The 1985 Listening Post - Robin Gibb - Walls Have Eyes

Robin Gibb - Walls Have Eyes

#490/1123

November 1985

Robin Gibb

Walls Have Eyes

Genre: New Wave

3.5 out of 5

From the from the first song two things are apparent: 1. Robin is going to do his damnedest to put space between him and his brothers’ disco success (of which he was a great part. And 2. he wants to be part of that, now decade old, New Wave synth pop craze. But, of course, except for Miami Vice soundtracking, this sound is rapidly becoming Passe. 

There’s nothing wrong here, in fact, if it came out 5 years before and didn’t have the name “Gibb” on it, I bet I would’ve eaten this up. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rekdnSloWfw&list=PLklgARgbUGJGsXKEkhl6VwrdGEtJeop8o

The 1984 Listening Post - Robin Gibb - Secret Agent

Robin Gibb - Secret Agent

#175

July 1 1984

Robin Gibb

Secret Agent

2 out of 5

Highlights:

Boys Fall in Love

You know what? “Boys Do Fall in Love” might be my favorite solo Bee Gees song ever. It’s so unabashedly and slavishly devoted to it’s New Wave sound, it’s like if Ringo Starr was gifted the ability to find a song he could record that didn’t make him sound like the weakest link in the Beatles. I’m not kidding, Robin’s voice is so close to Ringo’s that it could be the same guy. 

Thing is, this is a Robin AND Maurice Gibb joint. They didn’t include Barry and absolutely didn’t want it to sound like a Bee Gees record and, boy does it not. Although Barry is a co-writer of a few tunes, including the mid-tempo Disco/Wave track “In Your Diary”, which really should be sung by a trash can a cappella group. 

I find myself laughing during the entire first side of this but not because the songs are good, nor are they bad, they are just so unintentionally hilarious and guileless. Looking at you, “Robot”, with your new wave reggae cheese. It’s right around “X-Ray Eyes” that I realize, ugh, Robin wants to be Duran Duran. And the Durans are so played out at this point. Like I said, “ugh”.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/secret-agent/1392859870