''A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants'' is an unreleased studio album by the Bee Gees. Originally known as ''The Bee Gees Album'', recording began in late 1972 at

The Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Los Angeles around the same time as tracks for ''

Life in a Tin Can ''Life in a Tin Can'' is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album (ninth worldwide), released in January 1973. Background The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record ''Life in a Tin Can''. However, it was unable to prevent a commercial decline ...

'' were being recorded. Ten tracks were recorded in October 1972 and four more were recorded in January 1973 in London, England.

History

By the end of 1972, The Bee Gees had two albums recorded and ready for release. The first to be released was ''

'' in January 1973. The first and only single from that album, "

Saw a New Morning "Saw a New Morning" is the 1973 single released by the Bee Gees. It was also the group's first single released on Robert Stigwood's newly created records label RSO Records. The Bee Gees moved to Los Angeles in 1972 to record the album ''Life in a ...

", was not a hit in the US peaking at No. 94. The parent album fared only slightly better, climbing to No. 69. When it was time to release the follow-up album,

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

, manager of The Bee Gees and owner of RSO Records, rejected the proposed album after the failure of the lead single, " Wouldn't I Be Someone". The album was shelved, and only a few songs ever received official release. "Elisa", "Wouldn't I Be Someone" and "King and Country" were released as singles in 1973, and then again in 1990 on the box set ''

Tales from the Brothers Gibb ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'' is a box set compilation released by the Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, ''Tales'' is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their third album, ...

''. Another track, "It Doesn't Matter Much to Me", was released on a budget label compilation album in the UK in 1974. That track was re-recorded for inclusion on The Bee Gees' 1974 album, '' Mr. Natural'', but was only released as the B-side of the title track when it was released as a single. A 30-second clip of "Castles in the Air" made it on to a 1978 promotional album called ''The Words and Music of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb''.

Track listing

The Record Plant 1972

# "Elisa" – 2:53 (released as the B-side of "Wouldn't I Be Someone" in June 1973) # " Wouldn't I Be Someone" – 5:44 (released as a single in June 1973 in edited form at 3:24) # "A Lonely Violin" – 3:15 # "Losers And Lovers" – 3:17 # "Home Again Rivers" – 3:18 # "Harry's Gate" – 3:30 # "Rocky L. A." – 3:54 # "Castles In The Air" – 3:41 (30-second clip released in 1978 on a RSO Records promo album) # "Where Is Your Sister" – 3:11 # "It Doesn't Matter Much To Me" – 4:29 (released on the UK compilation ''Gotta Get a Message to You'' in 1974)

London 1973

# "King And Country" – 5:23 (released as the B-side of "Wouldn't I Be Someone" in Germany only) # "Jesus In Heaven" – 3:26 # "Life Am I Wasting My Time" – 2:57 # "Dear Mr. Kissinger" – 4:09

Personnel

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, rhythm guitar * Robin Gibb – vocals *

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

– vocals, bass,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s ;Additional personnel *

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 (You ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums

Bootlegs

The album has been bootlegged by Drifter Records and Demon Records in Malaysia, both containing all of the above tracks.

Cover versions

"Castles in the Air" was covered by

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...

in 1973 and included as a B-side on his "Trying to Say Goodbye" single. "A Lonely Violin" was covered by

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

in 2004 and included on the album ''Shining Through the Rain''.Allmusic.com – Percy Sledge: Shining Through the Rain
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants, A Bee Gees albums Unreleased albums Albums produced by Barry Gibb Albums produced by Robin Gibb Albums produced by Maurice Gibb