Melody [Original Soundtrack] -...

It shows precisely how much of a golden touch the Bee Gees had in the years 1967-1970 that even this soundtrack album -- on which they participated in only the most limited way -- is one of the prettiest records of their output. For starters, it marked the first official appearance of Barry Gibb's "Morning of My Life" (In the Morning)," a song (credited here as "In the Morning") that he'd written four years earlier which the group had performed regularly in Australia and which had been offered to other artists, but had somehow never been recorded by them until this soundtrack. The Bee Gees weren't too much more involved with Melody than the Beatles had been with Yellow Submarine, but they did provide this one "new" song in a fresh rendition, and it rivals the most beautiful singles they ever cut and caused many reviewers to say that the movie was worth seeing just for the song. There's nothing else here by the Bee Gees that's unique to this album, but on the 2002 Japanese reissue, the familiar tracks -- "First of May," "Melody Fair," "Give Your Best," and "To Love Somebody" -- all sound incredibly sharp and rich; the harps, the drums, the horns, and the strings on "To Love Somebody" are practically in your lap, and this gives a hint of how good the rest of the Bee Gees' catalog could sound if it were freshly remastered. Coupled with conductor/arranger Richard Hewson's original orchestral material -- and a pleasant if undistinguished original song called "Working on It Night and Day" (featuring Barry Hewson on vocals) -- and oddities such as a group of elementary school students performing "Spicks and Specks," the result is a very rewarding Bee Gees curio, and, thanks to "In the Morning," one that is essential to any serious collection of their work. Also featured is "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (back in the days when producers could license tracks by them for this kind of project). This disc is pricey (28-30 dollars) as a Japanese import, but worth owning for any serious fan. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide