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Trafalgar (album)

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Trafalgar
Studio album by
the Bee Gees
ReleasedSeptember 1971 (US)
November 1971 (UK)
Recorded28 January – April 1971
StudioIBC (London)
Genre
Length47:28
LabelPolydor (UK)
Atco (US)
ProducerRobert Stigwood, Bee Gees
The Bee Gees chronology
2 Years On
(1970) 		Trafalgar
(1971) 		To Whom It May Concern
(1972)
Singles from Trafalgar
  1. "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
    Released: May 1971
  2. "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"
    Released: November 1971 (US)
  3. "Israel"
    Released: May 1972 (Europe)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Tom Hull – on the WebC−[4]

Trafalgar is a 1971 album by the Bee Gees. It was their ninth album (seventh internationally), and was released in September 1971 in the US, and November 1971 in the UK. The album was a moderate hit in the United States, and peaked at No. 34. The lead single "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was the first Bee Gees' No. 1 single in the United States but failed to chart in Britain as did the album. It is Geoff Bridgford's only full-length appearance on a Bee Gees album as an official member.

Trafalgar is included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[1]

Recording

[edit]

In December 1970, barely more than two months after the group recorded their last session for the 2 Years On album, they recorded "Together", "Over the Hill and Over the Mountain", "Merrily Merry Eyes" and "When Do I". They returned to the studio with new backing band member, guitarist Alan Kendall, who would play on the majority of their subsequent albums. Several songs were recorded around this time which have not officially been released.[citation needed] All of the songs chosen for release were ballads. Recording began on 28 January 1971 with "We Lost the Road", "When Do I" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" ("We Lost the Road" was held over for use on the following album To Whom It May Concern). Recording continued through April with several demos and out-takes recorded but not released.[5]

Release

[edit]
Advertisement and tour schedule

With "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as the lead single from the album, "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" was released as the second single but only reached No. 57 on the US charts. "Israel" was released as a single in the Netherlands and reached No. 22. The album's cover depicts the battle of Trafalgar. Bridgford was credited on the sleeve notes on the original vinyl release as "Jeoff Bridgford".[6]

In support of the album, The Bee Gees toured the US in the fall of 1971, playing such cities as Boston, Asbury Park, New York City (7 shows), Memphis, Kansas City, and Indianapolis.

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocal(s)Length
1."How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbRobin and Barry3:58
2."Israel"Barry GibbBarry3:54
3."The Greatest Man in the World"Barry GibbBarry4:18
4."It's Just the Way"Maurice GibbMaurice2:34
5."Remembering"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbRobin4:02
6."Somebody Stop the Music"Barry Gibb, Maurice GibbBarry and Maurice3:31
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocal(s)Length
1."Trafalgar"Maurice GibbMaurice3:53
2."Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"Barry GibbBarry5:25
3."When Do I"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbRobin3:58
4."Dearest"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbBarry and Robin3:52
5."Lion in Winter"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbBarry and Robin3:59
6."Walking Back to Waterloo"Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice GibbRobin and Barry3:51

Alternate version

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  • This 53-minute version of the album was sent to Atlantic Records in the United States with a different track order and with 14 songs in total. The two extra songs are "Country Woman" (the B-side of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart") and "We Lost the Road" (released on the group's next album To Whom It May Concern). There was no commercial release of the album in the US.

Side one

  1. "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
  2. "Israel"
  3. "The Greatest Man in the World"
  4. "It's Just the Way"
  5. "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself"
  6. "Country Woman"
  7. "Somebody Stop the Music"

Side two

  1. "Trafalgar"
  2. "We Lost the Road"
  3. "Dearest"
  4. "When Do I"
  5. "Lion in Winter"
  6. "Remembering"
  7. "Walking Back to Waterloo"

Personnel

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Credits from Bee Gees historian and sessionographer Joseph Brennan.[5]

Bee Gees

  • Barry Gibb – lead, harmony, and backing vocals; rhythm guitar
  • Robin Gibb – lead, harmony, and backing vocals
  • Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, bass, rhythm guitar, piano, Mellotron, Hammond organ, lead vocals on "It’s Just the Way" and "Trafalgar", drums on "Trafalgar"
  • Geoff Bridgford – drums
Additional personnel and production staff
  • Alan Kendall – lead guitar
  • Bryan Scott – audio engineer
  • Bill Shepherd – orchestral arrangement
  • Robert Stigwood – producer
  • Bee Gees – producers

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[7] 8
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] 17
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[9] 57
Spanish Albums Chart[10] 9
US Billboard 200[11] 34
US Cashbox[12] 18

References

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  1. ^ a b 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. New York, NY: Universe, 2006. pg 165. (ISBN 0-7893-1371-5)
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "The Bee Gees". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 58. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  4. ^ Hull, Tom (22 June 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1971".
  6. ^ Hughes, Andrew (2009). The Bee Gees – Tales of the Brothers Gibb. ISBN 9780857120045. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 16, No. 10". RPM. 23 October 1971. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. 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: Trafalgar : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Cashbox Album Charts" (PDF). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
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