LOST TREASURES

BARRY GIBB

The Kid’s No Good

By Peter Marston

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Though the Bee Gees’ mid- and late-60s work is generally held in very high esteem by pop and psych-pop aficionados, the band’s history is not nearly as well-known as that of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, or even Badfinger or Big Star. It’s not that their story hasn’t been well-documented, it’s just that the Bee Gees’ turn to dance and disco music leads many pop fans to lose interest in the overarching narrative. Indeed, many pop fans are not even aware that by the end of 1969, the Bee Gees had completely split and that Barry Gibb recorded a solo album in 1970 using much of the same production team that had created the classic double LP Odessa.

Now, surely the most important reason this solo album is a lost treasure is because it was never officially released. Even the title, The Kid’s No Good—taken from the Bee Gees’ song “Come Home Johnny Bride”—is unofficial, though nearly all bootleg versions of the album use it.

The story behind The Kid’s No Good is inextricably bound to its more successful processor, Odessa. Once the recording of Odessa was completed, discussions about which song to pull as an initial single began. Consensus seemed to be building behind Robin’s wonderful “Lamplight,” but Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood got cold feet and decided instead to release Barry’s “First of May,” a track which did not even include Robin or Maurice. With the carpet thus pulled out from under him (and not just on this occasion), Robin decided to leave the band and begin a solo career where his songs would no longer have to struggle against Stigwood’s favoritism toward Barry. Robin’s solo album recorded during this time, Robin’s Reign, fared better than Barry’s, being released in 1970 to moderate critical acclaim.

Barry and Maurice soldiered on briefly on the Bee Gees (culminating in the release of the underrated Cucumber Castle), but ultimately dissolved the band entirely. In February 1970, Barry began recording his first solo album in earnest, using Bill Shepherd—who provided the sweeping orchestrations on Odessa—as the principal arranger.

The music on The Kid’s No Good is, not surprisingly given Barry’s tendency to dominate Bee Gees proceedings, very similar to that of the late 60s Bee Gees. “Mando Bay” continues the Bee Gees tradition of writing songs about places and would have fit right in with the material and arrangements on Odessa. “One Bad Thing,” co-written by Barry and Maurice, is the highlight for pop fans, and recalls the more Beatlesque approach the Bee Gees adopted in the mid ’60s. “The Day Your Eyes Meet Mine” is a classic Gibb ballad and anticipates the approach taken on 1971’s Trafalgar. “I’ll Kiss Your Memory” is a simple country number that recalls the recordings of Jim Reeves. It’s a terrific song. “This Time” is a straightforward, mid-tempo pop song that reminds me a bit of the Fortunes or Walker Brothers. “Born” is the type of faux R&B that the Bee Gees often excelled in, from “To Love Somebody” to 2 Years On.

While most of the material from The Kid’s No Good has never seen the light of day, “I’ll Kiss Your Memory” b/w “This Time” did appear as a single on Polydor in 1970, but did not chart. “I’ll Kiss Your Memory” also appears on the 1990 box set, Tales From the Brothers Gibb.

Though unreleased, The Kid’s No Good is readily available as a bootleg. I swapped for my copy on the legendary BootlegZone site, but have also seen the album posted on numerous blogs and file-sharing platforms. Most versions will include numerous bonus tracks, including various demos and outtakes. So track it down and discover for yourself!

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  You check it out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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LINKS:

Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kid%27s_No_Good

AllMusicGuide:  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-kids-no-good-mw0001041867

Grooveshark:  http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/The+Kid+s+No+Good+Remaster+2004/6300609

VIDEO:

“What It’s All About”

YouTube stream of album: