affectionandos: Bee Gees - Trafalgar (1971)

This may be a bold statement to some, but it is an easy conclusion for me: Trafalgar is unquestionably my favorite Bee Gees record.This, from somebody who has literally worshiped this set since birth, and was very likely even conceived to a Bee Gees tune. The accuracy is, Trafalgar has for many years existed in my living as division of a (at times nightly) ritual.

t starts with a small (occasionally healthy) pour of caramel-hued bourbon or scotch, a flop in my favorite easy chair, a silver-eyed fur ball yearning for a lap, and the warm, sweet crackle of needle to vinyl.a pure alien timbre magically leaps from thoroughly worn grooves to thoroughly worn speaker to thoroughly worn earhole.Eyes closed.Mind blank.Mouth saturated.Lap warm.Bliss.How do you know if an album stands the trial of time?Simply put, if you never get to the point where you can't bear listening to it. It is, as Barry coos in the opening verse of The Greatest Man In the World:Before I heard your voice/I never heard a voice like that before/I want to hear it more and more/Take me to heaven, my love.1. How Can You Fix A Broken Heart2. Israel3. The Greatest Man In The World4. It's Only the Way5. Remembering6. Somebody Stop The Music7. Trafalgar8. Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself9. When Do I10. Dearest11. Lion In Winter12. Walking Backward to WaterlooEspecially effective moments are found throughout this record: from the original, pre-Al Green, How Can You Fix A Low Heart, to the sweeping crescendo of Israel, to the breathless, nearly-panting finale of The Greatest Man In The World.and precisely when you thought Robin Gibb was at his most exquisite, tightrope-walking, warbling, man-from-Mars vocal performance in the pseudo-lullaby, When Do I, comes the insane, almost feral chorus delivery of Lion In Winter.Sure, the Beatles hold sway over moments of this record, but to this listener, there is a calming purity and transcendental originality here even the lads from Liverpool in their wildest Strawberry Fields would provoke a collective eyebrow at.Download it here, but also buy the vinyl, carve out a corner, pour a depressant, call for a cat, slap on a diaper, and let go.You can usually find a slightly dusty copy lying in a clearance bin for about .99 cents.