''How Old Are You?'' is the second solo album released by British 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 ...

in 1983, thirteen years after his debut ''

Robin's Reign ''Robin's Reign'' is the first solo album by British singer Robin Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees with his brothers Barry and Maurice. Robin had left the group following a disagreement with his brother Barry over who should sing lead vocals. The ...

'' in 1970. The album was not a great success in America and failed to chart in Britain but it did spawn an international hit in "

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

" which topped the charts in Germany. The album reached No. 6 in Germany. The album was produced by Robin and Maurice Gibb with Dennis Bryon.

Overview and recording

In 1982, Gibb with his brothers, Barry and Maurice wrote "Oceans and Rivers". In March, he recorded "My World (In the Palm of Your Hands)" and "Human Being". In October, the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

recorded "Life Goes On" for the film '' Staying Alive''. "Human Being" was leaked on YouTube on 5 April 2012. In October 1982, Robin started to record songs for ''How Old Are You?'' with Maurice on bass, synthesizer, piano and guitar. Bee Gees drummer Dennis Bryon participated on this album, playing drums and producing the album. Bryon was credited as the backup vocalist. The horns were arranged by Peter Graves. Engineered by Samii Taylor and Dale Peterson. Other musicians included Bee Gees guitarist Alan Kendall on guitar, George Bitzer on piano and synthesizer. The Boneroo Horns members consisted of Peter Graves, Brett Murphey, Melton Mustafa, Russ Freeland, Neal Bonsanti, Dan Bonsanti and Whit Sidener. The recordings of this album got to the US copyright office on 16 December 1982. The instrumental tracks made heavy use of electronics. Maurice, as a producer, liked a clear sound with good separation. Dennis Bryon's drumming was electronic and was played by drumsticks and programmed in, accompanied by Maurice's bass and synthesizer. Robin sings all of the songs in high range but lower than Barry's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

, while the songs on his 1984 album '' Secret Agent'' were sung in low range. Related session outtake, "Love is Just a Calling Card" was credited to Robin and Maurice but was not released.

Release

''How Old Are You?'' and the lead single "Juliet" was released in North America on Polydor Records, but the LPs were manufactured in Germany. Polydor did not have a big presence in the United States, and Gibb thought that his album was not released in the US. The other singles " How Old Are You?" and " Another Lonely Night in New York" with "I Believe in Miracles" as the B-side of both two singles were not released as singles in the US. The cover of the album contains a poster photo of film actors Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. Allmusic critic Joe Viglione described "Danger" as an elegant techno journey and "He Can't Love You" as a frosty march number. Viglione said "Kathy's Gone" has film references, and "I Believe in Miracles" could have been a big hit for both Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Track listing

All songs written by Robin and Maurice Gibb.

Personnel

Main artist *

– lead, harmony and backing vocals Musicians and production * Maurice Gibb – piano,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, bass guitar, harmony and backing vocals * George Bitzer – piano,

* Alan Kendall – lead guitar * Dennis Bryon –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion, programming, harmony and backing vocals * Peter Graves, Ken Faulk, Brett Murphey,

Melton Mustafa Melton "Shakir" Mustafa Sr. (November 23, 1947 – December 28, 2017) was an American jazz musician, music educator, and arranger who played the trumpet and flugelhorn. Biography Mustafa, the younger brother of saxophonist Jesse Jones Jr., grew ...

, Russ Freeland, Neal Bonsanti, Dan Bonsanti, Whit Sidener – horns * Peter Graves, Dick Ashby, Neal Kent, Tom Kennedy, Arthur Sheriff – coordination * Samii Taylor, Dale Peterson – engineering * Mike Fuller – mastering * Jimmy Wormser – photography * The Cream Group – album design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Robin Gibb albums Polydor Records albums New wave albums by English artists Synth-pop albums by English artists Albums produced by Robin Gibb Albums produced by Maurice Gibb Cultural depictions of Clark Gable Cultural depictions of actors