''Walls Have Eyes'' is the fourth solo album released by singer

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his o ...

. It was released in November 1985 on

EMI America Records EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second United States, US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s, EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records ...

in the US and

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-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 the United States. ...

throughout the rest of the world, and produced by

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 le ...

and

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

. The two singles from the album, "Like a Fool" and "Toys", did not chart in the US and UK. Gibb did not release a solo album in eighteen years until 2003 with ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

''. Unlike ''

Secret Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

'' which contains dance numbers, this album contains mostly

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Background

Writing credits

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 popul ...

co-wrote eight of the ten songs, and contributed a part lead vocal to "Toys". The credits for the songs are precisely stated as R. B. & M. Gibb in most cases, and B. R. & M. Gibb in others. Although the songs all have Robin's signature simplicity of form, Barry's hand is evident in the melody lines, especially in the verses.

Recording

Like the previous album ''

'', it was recorded in

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

rather than the Middle Ear Studio which was owned by the Bee Gees. The only regulars from previous Gibb recordings was George Terry on guitar with Steve Farris of

Mr. Mister Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page (musician), Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George (keyboardist), Steve George on keyboards/backing v ...

. Session musician

Phil Chen Phillip David Chen (21 October 1946 – 14 December 2021) was a Jamaican bassist. He was one of England's most utilized session bassists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Jeff Beck, and the Rod Stewart band from 1977 to 1980, but is prob ...

was credited as the bass player on the song "Gone with the Wind". The album was produced by Atlantic Records engineer and producer

. The copyright registrations on the songs span only between 28 August to 16 September 1985, and a period of just a few weeks keys in with what Dowd recalled a tight budget. On the sessions, there was one outtake, "Modern Girls"; Gibb later said that this "did not fit".

Reception

The album did not chart as well as the lead single "Like a Fool", and failed to chart in the US and UK. However, "Like a Fool" was a smash hit in Brazil and the single "Toys" did reach #27 on the Canada

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. Promo videos were also made for "Like a Fool" and "Toys". ''Walls Have Eyes'' is rare on compact disc giving its distinction as the last solo album recorded by any of the Gibb brothers issued on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

until Barry's

In the Now ''In the Now'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, released on 7 October 2016 by Columbia Records. Although his second solo album (since 1984's ''Now Voyager''), it is the first of all new material since the Bee Gees ...

in 2016. Polydor copies of the album which were converted onto CD were found, but because of low sales, it was not later reissued on CD internationally. Barry later stated that Robin didn't receive the feedback he wanted. A remixed version of "Toys" appeared on the ''

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, 1 ...

'' box set in 1990.

Track listing

All songs written by Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb, except where noted.

Personnel

Main artist * Robin Gibb – lead and backing vocals Musicians and production *

– bass, keyboards, backing vocals *

– backing vocals on "Toys" * Duane Hitchings,

Mitchell Froom Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma (band), Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is currently the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, ...

– keyboards *

– bass on "Gone with the Wind" *

Sandy Gennaro Santo Michael Gennaro (born July 3, 1951 in Manhattan, New York) is an American rock drummer, author, musician, public speaker and mentor. He has recorded and toured with many musical artists including Blackjack, The Monkees, Pat Travers, Cy ...

– drums * George Terry, Steve Farris – guitar *

Alto Reed Alto Reed (born Thomas Neal Cartmell, May 16, 1948 – December 30, 2020) was an American saxophonist best known as a long-time member of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band He was a 1966 graduate of Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shore ...

Ed Calle Ed Calle (born ''Eduardo J. Calle'') is a musician from Miami, Florida. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Calle plays the saxophones, flutes, clarinets, EWI, and keyboards, engineers projects, and performs vocals. He also composes and arrange ...

– French horn * Valter Antunes – percussion * Dennis Hetzendorfer –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Leslie Shapiro – assistant audio engineer

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums Robin Gibb albums New wave albums by English artists Synth-pop albums by English artists EMI Records albums Polydor Records albums Albums produced by Maurice Gibb Albums produced by Tom Dowd