Spicks and Specks | ||||
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Studio album by Bee Gees | ||||
Released | November 1966 | |||
Recorded | April–June 1966 | |||
Studio | St. Clair Studios, Hurstville | |||
Genre | Beat | |||
Length | 29:14 | |||
Label | Spin (AUS) | |||
Producer | Nat Kipner | |||
Bee Gees chronology | ||||
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Singles from Spicks and Specks | ||||
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Spicks and Specks is the second studio album by the Bee Gees. It was released in November 1966, on Spin. Primarily written by Barry Gibb, the album features the first Robin Gibb composition "I Don't Know Why I Bother With Myself" and a Maurice Gibb composition "Where Are You".
The success of the title track propelled the band to move to England in 1967 to further their musical career.
Nat Kipner brought the Bee Gees to St. Clair Studio, Hurstville (outside Sydney). It was a small place in a strip mall owned and operated by Kipner's friend Ossie Byrne, a sound engineer who was working wonders with even more modest facilities than Festival Studios. Both Kipner and Barry Gibb recall that the recording equipment was just two one-track tape decks and a mixer. But many Festival acts would make the trip to Hurstville to get the benefit of Byrne's talents and the more relaxed artist-oriented atmosphere. Among them were the band, Steve and the Board, led by Kipner's son, Steve Kipner, all of whom became friends with the Bee Gees because both groups were allowed the run of the studio whenever it was not booked for other performers. The Bee Gees had never had much studio time before. Byrne let them experiment with sound effects and overdubs, while Nat gave them plenty of feedback on their music. The first group of St. Clair recordings were an excellent set of songs that show the brilliance of the Bee Gees when set loose, and of Byrne as a recording engineer. They were recorded mainly by the three brothers themselves. On some tracks, the drums were played by Colin Petersen from Steve and the Board, who would later be the Bee Gees' regular drummer until August 1969. Maurice Gibb had a piano to play and electronics he was allowed to try out, Robin Gibb learned to double-track his voice, and Barry had precious time to work with his group to make recordings as good as those by the other performers who had recorded so many of his songs. The one-track tape machines required the used of sound-on-sound for all overdubs. An instrumental base track was recorded first. Then it was played back while the group sang or played, and the playback and microphones were mixed together and recorded to another tape machine. If an additional track was needed, the process could be repeated. Each track however added another layer of tape hiss. Some of these recordings must have gone to at least a third track. The exact chronology of the St. Clair sessions remains a mystery, one that will not be solved since the studio documentation is long gone. The two songs for "Monday's Rain" single were certainly recorded by 8 May 1966, based on a press report. Also listed above are the other songs sequenced into the Monday's Rain LP, which was not released. The album compilation pre-dates the song "Spicks and Specks", which seems to date from early July.