Review: 'High Civilization' by Bee Gees

'High Civilization' by Bee Gees, 1991, Warner Bros. Records. Cover: has Big Ben on it (a plus), but it's awfully busy. Inside has another odd picture and a photo of the gents who make up Bee Gees. Lyrics included.


This album is a bit of a divergence from what we remember of the Bee Gees, though they still use that signature falsetto, in 'Happy Ever After,' for example. Some of the lyrics are confusing, such as those in 'Party with No Name,' which could be about a group of Cupids, and 'Ghost Train' (we don't really get the connexion between a ghost train and romantic love). 

Then there's 'Evolution,' about deviant love; 'When He's Gone,' about a guy who thinks he's better for a woman than her other lover is; 'Secret Love,' about forbidden love; 'Dimensions,' about a guy in love with a girl who's too much for him; and 'The Only Love,' about a guy who can't get over a break-up. 

There's a call for a better world in 'High Civilization,' and a guy refuses to let his girl go in 'Human Sacrifice,' which has some pretty dark lyrics.  

All in all, not our favourite Bee Gees album, but it is different. 

Favourite lyrics include: 'And there's no price on what/You hold/Till it's gone/And it keeps moving on . . . How can you say to me/That I should go on living/I left the only life I had with you' ('The Only Love').