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Main Course is the Bee Gees' eleventh album, released in 1975, and their last album to be released by Atlantic Records in the U.S. under its deal with Robert Stigwood. This album marked a change for the Bee Gees as it was their first album to include disco hits.
Working with Atlantic producer Arif Mardin, who had also produced their previous album, Mr. Natural, and engineer Karl Richardson at Criteria Studios in Miami, their music became much more R & B influenced. Main Course also featured the debut of Barry Gibb's falsetto. The famous album cover was designed by US artist Drew Struzan.
The sound became more technological with the use of synthesizers and dual bass lines (synthesizer bass by Blue Weaver and bass guitar by Maurice Gibb) on many of the songs, which came about after Weaver overdubbed a synthesizer bass line on the original demo of "Jive Talkin'." Weaver later commented that "nothing new has been invented to make such a tremendous difference to the sound as the synthesizer did, compared to an orchestra."[1]
The album peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard album chart. Three singles from the album charted on Billboard's single chart: "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" at #12, "Nights on Broadway" at #7, and "Jive Talkin'" at #1, and a live version of a fourth song, "Edge of the Universe", reached #26.
Track listing[]
- Nights on Broadway – 4:32
- Jive Talkin' – 3:43
- Wind of Change – 4:54 (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb)
- Songbird – 3:35 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb/B. Weaver)
- Fanny (Be Tender With My Love) – 4:02
- All This Making Love – 3:03 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb)
- Country Lanes – 3:29 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb)
- Come on Over – 3:26 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb)
- Edge of the Universe – 5:21 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb)
- Baby as You Turn Away – 4:23
All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb except as indicated.
Personnel[]
Bee Gees
- Barry Gibb - lead, harmony and backing vocal, rhythm guitar
- Robin Gibb - lead, harmony and backing vocal
- Maurice Gibb - bass, rhythm and electric guitars, harmony and backing vocal
Bee Gees Band
- Alan Kendall - lead guitar, steel guitar
- Dennis Bryon - drums
- Blue Weaver - piano, keyboard, synthesizer
Additional personnel
- Joe Farrell - saxophone
- Ray Barreto - percussion
- Don Brooks - harmonica
- Arif Mardin - orchestral arrangement
- Gene Orloff - orchestral arrangement
Production
- Karl Richardson - engineer
- Lew Hahn - engineer