Secret Agent

Background and recording

The album followed on from How Old Are You? the previous year, with Robin's twin brother Maurice again co-writing and playing keyboards. Two songs were written by all three Bee Gees, including oldest brother Barry. The album is heavily electronic, relying mostly on multi-layered keyboards with bass and drums played on synthesizers. Recording took place at Criteria Studios as Barry Gibb was occupying the Bee Gees' own Middle Ear studio at the time, recording his solo debut Now Voyager.

Robin and Maurice continued the Bee Gees tradition of "making it up" in the recording studio. Assistant engineer Richard Achor recalled the years when Robin and Maurice would come in with only ideas for songs. Robin wrote lyrics with Maurice, and sometimes they set up drum and synthesizer grooves first, in which a song would work out from that. Maurice played synthesizer and keyboard, but played relatively little on the finished tracks in favor of Rob Kilgore's expertise. Robin had long been interested in the electronic sound, and Maurice was a willing accomplice. The concept was to carry on the sound of the big freestyle hit by Shannon, her 1983 song "Let the Music Play", which is why Robin brought in the same producers, Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa, and musicians Rob Kilgore and Jim Tunnell to work on the album.

Robin asked Barbosa and Liggett to produce this album. As Barbosa explained: "Robin really wanted a dance hit, he specifically wanted to avoid a Bee Gees sound-alike record." "The Gibb project was different for us in that way", Liggett added. "We're not usually working with mega budgets, and it's better that way. All the money comes out of your pockets anyway."

Release

Secret Agent was released in the United States in June 1984 and in the UK in July 1984. "Boys Do Fall in Love" and the title track, "Secret Agent," were released as singles. "Boys Do Fall in Love" became a Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gibb said of the album, "I don't like songs of the past. I like to get ahead. These songs are very 1984, maybe even more futuristic." He further described the record as "very black and urban – it reflects street music."

Reception

Bob Stanley said that Secret Agent dove deeply into "the worlds of Roland, Korg and Fairlight." He said the title track mixed Gibb's melancholy style with contemporary Latin freestyle production, and noted its mid-song "fight scene". "Robot" is a reggae song with a vocoder, while "In Your Diary" was another heavily electronic track. Cash Box called "In Your Diary" a "a pleasing piece which suffers slightly from its formula quality, but benefits strongly from the familiar strength of the Gibb’s reliable performance, production and styling."

Personnel

Robin Gibb – vocals, backing vocals

Maurice Gibb – keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals

Robbie Kilgore – keyboards, synthesizers, guitars

Jimi Tunnell – guitars, backing vocals

Chris Barbosa – sequencers

Lori Ellsworth – backing vocals

Arlene Gold – backing vocals

Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals

Evan Rogers – backing vocals

Audrey Wheeler – backing vocals

Lari White – backing vocals

Production

Chris Barbosa – producer

Maurice Gibb – producer

Robin Gibb – producer

Mark Liggett – producer

Dennis Hetzendorfer – engineer

Richard Achor – assistant engineer

Mike Fuller – mastering

Dick Ashby – project coordinator

Tom Kennedy – project coordinator

Scott Sands – project coordinator

Bob Defrin – artwork

Richard Schmidt – artwork

Mark Tucker – photography