To Whom It May Concern (Bee Gees album)

To Whom It May Concern is the tenth album by the Bee Gees. Released in October 1972, it is the follow-up to, and continues the melancholic and personal sound of, its predecessor Trafalgar. The album was recognised as "a farewell to the old Bee Gees" as the album marked the end of an era for the group in several ways: it was their last album to be recorded solely at IBC Studios, in London, their last with conductor and arranger Bill Shepherd, who had guided them since 1967, and their last under their first contract with Robert Stigwood. Some of the songs were old ones finished or rewritten for the occasion (in the case of "I Can Bring Love"). To Whom It May Concern has sold approximately 350,000 copies worldwide.

To Whom It May Concern
Studio album by
Bee Gees
ReleasedOctober 1972
RecordedJanuary 1971 ("We Lost the Road")
January and April 1972
StudioIBC Studios, London
Genre
Length43:32
Label
ProducerRobert Stigwood, Bee Gees
Bee Gees chronology
Trafalgar
(1971)		 To Whom It May Concern
(1972)		 Life in a Tin Can
(1973)
Singles from To Whom It May Concern
  1. "Run to Me"
    Released: July 1972
  2. "Sea of Smiling Faces"
    Released: November 1972 (Japan)
  3. "Alive"
    Released: December 1972

Background and recording

After touring in 1971 to promote their previous album, Trafalgar, the Bee Gees worked quickly to complete another album. They recorded the song "Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" on 3 January 1972 which was the last song recorded with the Australian drummer Geoff Bridgford. He left the group before their tour of East Asia and was replaced on tour by Chris Karan. Recording resumed in April 1972 with a Robin song called "Never Been Alone" and a song Barry did on his fan club recording from 1971 called "I Can Bring Love". The drummer on the April sessions was a veteran session player, Clem Cattini. The first song recorded for this album was "You Know It's For You", a song written and performed by Maurice Gibb, on which he played guitar, bass, keyboard and mellotron.[1] Karan did not participate with the Bee Gees on studio as Clem Cattini recalls:

On the album it's got a photograph of Chris Karan which is ridiculous really, because it wasn't Chris playing on the album, it was me!. As far as I'm concerned, I think they [Bee Gees] have an unbelievable talent - I'd give anything just to have written one of the songs that they've written, especially the later stuff.[2]

The album was primarily recorded between June 1971 and April 1972 (except for "We Lost the Road", recorded in January 1971 during the Trafalgar sessions). The Bee Gees saved a non-album single, "My World", from the sessions which was released in January 1972, becoming a UK/US Top 20 hit. Shepherd's arrangements are relatively toned down and the background vocals sometimes seem to take the place of what could have been string sections.

Release and reception

The album was released in November 1972. Stephen Holden's contemporary review in Rolling Stone commented that he felt the Bee Gees occupied "a very limited territory of pop music", dealing mainly in ballads of "momentary pathos", and that the album was "headphone mood music that makes no demands beyond a superficial emotional surrender to its perfumed atmosphere of pink frosting and glitter", and that the Gibbs vocal style had developed to the point where "they sound more like reed instruments than singers".[3] Bruce Eder in a retrospective review for AllMusic feels the album makes for pleasant and satisfying listening, and is "one of their most fully realized works".[4]

To Whom It May Concern only reached No. 35 in the US; it was their third consecutive studio album to fail to appear in the UK album charts. It performed better in other European countries. In Italy reached No. 10, and peaked at No. 6 in Spain. The subsequent single "Alive" was a modest sized hit in the US, reaching the Top 40, and a major hit in Australia, reaching No. 4. In the 2010 documentary In Our Own Time, Maurice was shown explaining (in archival footage) that by 1972 they didn't really know who their audience was, hence the title To Whom It May Concern. The original album cover was a gatefold with pictures of business associates and family members on a drawing of the Bee Gees and a band. The band shows Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb (Maurice is playing Rickenbacker 4001) Alan Kendall and tour-only drummer Chris Karan, with Bill Shepherd conducting the orchestra.

"Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" entered the Danish charts in the first week of 1973 and stayed in the charts for 5 weeks, peaking at #8.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLead vocal(s)Length
1."Run to Me"Barry and Robin3:05
2."We Lost the Road" (B. Gibb, R. Gibb)Barry and Robin3:27
3."Never Been Alone" (R. Gibb)Robin3:11
4."Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings"Barry and Robin4:59
5."I Can Bring Love" (B. Gibb)Barry2:06
6."I Held a Party"Robin and Barry2:35
7."Please Don't Turn Out the Lights"Robin and Barry1:59
Side two
No.TitleLead vocal(s)Length
1."Sea of Smiling Faces"Barry and Robin3:07
2."Bad Bad Dreams"Barry and Robin3:47
3."You Know It's for You" (M. Gibb)Maurice2:57
4."Alive" (B. Gibb, M. Gibb)Barry4:04
5."Road to Alaska"Robin2:38
6."Sweet Song of Summer"Barry and Robin5:04

Alternate track listing

Some publicity material featured an alternate trackorder although no commercial release of it exists.

Side one

"Alive" / "I Can Bring Love" / "Bad Bad Dreams" / "I Held a Party" / "Sea of Smiling Faces" / "Road to Alaska" / "Run to Me"

Side two

"Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" / "We Lost the Road" / "You Know It's For You" / "Never Been Alone" / "Please Don't Turn Out the Lights" / "Sweet Song of Summer"

Personnel

Bee Gees

  • Barry Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Robin Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals
  • Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, Mellotron, harpsichord, mandolin, Moog synthesizer on "Sweet Song of Summer", lead vocal on "You Know It's For You"
  • Geoff Bridgford – drums on "Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" and "Alive"

Guest musicians

  • Alan Kendall – acoustic guitar; electric lead guitar on "Bad Bad Dreams"
  • Clem Cattini – drums
  • Bill Shepherd – orchestral arrangement
  • Mike Claydon – engineer
  • Damon Lyon-Shaw – engineer
  • Richard Manwaring – engineer
  • Andy Knight – engineer
  • Mike Vickers – synthesizer engineer (on "Sweet Song of Summer")

Charts

References
  1. "Gibb Songs : 1972". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. Brennan, Joseph (2009). The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb. ISBN 9780857120045. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  3. Stephen Holden (1972). "The Bee Gees To Whom It May Concern". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Bruce Eder. "The Bee Gees To Whom It May Concern". allmusic.com.
  5. "danskehitlister.dk". danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 18, No. 23". RPM. 20 January 1973. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  8. "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1972" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  9. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  10. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  11. "Allmusic: To Whom It May Concern : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
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