Idea (album)

1968 studio album by the Bee Gees

Idea is the fifth album by the Bee Gees. Released in September 1968, the album sold over a million copies worldwide. The album was issued in both mono and stereo pressings in the UK. The artwork on the Polydor release designed by Wolfgang Heilemann featured a "beehive" neon lightbulb with a group photo in its base, while the North American ATCO release designed by Klaus Voormann featured a composite head made from each band member. It was their third internationally released album – the first two albums being released only in the Australian market. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke" were both released as singles in North America. In the UK, "Message" was released only as a single and "I Started a Joke" was only an album track, though another album track, "Kitty Can", was featured on the B side of "I've Gotta Get a Message to You". The LP's opening track, "Let There Be Love", in a limited release as a single in early 1970, reached the Top 20 in the Netherlands. The North American ATCO LP and the South African Polydor LP replaced "Such a Shame" with "I've Gotta Get a Message to You". Both songs were included when the album was released on CD in 1989.

Idea, released in August 1968, was the Bee Gees' third international album. "We were in friction at that point," says Barry. "We weren't getting on, and that was it. I think it was a mixture of the group not getting along very well and egos. Ego, I think, is the key word for this group. It's not unlike any other group in that everybody wants to be the one that gets the attention. Unfortunately, I think that happens a lot. Certainly it happened to us." Many of the songs on the album's second side reflect a yearning for escape ("When the Swallows Fly," "I've Decided to Join the Air Force," "Swan Song") while Vince Melouney's "Such a Shame" was, by his own admission, about how it was a shame that the group was disintegrating. Barry Gibb performed "Kilburn Towers" on his Mythology tour of 2013 14 while "Swan Song" made a surprise appearance on the first disc of the 2010 Mythology compilation.

All songs written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, except "Such a Shame", written and composed by Vince Melouney.

It was released also in August on the Atco label, and was released in stereo. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" was included on this version instead of "Such a Shame". Its cover was a composite head by Klaus Voormann, the artist who also did the Bee Gees' 1st art.