Spirits Having Flown

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Spirits Having Flown
Studio album by the Bee Gees
Released	January, 1979
Recorded	March - November, 1978 Criteria Studios, Miami
Genre	Pop/Disco
Length	45:53
Label	RSO
Producer	The Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone (Not Rated) link
the Bee Gees chronology
Children of the World (1976) Spirits Having Flown (1979) Living Eyes (1981)

Spirits Having Flown is the Bee Gees' thirteenth original album, released in 1979. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Spirits Having Flown sold 16 million copies worldwide, and the album's first three tracks were released as singles which all went to no.1 in the US. It was also the first Bee Gees album to make the UK top 40 in ten years (not counting the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever), as well as being their first and only UK no.1 album.

The title track (which, unlike the album title, includes brackets) was also released as a single in the UK and a few other countries in December 1979. It reached No. 16 in the UK chart in January 1980, but its relatively low chart position and its somewhat limited release means that, although it is a well known track, it is often absent from Bee Gees Greatest Hits compilations. The exception is Bee Gees Greatest released in 1979 (for which the single was issued to promote). This compilation was reissued on CD in 2007.

[edit] Recording Sessions

The Bee Gees spent much of 1978 on Spirits Having Flown, the most time they had ever spent on one album. Barry said that he felt it had to live up to the sensational success of Saturday Night Fever. This only heightened any tendencies the Bee Gees had toward perfectionism, Barry in particular. No doubt each song has many, many recording dates, as they carefully recorded and re-recorded each nuance, but none of the actual dates are known. There was a break from about the second week of May to the last week of July.

Co-producer Albhy Galuten recalls Spirits Having Flown as being created primarily by Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson and himself putting in long days and nights at Criteria Studios. Blue Weaver recalls others being involved. Both agree that Robin Gibb was active behind the scenes in songwriting and offering feedback to the recording process, but Maurice Gibb contributes probably the least he did on any Bee Gees album. Not only was his alcoholism sapping his creativity, but he was having back pains finally diagnosed in 1980 as caused by a bad disk. In the recording phase Robin and Maurice now mainly played the role of backing and harmony vocalists, and even in that capacity Barry did many of the vocal dubs himself as he went over and over the recorded work.

[edit] Chicago/Bee Gees connection (1978-1979)

The horn section from Chicago (James Pankow, Walt Parazaider and Lee Loughnane) made a guest appearance on this album. At the time, they were next door working on the Chicago album Hot Streets.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Tragedy" – 5:05 (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb/Maurice Gibb)
2. "Too Much Heaven" – 4:57 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb)
3. "Love You Inside Out" – 4:13 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb)
4. "Reaching Out" – 4:07
5. "Spirits (Having Flown)" – 5:21 (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb)
6. "Search, Find" – 4:16
7. "Stop (Think Again)" – 6:41
8. "Living Together" – 4:23
9. "I'm Satisfied" – 4:23
10. "Until" – 2:27

[edit] Rejected material

The Bee Gees also recorded "Desire" for the album, with guest vocals by brother Andy Gibb, but it was rejected and instead released as an Andy Gibb solo single.

[edit] Awards

Sprits Having Flown was voted Best Pop/Rock Album of 1979 at the 1980 American Music Awards ceremony.

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Personnel

• Barry Gibb - Guitar, Vocals
• Robin Gibb - Vocals
• Maurice Gibb - Bass, Vocals
• Blue Weaver - Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards, Vibraphone, Arp
• Alan Kendall - Bass, Guitar
• Dennis Bryon - Drums
• Neal Bonsanti - Horns
• Gary Brown - Saxophone
• Harold Cowart - Bass
• Kenneth Faulk - Horns
• Albhy Galuten - Synthesizer, Bass, Conductor
• Peter Graves - Horns
• Joe Lala - Percussion, Conga
• Lee Loughnane - Horns
• Herbie Mann - Flute
• James Pankow - Horns
• Walter Parazaider - Horns
• Bill Purse - Horns
• Whit Sidener - Horns
• George Terry - Guitar
• Stanley Webb - Horns
• Daniel Ben Zubulon - Percussion, Conga

[edit] Audio sample

	"Love You Inside Out", by The Bee Gees The Bee Gee's ninth US number one single from 1979. It topped the chart for three weeks.
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