Life in a Tin Can

Studio album by the Bee Gees

Released

January 1973 (US)
March 1973 (UK)

Recorded

September 1972 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles

Genre

Rock, pop, country rock

Length

32:11

Label

RSO

Producer

Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb

the Bee Gees chronology

To Whom It May Concern
(1972)

Life in a Tin Can
(1973)

A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants
(1973)

Life in a Tin Can is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album, released in January 1973. The Bee Gees moved their base of operations from England, UK to Los Angeles, California to record Life in a Tin Can. However, it was unable to prevent a commercial decline with the album criticized for a lack of innovation. Despite its low sales and poor chart performance, Life In A Tin Can was awarded "Album of the Year" by Record World magazine. This would also be the first Bee Gees album to bear the RSO label in the US.

The lead track, "Saw a New Morning", contains melodic ideas that the group would revisit on the later track "Edge Of The Universe". Most of Life in a Tin Can is both lyrically and musically downbeat, which perhaps reflects the brothers' mental states at the time.

The album reached #10 on the Italian charts and sold 175,000 copies worldwide. "Saw a New Morning" was a #1 hit in Hong Kong.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Rolling Stone	(not rated) link

Track listing

"Saw a New Morning" – 4:13
"I Don't Wanna Be the One" – 4:05 (Barry Gibb)
"South Dakota Morning" – 2:25 (B. Gibb)
"Living in Chicago" – 5:39
"While I Play" – 4:28 (B. Gibb)
"My Life Has Been a Song" – 4:21
"Come Home Johnny Bridie" – 3:50 (B. Gibb)
"Method to My Madness" – 3:10

All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb except as indicated.

Personnel

Barry Gibb - vocals, guitar
Robin Gibb - vocals
Maurice Gibb - vocals, bass, piano, keyboard, guitar
Alan Kendall - guitar
Sneaky Pete Kleinow - steel guitar
Tommy Morgan - harmonica
Jerome Richardson - flute
Rick Grech - violin, bass
Jane Getz - piano
Jim Keltner - drums

The Bee Gees

Barry Gibb
Robin Gibb

Studio albums

The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs (1965)
Spicks and Specks (1966)
Bee Gees' 1st (1967)
Horizontal (1968)
Idea (1968)
Odessa (1969)
Cucumber Castle (1970)
2 Years On (1970)
Trafalgar (1971)
To Whom It May Concern (1972)
Life in a Tin Can (1973)
A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants (1973) (unreleased)
Mr. Natural (1974)
Main Course (1975)
Children of the World (1976)
Spirits Having Flown (1979)
Living Eyes (1981)
E.S.P. (1987)
One (1989)
High Civilization (1991)
Size Isn't Everything (1993)
Still Waters (1997)
This Is Where I Came In (2001)

Singles

1960s	"The Battle of the Blue and the Grey" (1963) "Timber!" (1963) "Peace Of Mind" (1964) "Claustrophobia" (1964) "Turn Around, Look at Me" (1964) "Every Day I Have To Cry" (1965) "Wine and Women" (1965) "I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men" (1965) "I Want Home" (1966) "Monday's Rain" (1966) "Spicks and Specks" (1966) "Born A Man" (1967) "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (1967) "To Love Somebody" (1967) "Holiday" (1967) "Massachusetts" (1967) "World" (1967) "Words" (1968) "And The Sun Will Shine" (1968) "Jumbo/The Singer Sang his Song" (1968) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (1968) "I Started a Joke" (1968) "First of May" (1969) "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" (1969) "Don't Forget to Remember" (1969)

1970s	"Let There Be Love" (1970) "If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else" (1970) "I.O.I.O." (1970) "Lonely Days" (1970) "Melody Fair" (1971) "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (1971) "When The Swallows Fly" (1971) "In The Morning" (1971) "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" (1971) "My World" (1972) "Israel" (1972) "Run to Me" (1972) "Sea Of Smiling Faces" (1972) "Alive" (1972) "Saw a New Morning" (1973) "Wouldn't I Be Someone" (1973) "Mr. Natural" (1974) "Throw a Penny" (1974) "Charade" (1974) "Jive Talkin'" (1975) "Nights on Broadway" (1975) "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" (1976) "You Should Be Dancing" (1976) "Love So Right" (1976) "Boogie Child" (1977) "Children Of The World" (1977) "Edge of the Universe" (1977) "How Deep Is Your Love" (1977) "Stayin' Alive" (1977) "Night Fever" (1978) "More Than A Woman" (1978) "Too Much Heaven" (1978) "Tragedy" (1979) "Love You Inside Out" (1979) "Spirits (Having Flown)" (1979)

1980s	"He's a Liar" (1981) "Living Eyes" (1981) "Paradise" (1981) "The Woman in You" (1983) "Someone Belonging to Someone" (1983) "Life Goes On" (1983) "You Win Again" (1987) "E.S.P." (1987) "Crazy For Your Love" (1988) "Angela" (1988) "Ordinary Lives" (1989) "One" (1989)

1990s	"Bodyguard" (1990) "Secret Love" (1991) "When He's Gone" (1991) "The Only Love" (1991) "Happy Ever After" (1991) "Paying the Price of Love" (1993) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1993) "How to Fall in Love, Part 1" (1994) "Kiss Of Life" (1994) "Alone" (1997) "I Could Not Love You More" (1997) "Still Waters (Run Deep)" (1997)

2000s	"This Is Where I Came In" (2001)

Soundtracks

Melody (1971)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
Staying Alive (1983)

Live albums

Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live (1977)
One Night Only (1998)

Compilation albums

Best of Bee Gees (1969)
Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 (1973)
Bee Gees Gold (1976)
Bee Gees Greatest (1979)
Tales from the Brothers Gibb (1990)
The Very Best of the Bee Gees (1990)
Their Greatest Hits: The Record (2001)
Number Ones (2004)
Love Songs (2005)
The Ultimate Bee Gees (2009)
Mythology (2010)

Gibb Productions

Andy Gibb's "Flowing Rivers" (1977), "Shadow Dancing" (1978) & "After Dark" (1980)
Jimmy Ruffin's "Sunrise" (1980)
Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" (1980)
Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker" (1982)
Kenny Rogers' "Eyes That See in the Dark" (1983)
Diana Ross' "Eaten Alive" (1985)
Carola's "Runaway" (1986)
Barbra Streisand's "Guilty Pleasures" (2005)

Videography

Cucumber Castle (1969)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
The Bee Gees Special (1979)
One For All Tour (1990)
Keppel Road (1997)
One Night Only (1998)
This Is Where I Came In (2001)
Live By Request (2002)
In Our Own Time (2010)

Book:Bee Gees