To Whom It May Concern (Bee Gees album)

To Whom It May Concern
Studio album by Bee Gees
Released	October 1972
Recorded	January 1971 ("We Lost the Road") January and April 1972 IBC Studios, London
Genre	Pop rock, soft rock
Length	43:32
Label	Polydor (UK) Atco (US)
Producer	Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees
Bee Gees chronology
Trafalgar (1971) To Whom It May Concern (1972) Life in a Tin Can (1973)
Singles from To Whom It May Concern
"Run to Me" Released: July 1972 "Sea of Smiling Faces" Released: November 1972 (Japan) "Alive" Released: December 1972

To Whom It May Concern is a 1972 album by the Bee Gees. Released in October 1972, it was the follow-up, and continued the melancholic and personal sound of its predecessor Trafalgar. The album was recognized as "a farewell to the old Bee Gees" as the album marked the end of an era for the group in several ways: it was their last album to be recorded at IBC Studios, in London, their last with conductor and arranger Bill Shepherd who had guided them since 1967, and their last under their first contract with Robert Stigwood. Some of the songs were old ones finished up or rewritten for the occasion (in the case of "I Can Bring Love"). To Whom It May Concern has sold approximately 350,000 copies worldwide.

Background and recording

After touring in 1971 to promote their previous album, Trafalgar, the Bee Gees worked quickly to complete another album. They recorded the song "Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" on 3 January 1972 which was the last song recorded with the Australian drummer Geoff Bridgford. He left the group before their tour of East Asia and was replaced on tour by Chris Karan. Recording resumed in April 1972 with a Robin song called "Never Been Alone" and a song Barry did on his fan club recording from 1971 called "I Can Bring Love". The drummer on the April sessions was a veteran session player, Clem Cattini. The first song recorded for this album was "You Know It's For You", a song written and performed by Maurice Gibb, on which he played guitar, bass, keyboard and mellotron.^[1] Karan did not participate with the Bee Gees on studio as Clem Cattini recalls:

The album was primarily recorded between June 1971 and April 1972 (except for "We Lost the Road", recorded in January 1971 during the Trafalgar sessions). The Bee Gees saved a non-album single, "My World", from the sessions which was released in January 1972, becoming a UK/US Top 20 hit. Shepherd's arrangements are relatively toned down and the background vocals sometimes seem to take the place of what could have been string sections.

Release and reception

The album was released in November 1972. Stephen Holden's contemporary review in Rolling Stone commentated that he felt the Bees Gees occupied "a very limited territory of pop music", dealing mainly in ballads of "momentary pathos", and that the album was "headphone mood music that makes no demands beyond a superficial emotional surrender to its perfumed atmosphere of pink frosting and glitter", and that the Gibbs vocal style had developed to the point where "they sound more like reed instruments than singers".^[3] Bruce Eder in a retrospective review for AllMusic feels the album makes for pleasant and satisfying listening, and is "one of their most fully realized works".^[4]

To Whom It May Concern only reached No. 35 in the US; it was their third consecutive studio album to fail to appear in the UK album charts. It performed better in other European countries. In Italy reached No. 10, and peaked at No. 6 in Spain. The subsequent single "Alive" was a modest sized hit in the US, reaching the Top 40, and a major hit in Australia, reaching No. 4. In the 2010 documentary In Our Own Time, Maurice was shown explaining (in archival footage) that by 1972 they didn't really know who their audience was, hence the title To Whom It May Concern. The original album cover was a gatefold with pictures of business associates and family members on a drawing of the Bee Gees and a band. The band shows Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb (Maurice is playing Rickenbacker 4001) Alan Kendall and tour-only drummer Chris Karan, with Bill Shepherd conducting the orchestra.

"Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" entered the Danish charts in the first week of 1973 and stayed in the charts for 5 weeks, peaking at #8.^[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, except where noted. 

Alternate track listing

Some publicity material featured an alternate trackorder although no commercial release of it exists.

Side one

"Alive" / "I Can Bring Love" / "Bad Bad Dreams" / "I Held a Party" / "Sea of Smiling Faces" / "Road to Alaska" / "Run to Me"

Side two

"Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" / "We Lost the Road" / "You Know It's For You" / "Never Been Alone" / "Please Don't Turn Out the Lights" / "Sweet Song of Summer"

Personnel

Bee Gees

• Barry Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• Robin Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals
• Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, Mellotron, harpsichord, mandolin; Moog synthesizer (on "Sweet Song of Summer")
• Geoff Bridgford – drums (on "Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings" and "Alive")

Guest musicians

• Alan Kendall – acoustic guitar; electric lead guitar (on "Bad Bad Dreams")
• Clem Cattini – drums
• Bill Shepherd – orchestral arrangement
• Mike Claydon – engineer
• Damon Lyon-Shaw – engineer
• Richard Manwaring – engineer
• Andy Knight – engineer
• Mike Vickers – synthesizer engineer (on "Sweet Song of Summer")

Charts

References