 2:56
21. "Idea" (mono mix) – 2:57
22. "When the Swallows Fly" (mono mix) – 2:28
23. "I Have Decided to Join the Air Force" (mono mix) – 2:13
24. "I Started a Joke" (mono mix) – 3:09
25. "Kilburn Towers" (mono mix) – 2:20
26. "Swan Song" (mono mix) – 2:57

Disc 2

1. "Chocolate Symphony"* – 2:46
2. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" Mono Single Version – 3:04
3. "Jumbo" – 2:11
4. "The Singer Sang His Song" – 3:21
5. "Bridges Crossing Rivers"* – 2:10
6. "Idea" Alternate Mix* – 2:50
7. "Completely Unoriginal"* – 3:37
8. "Kitty Can" Alternate Mix* – 2:40
9. "Come Some Christmas Eve or Halloween"* – 3:32
10. "Let There Be Love" Alternate Mix* – 3:36
11. "Gena's Theme" – 3:33
12. "Another Cold and Windy Day" (Coke Spot #1) – 0:57
13. "Sitting in the Meadow" (Coke Spot #2*)– 1:02

Tracks marked with * are previously unissued.

Outtakes

• All songs written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.

1. "She Is Russia"
2. "In The Middle Of The Grass"
3. "Let Your Heart Out" - 2:35 (demo only, later it was appear on Unreleased Demos (1966-1972)
4. "The Square Cup"
5. "Stepping Out"
6. "No Name"
7. "Maypole News"
8. "Men Of Men"

Personnel

• Barry Gibb – vocals, guitar
• Robin Gibb– vocals
• Maurice Gibb– vocals, organ, bass, guitar, mellotron
• Vince Melouney– lead guitar, vocals ("Such a Shame")
• Colin Petersen – drums
• Bill Shepherd - orchestral arrangement
• John Pantry, Mike Claydon, Damon Lyon Shaw - engineer