Mr Natural

Mr. Natural (1974) brings a new sound for the Bee Gees, and stands as their first collaboration with producer Arif Mardin. Many of the tracks skew towards R&B and rock, and away from the psychedelic tunes the Bee Gees excelled at in the 60s, resulting in an album that’s truly an easy-to-listen-to, euphonic pleasure. The album opens with the impossibly smooth single “Charade,” but kicks up with the third track, a rollicking and brassy rock anthem titled “Down the Road.” That energy is revisited again on “Heavy Breathing,” a pounding rock number driven by bass and guitar. “Give a Hand, Take a Hand” is a gorgeous gospel-tinged number, while the title track is an irresistible track with what Ken Barnes of Rolling described as a “perfectly enthralling chorus.”