this one might seem a little off the beaten path for my usual musical tastes, but i heard about this on outlaw country and was intrigued by the lineups and the interview he did for them. essentially he wanted to revisit the gibb brothers songbook and do it with some of the country and americana artists he had come to admire over the years.

it is produced by grammy award winning producer dave cobb and was recorded at the legendary rca studios in nashville. contributing artists include keith urban, jason isbell, brandi carlile, alison kraus, dolly parton, miranda lambert, sheryl crow, and david rawlings with gillian welch.

his idea for the record was to have the artists pick the songs, and he would do some cameos. but cobb convinced him to have more of a duet approach, and most of the songs fit into that category. although barry might not have the same vocal chops as when the brothers were at the top of their game in the seventies, he can still bring it. the duet of him and alison kraus doing ‘too much heaven’ is downright ethereal.

and although this is on the charts as a country offering and chock full of nashville artists, i would be hard pressed to describe it as such. cobb does an excellent job as usual, but he is not afraid to add some string arrangements and stay reasonably true to the pop feel of the originals. this is just ear candy and a bit of a guilty pleasure (and i mean that in a positive way). i grew up in a household in the seventies where the soundtrack to ‘saturday night fever’ was a constant in my parent’s 8 track tape player.

it really is just a feel good story.

speaking of stories, by a bit of a coincidence, a documentary about the bee gees came out on hbo last month, and it is worth checking out as a complement to this new album. i learned quite a bit about them.