Horizontal

The Bee Gees followed up the psychedelic stylings of ‘Bee Gees 1st’ with ‘Horizontal’ in 1968, a darker, heavier album that placed their songwriting skills at the forefront. The group jumped back into the studio just three months after the release of ‘Bee Gees 1st.’ Barry Gibb has been quoted as saying that ‘Bee Gees 1st’ “was like trying to make a band out of us; [Horizontal] was more of the three brothers wanting our own way, wanting to experiment.” ‘Horizontal’s’ first single, the poppy “Massachusetts,” was released earlier in 1967 and gave the Bee Gees their first no. 1 hit in the U.K. The song is about a man who leaves his home state on the East Coast to get to the supposed promised land of San Francisco, only to find himself homesick and pining for the Eastern seaboard. The Bee Gees had never been to Massachusetts, but loved the name. Writer Dave Swanson called the track an “irresistible slice of 1967 pop” that’s “practically guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart.” ‘Horizontal’ opens with the second single, “World,” a lovely and contemplative track featuring insistent guitar and piano layered with strings. Other songs include “The Earnest of Being George,” a riff-centric work of jangly 60s rock, and the soulful “The Change Is Made,” in which Gibb’s emotive vocals and Vince Melouney’s lead guitar create a powerful ballad.