Review
by Nicholas James |
 |
Barry Gibb's first solo album was a major
project. The album was loaded full of
experimental tracks, and most tracks were
also recorded as pop videos, which formed
part of the accompanying Now
Voyager film (now available on DVD).
This album
experiments with a whole series of different
musical influences, including rap, calypso,
disco, rock and pop, although few of the
tracks were commercially accessible pop
songs. In this album, Barry purposefully
eschewed the inclusive and distinctive style
of the Bee Gees, or even his productions for
other artists. The result? The album was
reasonably well-received critically, many
reviewers citing this as exactly the sort of
album that one of the world's most
influential and creative songwriters should
come up with, but it was a commercial
disaster. But despite its inaccessibility
and unexpected commercial failure, this
album has a great deal to commend it. And,
despite the slightly dated sound of one or
two of the songs, it has actually aged well,
and is always interesting.
The best track
by a square mile is the lead-off single,
'Shine Shine'. This is just an incredible
piece of music, mixing a powerful pop
melody, enigmatic and moving lyrics with a
driving calypso beat. From start to finish,
this song is nothing short of uplifting, and
the trumpet-led instrumental break in each
chorus will have you dancing in your front
room (or the train, if you are listening on
your phone). Breathtaking.
Other
memorable moments include the hi-tech and
highly sexually suggestive 'I Am Your
Driver', ostensibly about a commercial
interplanetary airline ("You can rearrange
your bags in the aisle", says Barry!), the
danceable 'Fine Line' (yes, Barry Gibb raps
on this one) and the powerful synth-rock of
'The Hunter'.
Barry also
manages to include a few pleasant ballads,
although with the exception of 'Face to
Face' (a classic Bee Gees-style duet with
Olivia Newton-John), these tracks all veer
into new musical directions. 'She Says' is
an infectious piece of pure 1980s pop with a
killer verse; 'Stay Alone' is a simple,
gentle and slightly odd piano ballad; and
'One Night (For Lovers)' brings to mind palm
trees, white sand and lovers walking
hand-in-hand along a Caribbean shoreline.
At times the
album becomes far too intense and it is
difficult to know exactly where Barry Gibb
was going (the thumping sing-along
'Shatterproof'; the tale of sexual
experimentation 'Lesson In Love' and the
Michael Jackson influenced 'Temptation'
being perfect examples - these are difficult
songs to love).
Special
mention must be made of the album's
fantastic cover photograph, taken in the
listed Victoria Baths, a much-loved swimming
pool in Barry's former home town of
Manchester, England. This iconic swimming
pool features heavily in the accompanying DVD,
which goes some way to explaining how all
the songs fit together (the DVD is also
beautifully filmed and, despite some
slightly dodgy acting from Barry, really
adds to the whole Now Voyager experience).
In hindsight,
Barry should perhaps have relaxed a bit more
and made this something less than the deadly
serious and intense album it turned out to
be. His next album, which never got a full
release (although partly found its way into
the Hawks movie
soundtrack), would have probably moved
further into this territory. But, criticisms
aside, this project is something of a
musical landmark that defined this period in
Barry's song writing career, and it provided
us some excellent tracks to boot. For that,
it deserves every one of the four stars I
award it.
Why Buy Now Voyager?
For the incredible 'Shine Shine' and to hear
one of the world's greatest and most
creative musical forces on an intense and
experimental journey. |
