Life in a Tin Can

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Life in a Tin Can
folk pop
  • country rock
    • Length32:11
    LabelRSO[1]
    ProducerBee Gees
    The Bee Gees chronology
    To Whom It May Concern
    (1972)     		Life in a Tin Can
    (1973)     		Mr. Natural
    (1974)
    Singles from Life in a Tin Can
    1. "Saw a New Morning"
      Released: March 1973
    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[2]
    The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
    The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

    Life in a Tin Can is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album (ninth worldwide), released in January 1973.

    Background

    The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record Life in a Tin Can. However, it was unable to prevent a commercial decline with the album criticised for a lack of innovation.[citation needed] Despite its low sales and poor chart performance, Life in a Tin Can was awarded "Album of the Year" by Record World magazine. It was the first Bee Gees album to bear the RSO label in the US.

    Four of the eight songs were written by all three brothers with the other four being Barry Gibb compositions. "Saw a New Morning" was a No. 1 hit in Hong Kong. During the sessions, Robin Gibb had to leave the sessions suddenly when his son Spencer was born a month early. He returned to Los Angeles a week or so later to continue on into the next album.[4] The musicians who participated on Life in a Tin Can were Jim Keltner, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Tommy Morgan, Jerome Richardson, Ric Grech, Jane Getz and Johnny Pate.[4]

    When asked by Billboard why they moved from London to Los Angeles, Maurice says: "We don't want to talk about it yet. But we're going to attempt a concept album that's a major departure from our usual Bee Gees trademarks. And if that doesn't work out, we'll do something else".[5]

    Critical reception

    Rolling Stone called the album "vaguely pleasant and certainly innocuous enough to fit right in with the prevalent Seventies soft-rock ambience."[6]

    Track listing

    All tracks written and composed by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, except for songs with asterisks, which are by Barry Gibb.

    Side one
    No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
    1."Saw a New Morning" Barry and Robin4:24
    2."I Don't Wanna Be the One"*Robin and Barry4:05
    3."South Dakota Morning"*Barry2:26
    4."Living in Chicago" Barry, Robin and Maurice5:43
    Side two
    No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
    1."While I Play"*Barry4:29
    2."My Life Has Been a Song" Robin and Barry4:21
    3."Come Home Johnny Bridie"*Barry3:50
    4."Method to My Madness" Barry and Robin3:10

    Personnel

    Credits from Joseph Brennan.[7]

    Bee Gees
    Guest musicians
    Production
    • Los Angeles, California
    • Chuck Leary – engineer

    Chart performance

    Album
    Chart (1973) Peak
    position
    Australia Kent Music Report Albums Chart[8] 19
    Canadian RPM Albums Chart[9] 54
    Italian Albums Chart 10
    US Billboard 200[10] 69
    Singles
    Billboard charts (North America)
    Year Song Chart Rank
    1973 "Saw a New Morning" Billboard Hot 100 94

    References

    1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 507.
    2. ^ "Life in a Tin Can - Bee Gees | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
    3. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 47.
    4. ^ a b Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1972". Retrieved 13 January 2014.
    5. ^ Freedland, Nat (25 August 1973). "Bee Gees Aim for Peak Stellar Performance in All Areas". Billboard. p. 18. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
    6. ^ Barnes, Ken (10 May 1973). "Life In A Tin Can". Rolling Stone.
    7. ^ "Gibb Songs : 1972".
    8. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
      .
    9. ^ "Canadian Albums". RPM Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
    10. ^ "Billboard Top LP's & Tape". Billboard. 10 March 1973. p. 58. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
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