{"id":2875,"date":"2024-01-14T08:46:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T16:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/?page_id=2875"},"modified":"2024-01-14T08:46:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T16:46:57","slug":"cd-review-greenfields","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/shop-talk\/rons-radios\/cd-review-greenfields\/","title":{"rendered":"CD Review: Greenfields"},"content":{"rendered":"

One week ago today, Barry Gibb\u2019s new album Greenfields<\/em> was released. My copy arrived yesterday, and I promptly listened to the entire album including the two bonus tracks. I\u2019m not a music critic nor do I play one on TV, but I need a post for my blog, so why not?<\/p>\n

Barry is still in fine voice at age 74, as I have said previously. I did not know what to expect initially, as the premise of the album is to present country-flavored remakes of Bee Gees songs and I typically do not listen to country music. But it is Barry Gibb, after all, so I had a feeling it would be good. And I was correct in my assumption. The album is well worth adding to your Gibb\/Bee Gees collection of music.<\/p>\n

Now permit me to give you my impressions of each track, in order:<\/p>\n

1. I\u2019ve Gotta Get A Message To You<\/p>\n

The 1968 original featured Robin and Barry taking turns at lead vocal \u2013 first Robin, then Barry, then Robin once again. I have to say that no one \u2013 absolutely no one \u2013 can replace, or outdo, Robin Gibb. That having been said, however, Keith Urban and Barry turn in excellent performances on this remake. They mostly kept to the original arrangement and \u201cfeel\u201d of the song. Good job.<\/p>\n

2. Words Of A Fool<\/p>\n

I was not familiar with this song, and until now I had never heard \u2013 or heard of \u2013 Jason Isbell. It turns out this was originally an unreleased Barry solo recording from 1988. Listening to the track, it seemed like I had heard it somewhere before. Well done by both men.<\/p>\n

3. Run To Me<\/p>\n

Another Bee Gees classic which featured Barry and Robin swapping out vocals. This time Brandi Carlile joins Barry for a very good performance. Ms. Carlile is another artist I had not heard previously.<\/p>\n

4. Too Much Heaven<\/p>\n

I am familiar with Alison Krauss, and she sounds as good as ever on this 1979 Bee Gees hit. The song \u2013 the vocals \u2013 the music are all beautifully done.<\/p>\n

5. Lonely Days<\/p>\n

I had never heard of Little Big Town previously. They did very well indeed on this tune. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n

6. Words<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton joins Barry for a remake of the 1968 single. Not bad.<\/p>\n

7. Jive Talkin\u2019<\/p>\n

This happens to be the song that rejuvenated the Bee Gees\u2019 career in 1975. It got them out of the ballad rut and into soulful R&B. This time, the tempo is slowed down considerably as Jay Buchanan and Miranda Lambert assist Barry in creating a completely new version of this 1975 classic. Sorry, Barry \u2013 as much as I love your music, I don\u2019t think this one turned out as well as the others. Maybe because I\u2019m so used to the up tempo beat of the original.<\/p>\n

8. How Deep Is Your Love<\/p>\n

On this number, Little Big Town, Tommy Emmanuel and Barry mostly stay true to the original yet manage to give it that country flavor. It\u2019s one of the highlights of the album and an excellent performance by all involved.<\/p>\n

9. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart<\/p>\n

Here we go again with the Robin comparisons to current artists. Sheryl Crow is not Robin Gibb. But then again, she does not pretend to be either. Nor does she need to, as a successful artist in her own right. She and Barry did well with this fine old 1971 song which sounds just fine.<\/p>\n

11. Rest Your Love On Me<\/p>\n

Olivia Newton-John\u2019s voice is showing its age on this tune, which she originally sang with Barry\u2019s youngest brother Andy in 1979. The song was recorded by Conway Twitty a year later and became a big country hit. Barry wrote the song in 1976 and the Bee Gees recorded it but did not use it until it became the B side of their 1979 single Too Much Heaven (see Track 4 above).<\/p>\n

12. (bonus) With The Sun In My Eyes<\/p>\n

Barry performs this one solo, and it may not be familiar to most listeners unless they are big Bee Gees fans. The song was originally a track on their 1968 album Horizontal<\/em>. The new version is somewhat similar to the original, but also different. Not bad at all \u2013 just different.<\/p>\n

13. (bonus)<\/p>\n

14. Butterfly<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One week ago today, Barry Gibb\u2019s new album Greenfields was released. My copy arrived yesterday, and I promptly listened to the entire album including the two bonus tracks. I\u2019m not a music critic nor do I play one on TV, but I need a post for my blog, so why not? Barry is still in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2599,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2875","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2876,"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2875\/revisions\/2876"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcoradio.com\/library\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}