High Civilization | ||||
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Studio album by the Bee Gees | ||||
Released | 25 March 1991 (U.K.) 14 May 1991 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | August – December 1990 | |||
Studio | Middle Ear Studios (Miami Beach, Florida) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 60:12 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb | |||
The Bee Gees chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Calgary Herald | C− [2] |
Chicago Tribune | [3] |
NME | 6/10 [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
High Civilization is the nineteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released on 25 March 1991 in the U.K., and 14 May 1991 in the U.S. It was their last album recorded for Warner Bros. Records, after a four-year contract (they would return to WB through subsidiary Reprise Records in 2006: after gaining the rights to their previously released material, they reissued each album through Reprise). Possibly in reaction to firm resistance from U.S. radio to the previous two albums, E.S.P. (1987) and One (1989), which had done well in other countries, the U.S.-based Warner Bros gave this one less promotion and did not issue remixes. They recorded this album and their next album Size Isn't Everything with engineer Femi Jiya.
In the U.S., the album was available only on the CD and cassette, but the LP version was released in limited quantities in some countries. While it did not chart in the U.S., it reached No. 6 in Switzerland, No. 2 in Germany (reaching platinum certification in both countries), No. 24 in the U.K.
The songs as sequenced on the "High Civilization mixes" tell a story of "secret love" that might be all in the singer's head and secret from the girl too. He hesitates one moment and speaks explicitly the next, but is he telling her what he feels. The contradictions give the story a dreamlike effect of details shifting while the singer's feelings remain consistent. The only song that does not fit is the dystopian political title song, unless it expresses the singer's anger and confusion with the world as he feels things are all falling apart. He then casts it all as a romantic tragedy, before finally proposing that maybe even the girl being in love with someone else does not mean the end of it. [6]
High Civilization found a new change for the Bee Gees sound, with heavier use of drum programming and electronic effects, giving a more modern dance feel to the production. Highlights from the album included the first single, "Secret Love", an up-tempo ballad, which was a top five hit in the U.K.; "When He's Gone", a heavier pop song, issued as the album's second single, featuring Alan Kendall's guitar solo ending on that song; and the sentimental ballad "The Only Love", released as the third and final single from the album. The soft ballad "Happy Ever After" was released as a cassette-only single. "True Confessions" was the bonus cut available only on the CD version; it was also issued only in the U.S. as the B-side of "When He's Gone". The album's length was 60 minutes for only eleven songs.
Both High Civilization and Size Isn't Everything were the only post-RSO era albums not to feature concert dates in the U.S., presumably due to health issues with Barry Gibb and lackluster record sales. The band did play three dates in the U.K. and toured Europe.
Despite the album's failure in the U.S., the brothers would work with Femi Jiya again on the follow-up, Size Isn't Everything .
All tracks are written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb
No. | Title | Lead vocal(s) | Length |
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1. | "High Civilization" | Robin and Barry | 5:27 |
2. | "Secret Love" | Barry and Robin | 3:36 |
3. | "When He's Gone" | Robin and Barry | 5:53 |
4. | "Happy Ever After" | Barry | 6:15 |
5. | "Party With No Name" | Barry | 4:50 |
6. | "Ghost Train" | Barry and Robin | 6:02 |
7. | "Dimensions" | Maurice | 5:25 |
8. | "The Only Love" | Barry | 5:32 |
9. | "Human Sacrifice" | Barry | 5:37 |
10. | "True Confessions" | Barry | 5:14 |
11. | "Evolution" | Barry | 5:36 |
Bee Gees
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
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Certifications
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The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in the mid- to late 1970s.
This Is Where I Came In is the twenty-second and final studio album by the Bee Gees. It was released on 24 April 2001 by Polydor in the UK and Universal in the US, less than two years before Maurice Gibb died from a cardiac arrest before surgery to repair a twisted intestine.
One Night Only is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by the Bee Gees. It features the group's concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 1997 and includes many of their greatest hits.
Size Isn't Everything is the twentieth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in the UK on 13 September 1993, and the US on 2 November of the same year. The brothers abandoned the contemporary dance feel of the previous album High Civilization and went for what they would describe as "A return to our sound before Saturday Night Fever".
"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album Main Course and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it also reached the top-five on the UK Singles Chart in the middle of 1975. Largely recognised as the group's comeback song, it was their first US top-10 hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (1971).
Still Waters is the twenty-first and penultimate studio album by the Bee Gees, released on 10 March 1997 in the UK by Polydor Records, and on 6 May the same year in the US by A&M Records. The group made the album with a variety of top producers, including Russ Titelman, David Foster, Hugh Padgham, and Arif Mardin.
