The Bee Gees
Living Eyes

"Sic transit gloria mundi": this Latin maxim, very much in vogue today, perfectly describes the period the Gibb brothers went through after the great boom of "Night Fever," "Stayin' Alive," and the like: in those three/four years, from 1976 to 1979, the Bee Gees experienced an astounding success beyond all expectations, a success that boomeranged against them like a cynical jest. Before the so-called "disco phase," they were a great pop group, unfortunately in free fall after the masterpiece "Odessa" of 1969; gradually, the comeback arrives, the essential transformation to survive: they start collaborating with Arif Mardin and step by step begin to rise to the top; "Mr. Natural," the superb "Main Course," and then the decisive turn into strictly dance territories happens with "Children Of The World," then the famous soundtrack of "Night Fever" and finally "Spirits Having Flown" of 1979, which magnificently closes a cycle in its own golden way, and far from despicable.

However, those years of "stardom" deeply marked the image of the Gibb brothers: Barry's falsetto, a true apple of discord, becomes the icon of a passing fashion, and the Bee Gees' name is the target of easy snobbery and superficial evaluations; thus, it is decided that the three brothers had become outdated, a bit trashy even, right at the beginning of the '80s, the decade in which true trash definitively asserts itself and wipes out all that was good in pop. It is in this climate that the Bee Gees release "Living Eyes," one of their most neglected and snubbed albums, yet an excellent product, marked by renewal and a new style: Robin and Maurice forcefully emerge from the shadow cone they had been confined to in previous years and contribute actively to the album both in composition (all the songs are credited to the Bee Gees) and vocally; "Living Eyes" is an album that focuses heavily on the harmonization and alternation of the three voices, just like in the trio's golden days, and definitively closes the disco chapter by focusing on a pop with electronic hues, very rhythmic, engaging and, of course, of great class.

It is a very captivating style and the average level of the songs is high: just think of a gem like "Living Eyes", elegant pop, with an almost epic touch, meticulously arranged both instrumentally and vocally, or the perfect electronic framework on which the driving "He's A Liar" develops, and also "Soldiers", where Barry releases once again his mythical falsetto, this time combining it with a delightful and lively acoustic melody, and "Cryin' Every Day", which in contrast sees Robin's trembling voice paired with a continuous and fast electronic beat. This quartet of great pop songs, perfect melodies with a touch of deliberate and delightful theatricality and killer choruses constitutes the paradigm of the third phase of the Bee Gees' career, a trademark from which, until the end of their story, they will never detach and certainly greatly enhances "Living Eyes", an album which, at first impact, might seem a bit too unbalanced towards the ballad aspect: in fact, there are six ballads on the album, and their overlap, especially in the original side B of the LP, constitutes a small structural flaw which, however, upon deeper listening is compensated for by the excellent quality of all the ballads presented here.

A very soft and enveloping "Paradise", which stands out for its masterful vocal harmonies, which blend well with an arrangement that is absolutely soft, simple yet effective accompaniment, "Wildflower", where ancient folk suggestions from a glorious past reemerge, masterfully readapted to the group's "dolce stil novo", with Maurice's balanced and pleasant voice taking the stage, and "Don't Fall In Love With Me" in which, after a high-sounding orchestral intro that seems to herald a new "Tragedy," we witness a beautiful piano ballad well performed by the tender Bee Gee par excellence, Robin, supported by the vocal harmonies of the two brothers, a true hallmark and strength of "Living Eyes." The very sweet "I Still Love You" confirms the immense melody-making abilities of the Bee Gees, perfectly utilizing synthesizers and orchestrations, which reach their peak in the concluding "Be Who You Are", credited to Barry alone, characterized by a suggestive symphonic intro that extends for more than two minutes; a melodic idea worthy of "Odessa" that leads into a masterful, epic, and intense ballad, stretched, theatrical, simply grand and ennobled by the vocal charisma of the most explosive of the three brothers, who holds the stage with a performance worthy of a major star, closing in the best possible way what is perhaps the best Bee Gees album since 1970 to date.

"Living Eyes", or the unity is strength: with this album, the Bee Gees find their unity again and return to express themselves as a true group, it is a pity that the poor management of RSO Records, close to bankruptcy, and internal conflicts among the three brothers will lead to a clamorous and undeserved success for this beautiful album, as well as the breakup of the trio, which will return only in 1987 without managing to express themselves at the levels of "Living Eyes", alternating good but always too dispersive and uneven albums with others that are truly terrible and avoidable; a story common to many artists, which in the case of the Bee Gees leaves an additional sense of bitterness, given that "Living Eyes" is almost an encyclopedia of quality 80's Pop, and the sudden and abrupt shelving of the Gibb brothers will favor the unstoppable rise of new "stars" that will drag into the abyss, irreversibly, all the so-called "mainstream" pop.