How Old Are You? is the second solo album released by British singer Robin Gibb in 1983, thirteen years after his debut Robin's Reign in 1970. The album was not a great success in America and failed to chart in Britain but it did spawn an international hit in "Juliet" which topped the charts in Germany. The album reached No. 6 in Germany. The album was produced by Robin and Maurice Gibb with Dennis Bryon.
Contents
Overview and recording
In 1982, Gibb with his brothers, Barry and Maurice wrote "Oceans and Rivers". In March, he recorded "My World (In the Palm of Your Hands)" and "Human Being". In October, the Bee Gees recorded "Life Goes On" for the film Staying Alive. "Human Being" was leaked on YouTube on 5 April 2012.
In October 1982, Robin started to record songs for How Old Are You? with Maurice on bass, synthesizer, piano and guitar. Bee Gees drummer Dennis Bryon participated on this album, playing drums and producing the album. Bryon was credited as the backup vocalist. The horns were arranged by Peter Graves. Engineered by Samii Taylor and Dale Peterson. Other musicians included Bee Gees guitarist Alan Kendall on guitar, George Bitzer on piano and synthesizer. In his autobiography, Dennis Bryon says that keyboard player Blue Weaver (formerly with Bee Gees) was involved, but he isn't mentioned in the credits.
The Boneroo Horns members consisted of Peter Graves, Brett Murphey, Melton Mustafa, Russ Freeland, Neal Bonsanti, Dan Bonsanti and Whit Sidener. The recordings of this album got to the US copyright office on 16 December 1982. The instrumental tracks made heavy use of electronics. Maurice, as a producer, liked a clear sound with good separation. Dennis Bryon's drumming was electronic and was played by drumsticks and programmed in, accompanied by Maurice's bass and synthesizer. Robin sings all of the songs in high range but lower than Barry's falsetto, while the songs on his 1984 album Secret Agent were sung in low range. Related session outtake, "Love is Just a Calling Card" was credited to Robin and Maurice but was not released.
Release
How Old Are You? and the lead single "Juliet" was released in North America on Polydor Records, but the LPs were manufactured in Germany. Polydor did not have a big presence in the United States, and Gibb thought that his album was not released in the US. The other singles "How Old Are You?" and "Another Lonely Night in New York" with "I Believe in Miracles" as the B-side of both two singles were not released as singles in the US. The cover of the album contains a poster photo of film actors Clark Gable and Ava Gardner.
Allmusic critic Joe Viglione described "Danger" as an elegant techno journey and "He Can't Love You" as a frosty march number. Viglione said "Kathy's Gone" has film references, and "I Believe in Miracles" could have been a big hit for both Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
Track listing
All songs written by Robin and Maurice Gibb.
Personnel
Robin Gibb – lead vocals, backing vocals
Maurice Gibb – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, rhythm arrangements, horn arrangements, backing vocals
Alan Kendall – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
George Bitzer – piano, synthesizer
Dennis Bryon – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Boneroo Horns (Peter Graves, Ken Faulk, Brett Murphy, Melton Mustafa, Russ Freeland, Neal Bonsanti, Dan Bonsanti and Whit Sidener) – horns
Peter Graves – horn arrangements
Production
Maurice Gibb – producer
Robin Gibb – producer
Dennis Bryon – co-producer
Samii Taylor – engineer
Dale Peterson – technical supervisor
Mike Fuller – mastering at Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida)
Peter Graves – music coordinator
Arthur Sheriff – UK coordinator
Dick Ashby, Neal Kent and Tom Kennedy – project coordination
Jimmy Wormser – photography
The Cream Group – album design