2 Years On

Background

In March 1969, Robin announced that he was leaving the band. In June, he released his debut solo single "Saved by the Bell", which reached No. 2 on the UK charts. In August, drummer Colin Petersen was fired and was replaced by Terry Cox to complete the album Cucumber Castle. Before the album was released, Barry and Maurice announced that the Bee Gees had split in December 1969. The pair released singles, "Railroad" by Maurice and "I'll Kiss Your Memory" by Barry, but their respective albums The Loner and The Kid's No Good remain unreleased to this day. During the temporary break-up of the group, Maurice appeared in London musical theatre production Sing a Rude Song. Maurice recalls: "We got fed up with all the lawyers fighting over our assets, so we walked out of this big summit meeting and started the group again".

Recording

Robin and Maurice reunited in June 1970, supported by new drummer Geoff Bridgford. They recorded four songs, including "Sincere Relation" and "Lay It on Me". "We Can Lift a Mountain" was also re-recorded, a song from 1968. After that, Maurice joined the supergroup The Bloomfields with Billy Lawrie, and worked with Tin Tin. In August, Maurice and Robin announced that the Bee Gees were back, with or without Barry's participation, and fourteen songs were recorded, including "Back Home" and "I'm Weeping". On 21 August, the three Bee Gees came together to continue recording as Barry announced, "The Bee Gees are there and they will never, ever part again". He continues, "If a solo record comes out, it will be with enthusiasm and great support of each of us. We are a musical establishment". Maurice, on the other hand, recalled: "We just discussed it and re-formed".

Release

Around the same time, Barry's "One Bad Thing" / "The Day Your Eyes Meet Mine" was withdrawn at the last minute in the US for single release, while Polydor planned to release "One Bad Thing" as a single by 2 October (probably in Europe and Asia). Despite Barry's longing to prove himself as a solo artist, it was decided instead that the next single should be performed by the Bee Gees as they reunited around the same time.

Despite the album marking the musical reunion of the Bee Gees, only three songs credited all three Gibb brothers as composers: the single "Lonely Days", its flip side "Man For All Seasons", and "Back Home". Maurice sings on all songs, but Barry and Robin are only on the ones they wrote or co-wrote. In the August sessions, they also recorded "You Got to Lose It in the End", "Little Red Train", "Sweet Summer Rain", "Melody Fair" (originally released on Odessa) and "Maybe Tomorrow". None of these were released.

Track listing

Alternate track listing

Personnel

Credits from Joseph Brennan.

;Bee Gees

• Barry Gibb – lead, harmony, and backing vocals; rhythm guitar
• Robin Gibb – lead, harmony, and backing vocals; organ on "I'm Weeping"
• Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar, lead and rhythm guitars, piano, lead vocals on "Lay It On Me" ;Additional musicians and production staff
• Geoff Bridgford – drums
• Bill Shepherd, Gerry Shury – orchestral arrangement
• John Stewart – engineer
• Robert Stigwood – producer
• Bee Gees – producers

Charts

References

References

1. Bruce Eder. "2 Years On – Bee Gees | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic.
2. Christgau, Robert. (1981). "[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]". [[Ticknor & Fields]].
3. Cross, Charles R.. (2004). "[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
4. (25 August 1973). "Bee Gees Aim for Peak Stellar Performance in All Areas". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
5. Andrew Môn Hughes. (2009). "The Bee Gees: Tales Of The Brothers Gibb". Omnibus Press.
6. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1970".
7. "Gibb Songs : 1970".
8. "Australian Albums". australian-charts.com Hung Medien.
9. "Canadian Albums". RPM Canada.
10. "US Albums". AllMusic.
11. "US Albums". Cashbox.