Full of ideas!

The awesome album cover concept consists of the physical charcteristics of Barry,Robin and Maurice Gibb,Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen. Hits from this album are I'VE JUST GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU and I STARTED A JOKE. I do like LET THERE BE LOVE,KITTY CAN,DOWN TO EARTH,the title track,KILBURN TOWERS and I HAVE DECIDED TO JOIN THE AIR FORCE. However,my copy lacks SUCH A SHAME because it was not contained in the U.S. track line-up. It's a second hand LP copy,originally owned by my late uncle. He also had LP copies of BEE GEES 1ST,CUCUMBER CASTLE and RARE,PRECIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL,now all in my possession. In fact,when my uncle bought those albums,the compact disc was not yet invented. Great album,though! IDEA was released in 1968,the same year as the Bee Gees' second album,HORIZONTAL. They were under contract,strongly committed to fulfilling it.

One of the best in the series.

Many fine performances and compositions. A hit in the U.K. (#4 on the charts, their best showing until 1975), and did well in the U.S. along with their first top 10 hits in the States. A couple of silly songs (there always seem to be some on their discs up to the early 1970s) (Kitty Can, ...Airforce). Perhaps the Bee Gees were meant to be more than just the three brothers in the future; one song in this album is not by the brothers (Such A Shame). This album, plus Bee Gees 1st, are my best bets from 1967-1970, perhaps even up to 1974. Really top-notch. Faves: Let There Be Love, Idea, Down To Earth, When The Swallows Fly, Gotta Get A Message To You, I Started A Joke, Swan Song.

You always remember your first one...

Like your first kiss, your first dance, or your first Internal Revenue audit, a record collector always seems to remember the first album they ever bought. Sure, many people boast that their first was by the Beatles or the Stones, and a few "cool" dudes claim Hendrix, the Velvet Underground, or the Stooges. But nobody (and I mean NOBODY!) claims that their first album purchase was this album by the Bee Gees.

Except me.

Looking back, I assume it was the song "I Started A Joke" which prompted me to choose this album as my first foray into the Long Playing category as I left the 45 RPM world behind, or perhaps it was "I've Gotta Get A Message To You," both songs which received substanial airplay on our local Top 40 station. But it was the well-crafted tunes coupled with the brothers' tight harmonies throughout the entire album that hooked me and began a long-standing love of this group that only dissipated (slightly) when they abandoned their pop-standard stylings for chipmunkish warbling when the allure of the burgeoning disco market called out to them. And while the Bee Gees have never been considered a "cool" group to enjoy (and certainly pulling out this album back in my college days got me more ridicule than most albums I could play), it is undeniable that this is a group who knew how to write, arrange, and perform a radio-friendly tune along with the best of 'em.

Along with the aforementioned duo of songs, the standouts (for me anyway) were the opening track "Let There Be Love," the title track "Idea," the somewhat corny but downright catchy "I Have Decided To Join The Airforce," and the closer, "Swan Song." And while many of the songs do sound a bit dated lo these thirty-five years after the album's release, any lover of the Bee Gees would be well-advised to add this gem to their collection.