Review
by Nicholas James |
 |
This was the last album produced by the team
of Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson and Albhy
Galuten, which had resurrected the careers
of several major recording artists, not only
bringing them back to the charts, but giving
each of them one of the best selling albums
of their careers. Diana Ross was the latest
artist to benefit from their talents; she
succeeded in not only having a hit album,
but her first number one single in many
years.
As with Guilty,
Heartbreaker
and
Eyes That See In The Dark, all the
songs were written by Barry Gibb, with help
from Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Albhy
Galuten. However, this time Andy Gibb also
co-wrote two tracks ('Experience' and 'More
and More') and Michael Jackson co-wrote the
title track.
The Barry Gibb/Maurice Gibb/Michael Jackson
composed title track is without a doubt the
best song on the album, and should have been
a major hit. This was a match made in
heaven; three of the world's most iconic
recording artists working together on one
record. This is a high energy dance track
with potent chorus and with distinctive
backing vocals from Barry Gibb and Michael
Jackson. But Diana Ross would have to wait
for the release of the next single, 'Chain
Reaction', a song harking back to her days
with the Supremes, with a thudding back-beat
and an unbelievably catchy chorus. This
stormed to the top of the UK charts, to
become one of Diana Ross's biggest hits.
'Experience', written by all four Gibb
brothers, is an exquisite ballad in the Bee
Gees style, with the full falsetto Bee Gees
sound for the chorus. In fact, unlike his
first three productions, Barry Gibb here
creates the closest thing to a Bee Gees
album than he has done for many years, with
several of the songs having a very
distinctive Bee Gees sound ('Love On The
Line', '(I Love) Being In Love With You' and
'Don't Give Up On Each Other' being
examples).
Despite the frantic, but thoroughly
outstanding, title track, this is probably
the weakest of the four albums that Barry
Gibb produced for other artists in this
period, but it is still an excellent album
and well worth buying.
Why Buy
Eaten Alive?
For the title track, for the fact that it is
entirely written and produced by the Bee
Gees and because it is rather good. |
