And the lights all went out

Continuing my trip back through the 1968 album charts.

14/04/68 : Horizontal - Bee Gees

Wow - I wasn't expecting to see them twice this year.  I might recognise a track or two, but that's gonna be it and I'm not expecting to like the rest of it.  But let's see...

Hmmm - let's just say you really have to be a fan of tremolo if you're going to attempt this album.  I can handle it on a track or two (eg "Massachussetts" which I know and quite like), but there's too much of it on here - a track or two are spared, but they do really love their tremolo.  None of it is horrible (there's quite a Beatles feel to a lot of it), but the overall effect is definitely peculiar.

We're at #25 in the charts this week on its tenth week of a sixteen week run, with it having peaked at #15 in its fifth week.  The top five this week were Bob, three best-ofs from The Four Tops, The Supremes and Otis and TSOM, the highest new entry was Scott Walker (#23) and there were no new women in charts this week.

Wikipedia has more than I expected on the album but I've read it a few times and, as far as I can tell, all it really says is that they recorded and released the album.  Apparently it got mixed reactions from the fans because it was considered too heavy - in fact, it was "considered the heaviest album ever recorded by the Bee Gees".  What?!?  Was I listening to the same album?!?  It did pretty well commercially though - #1 in Germany, #2 in France and Finland and #12 in the US.

"Customers also listened to" Robin, Andy and Barry Gibb - nobody expected that!  Like our last visit, I find myself somewhat nonplussed by the whole thing - it's not terrible, but I'm not sure there's quite enough there to actually like.

07/04/68 - Another mystifyingly popular album
21/04/68 - Two YEARS on the chart?!?

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