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''Size Isn't Everything'' is the twentieth studio album by the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
, released in the UK on 13 September 1993, and the US on 2 November of the same year. The brothers abandoned the contemporary dance feel of the previous album ''
High Civilization ''High Civilization'' is the nineteenth studio album by British-Australian pop group the Bee Gees, released on 25 March 1991 in the United Kingdom and 14 May 1991 in the United States. It was their third and final album Warner Bros. Records, foll ...
'' and went for what they would describe as "A return to our sound before ''
Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...
''".


Recording

The album marked the Bee Gees's return to
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
after their three-album contract with Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded following a time of considerable strain for the Gibb brothers. Maurice had only recently managed to overcome his long-term struggle with alcoholism and
Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...
's wife and prematurely newborn daughter both suffered ill health. Barry himself was also scheduled to have back surgery. Subsequently, on 6 March 1992, the brothers' father,
Hugh Gibb Hugh Leslie Gibb (15 January 1916 – 6 March 1992) was an English drummer, bandleader and the father of musicians Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, Maurice Gibb, Maurice and Andy Gibb. Barry, Robin and Maurice would go on to form the Bee ...
, died, the day after the birthday of their late brother Andy, who had died in 1988. The album was dedicated to Hugh. Work on the album began in 1992.


Content

The first track " Paying the Price of Love" has numerous "alternate mixes" available in different releases. "Kiss of Life" is an energetic rock/dance hybrid with an impressively complex vocal line involving distinctive Robin and Barry's solo vocals as well as the group's vocals. "Omega Man" and "Above and Beyond" feature lead vocals by
Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
. On "Haunted House", Barry commented in an interview with '' Q'' magazine, "I guess you could say the song's about divorce". According to Robin, "Heart Like Mine" was inspired by
Enya Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...
's moody songs, and he gets some of the slow dreamy feel of her music. "Blue Island" was dedicated to the children of the former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
and according to Barry that the song was the nicest track they had ever written. " For Whom the Bell Tolls" became the biggest hit on ''Size Isn't Everything''. The last track, "Decadance" was a new remix of the classic No. 1 hit " You Should Be Dancing", which was included only on the European version of the album. The unison scream of the line ("My baby moves at midnight") by Barry at 2:20 was first sung to the public back in 1989, towards the end of the One for All Tour in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. The album cover photograph features the Old City Hall of
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
in the background.


Commercial reception

On 9 August 1993, the album's first single, " Paying the Price of Love", was released in the UK and peaked at No. 23. The album peaked at No. 33 in the UK in late September. It then disappeared from the charts, only to return in December 1993 when the album's second single, " For Whom the Bell Tolls", became a UK top five hit. The album again peaked at No. 23. In all, the album spent sixteen weeks inside the UK Top 100 and was certified gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies. A third single, the ballad " How to Fall in Love, Part 1", was released on 4 April 1994 in the UK, peaking at No. 30. This made ''Size Isn't Everything'' the first Bee Gees album to contain three UK top 30 hits since 1979's ''
Spirits Having Flown ''Spirits Having Flown'' is the fifteenth album by the Bee Gees, released in 5 February 1979, by RSO Records. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the '' Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The album's first three tracks we ...
'' and many consider this album their strongest post-disco album. Reaction to the album in the US was less successful, where the album peaked at No. 153 and spent only three weeks inside the whole ''Billboard'' 200. The single "Paying the Price of Love" only reached No. 74 in the US during the fall of 1993, presumably because by 1993, The Bee Gees were an adult contemporary group and this single was too heavy for AC stations with its hip-hop influenced percussion. The European hit single, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", bubbled under on ''Billboards Hot 100 at No. 109. Reception of the album was mixed around the world, though it is notable that it was one of the most successful Bee Gees albums in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, peaking at No. 1 due to the big success of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" there. Worldwide sales of the album are estimated to be over 700,000 copies. According to Barry, when asked on American breakfast shows why the album was called ''Size Isn't Everything'', he explained that the Bee Gees have never been hyped and that they have always had to prove themselves musically, so the title came from that idea.


Track listing

All tracks were written and composed by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb.


Personnel

Bee Gees *
Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...
– vocals, guitars * Robin Gibb – vocals *
Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
– vocals, keyboards, guitars, lead vocals (4, 9) Additional personnel * Tim Moore – keyboards, programming *
Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was " Don't Play That Song (Yo ...
– guitars * Tim Cansfield – guitars * Slash – guitar (uncredited) * Steve Howe – acoustic guitar (5) (uncredited)"All My Yesterdays", by Steve Howe, Omnibus Press, 2020, p. 190 * George "Chocolate" Perry – bass guitar * Trevor Murrell – drums * Luis Jardim – percussion * Ed Calle – saxophone * Gustav Lezcano –
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
(8)


Production

* Bee Gees – producers, mixing * Femi Jiya – engineer, mixing * Chris Potter – assistant engineer *
Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
– mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine) * Andy Earl – photography * Stylorouge – art direction, design * Allen Kovac and Left Bank Management – management


Charts


Certifications and sales


References

{{Authority control Bee Gees albums 1993 albums Polydor Records albums Albums produced by Barry Gibb Albums produced by Robin Gibb Albums produced by Maurice Gibb