Spirits Having Flown is the fifteenth album by the Bee Gees, released in 1979 by RSO Records. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reached No. 1 in the US, giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six US chart-toppers in a one-year period and equaling a feat shared by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. It was the first Bee Gees album to make the UK top 40 in ten years, as well as being their first and only UK No. 1 album. Spirits Having Flown also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the US. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Main Course is the thirteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1975 by RSO Records. It was the group's last album to be released by Atlantic Records in the US under its distribution deal with Robert Stigwood. This album marked a great change for the Bee Gees as it was their first album to include mostly R&B, soul and funk-influenced songs, and created the model for their output through the rest of the 1970s. It rejuvenated the group's career and public image, particularly in the US, after the commercial disappointment of their preceding albums. Main Course was the first album to feature keyboardist Blue Weaver who had just left the Strawbs and toured with Mott the Hoople. The album cover with the band's new logo designed by US artist Drew Struzan made its first appearance here.
"Love You Inside Out" is a 1979 hit single by the Bee Gees from their album, Spirits Having Flown. It was their last chart-topping single on the Billboard Hot 100, interrupting Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff", becoming the third single from the album to do so. In the UK, the single peaked at No. 13 for two weeks. It was the ninth and final number-one hit for the Bee Gees in the US, and the twelfth and final number-one hit in Canada as well. The trio would not return to the top 10 for ten years, with the song, "One".
Children of the World is the fourteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1976 by RSO Records. The first single, "You Should Be Dancing", went to No. 1 in the US and Canada, and was a top ten hit in numerous other territories. The album was re-issued on CD by Reprise Records and Rhino Records in 2006. This was the first record featuring the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team which would have many successful collaborations in the following years.
Horizontal is the fourth studio album by the Bee Gees, and their second album to receive an international release. The LP was released in early 1968, and included the international hit singles "Massachusetts" and "World". On 5 February 2007, Reprise Records reissued Horizontal with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs, non-album tracks, and alternate takes. The album was released in Polydor in many countries and on Atco only in the US and Canada. "And the Sun Will Shine" was released as a single only in France. The influences displayed on the album range from the Beatles to baroque pop.
Their Greatest Hits: The Record is the career retrospective greatest hits album by the Bee Gees, released on UTV Records and Polydor in November 2001 as HDCD. The album includes 40 tracks spanning over 35 years of music. Four of the songs were new recordings of classic Gibb compositions originally recorded by other artists, including "Emotion", "Heartbreaker", "Islands in the Stream", and "Immortality". It also features the Barry Gibb duet with Barbra Streisand, "Guilty", which originally appeared on Streisand's 1980 album of the same name. It is currently out of print and has been supplanted by another compilation, The Ultimate Bee Gees.
E.S.P. is the seventeenth studio album by the Bee Gees released in 1987. It was the band's first studio album in six years, and their first release under their new contract with Warner Bros. It marked the first time in twelve years the band had worked with producer Arif Mardin, and was their first album to be recorded digitally. The album sold well in Europe, reaching No. 5 in the UK, No. 2 in Norway and Austria, and No. 1 in Germany and Switzerland, though it failed to chart higher than No. 96 in the US. The album's first single, "You Win Again", reached No. 1 in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Norway.
"You Win Again" is a song written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees. The song was produced by the brothers, Arif Mardin and Brian Tench. It was released as the first single on 7 September 1987 by Warner Records, from their seventeenth studio album E.S.P. (1987). It was also their first single released from the record label. The song marked the start of the group's comeback, becoming a No. 1 hit in many European countries, including topping the UK Singles Chart—their first to do so in over eight years—and making them the first group to score a UK No. 1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
"Living Eyes" is a power ballad recorded by the Bee Gees and was released in November 1981 as the second single and title track off the LP of the same name. It was written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb. The sound of this single was closer musically to the rest of the album than its predecessor, "He's a Liar".
"When He's Gone" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1991 album High Civilization, released as the album's only single in North America. Due to lack of promotion from Warner Bros. to its parent album, the single failed to chart in America but reached number 93 in Canada.
Love Songs is the Bee Gees' third compilation album in four years, though the first to cover a specific musical style. A proposed album of love songs was in the works around 1995 when the Bee Gees recorded their own versions of "Heartbreaker" and "Emotion", but that project was soon shelved and those recordings remained unavailable until the release of Their Greatest Hits: The Record in 2001.
Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live is the first live album by the Bee Gees. It was recorded on December 20, 1976 at the LA Forum and was released in May 1977 by RSO Records. It reached No. 8 in the US, No. 8 in Australia, No. 1 in New Zealand, and No. 2 in Spain.
"The Only Love" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1991 album High Civilization, released as the album's third single. The single's B-side was a previously unreleased live version of "You Win Again", recorded in Melbourne, Australia during their 1989's One for All World Tour. Although the song was released only in Europe as a single there, it did not chart in the UK, but it reached number 31 in Germany. The sleeve art for the single was a photo collage that included an image of Maurice’s daughter Samantha right in the center. A ballad, lead vocals are provided by Barry Gibb.
How Old Are You? is the second solo album released by British singer Robin Gibb in 1983, thirteen years after his debut Robin's Reign in 1970. The album was not a great success in America and failed to chart in Britain but it did spawn an international hit in "Juliet" which topped the charts in Germany. The album reached No. 6 in Germany. The album was produced by Robin and Maurice Gibb with Dennis Bryon.