Life in a Tin Can

{{Infobox album

| name = Life in a Tin Can

| type = studio

| artist = the Bee Gees

| cover = Album Life in a Tin Can.jpg

| alt =

| released = 19 January 1973

| recorded = September 1972

| studio = Record Plant (Los Angeles)

| genre = {{hlist|Soft rock|folk pop|country rock}}

| length = 32:11

| label = RSO

| producer = Bee Gees

| prev_title = To Whom It May Concern

| prev_year = 1972

| next_title = Mr. Natural

| next_year = 1974

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Life in a Tin Can

| type = studio

| single1 = Saw a New Morning

| single1date = March 1973

}}

{{Album ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-in-a-tin-can-mw0000075967|title=Life in a Tin Can - Bee Gees | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}

|rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev2score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=1 |page=507}}

|rev3 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

|rev3score = {{rating|1.5|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=47}}

}}

Life in a Tin Can is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album (ninth worldwide), released in January 1973 in the US and on 1 March 1973 in the UK.

Background

The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record Life in a Tin Can. However, it was unable to prevent a commercial decline with the album criticised for a lack of innovation.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Despite its low sales and poor chart performance, Life in a Tin Can was awarded "Album of the Year" by Record World magazine. It was the first Bee Gees album to bear the RSO label in the US.

Four of the eight songs were written by all three brothers with the other four being Barry Gibb compositions. "Saw a New Morning" was a No. 1 hit in Hong Kong. During the sessions, Robin Gibb had to leave the sessions suddenly when his son Spencer was born a month early. He returned to Los Angeles a week or so later to continue on into the next album.{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/72.html |title=Gibb Songs: 1972 |last=Brennan |first=Joseph |access-date=13 January 2014}} The musicians who participated on Life in a Tin Can were Jim Keltner, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Tommy Morgan, Jerome Richardson, Ric Grech, Jane Getz and Johnny Pate.

When asked by Billboard why they moved from London to Los Angeles, Maurice says: "We don't want to talk about it yet. But we're going to attempt a concept album that's a major departure from our usual Bee Gees trademarks. And if that doesn't work out, we'll do something else".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAkEAAAAMBAJ&q=bee+gees+life+in+a+tin+can&pg=PA18 |title=Bee Gees Aim for Peak Stellar Performance in All Areas |last=Freedland |first=Nat |magazine=Billboard |date=August 25, 1973 |page=18 |access-date=8 February 2015}}

Critical reception

Rolling Stone called the album "vaguely pleasant and certainly innocuous enough to fit right in with the prevalent Seventies soft-rock ambience."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/life-in-a-tin-can-250508/|title=Life In A Tin Can|first1=Ken|last1=Barnes|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=10 May 1973}}

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, except for songs with asterisks, which are by Barry Gibb.

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Lead vocals

| title1 = Saw a New Morning

| extra1 = Barry and Robin

| length1 = 4:24

| title2 = I Don't Wanna Be the One

| writer2 = *

| extra2 = Robin and Barry

| length2 = 4:05

| title3 = South Dakota Morning

| writer3 = *

| extra3 = Barry

| length3 = 2:26

| title4 = Living in Chicago

| extra4 = Barry, Robin and Maurice

| length4 = 5:43

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Lead vocals

| title1 = While I Play

| writer1 = *

| extra1 = Barry

| length1 = 4:29

| title2 = My Life Has Been a Song

| extra2 = Robin and Barry

| length2 = 4:21

| title3 = Come Home Johnny Bridie

| writer3 = *

| extra3 = Barry

| length3 = 3:50

| title4 = Method to My Madness

| extra4 = Barry and Robin

| length4 = 3:10

}}

Personnel

Credits from historian and sessionographer Joseph Brennan.{{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/72.html|title=Gibb Songs : 1972}}

;Bee Gees

Barry Gibb – lead vocals, harmony and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Robin Gibb – lead, harmony, and backing vocals
Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar (except “Saw a New Morning” and “While I Play”), rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards

;Additional musicians

Alan Kendall – lead guitar
Jim Keltner – drums
Sneaky Pete Kleinow – lap steel guitar on “South Dakota Morning” and “Come Home Johnny Bridie”
Tommy Morgan – harmonica on “South Dakota Morning” and “My Life Has Been a Song”
Jerome Richardson – flute on “Living in Chicago”
Rick Grech – violin and bass guitar on “While I Play”
Jane Getz – piano on “Come Home Johnny Bridie”
Johnny Pate – orchestral arrangement

;Production

Bee Gees – producer
Mike D. Stone – engineer of the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California
Chuck Leary – engineer

Chart performance

;Album

class="wikitable sortable"
Chart (1973) !Peak position
style="text-align:left;"\| Australia Kent Music Report Albums Chart{{Cite book\|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992\|type=doc\|last=Kent\|first=David\|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W \|year=1993\|isbn=0-646-11917-6}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| 19
style="text-align:left;"\| Canadian RPM Albums Chart{{cite web\|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca \|title=Canadian Albums \|publisher=RPM Canada \|access-date=2014-11-09}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| 54
style="text-align:left;"\| Italian Albums Chart \| style="text-align:left;"\| 10
style="text-align:left;"\|US Billboard 200{{cite magazine\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkEAAAAMBAJ&q=bee+gees+life+in+a+tin+can&pg=PA58 \|title=Billboard Top LP's & Tape \|date=March 10, 1973 \|page=58 \|magazine=Billboard \|access-date=8 February 2015}} \| style="text-align:left;"\|69

class="wikitable sortable"

Chart (1973)

!Peak
position

style="text-align:left;"| Australia Kent Music Report Albums Chart{{Cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|type=doc|last=Kent|first=David|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W |year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}

| style="text-align:left;"| 19

style="text-align:left;"| Canadian RPM Albums Chart{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca |title=Canadian Albums |publisher=RPM Canada |access-date=2014-11-09}}

| style="text-align:left;"| 54

style="text-align:left;"| Italian Albums Chart

| style="text-align:left;"| 10

style="text-align:left;"|US Billboard 200{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkEAAAAMBAJ&q=bee+gees+life+in+a+tin+can&pg=PA58 |title=Billboard Top LP's & Tape |date=March 10, 1973 |page=58 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=8 February 2015}}

| style="text-align:left;"|69

;Singles

class="wikitable"

|+Billboard charts (North America)

! Year

Song

Chart

Rank

1973

"Saw a New Morning"

Billboard Hot 100

style="text-align:center;"| 94