Panel by Kenneth Landau from Forbidden World comic book #32, August 1954
The first Bee Gees single available outside of Australia, there is some question as to whether "New York Mining Disaster 1941" would have been a hit if DJs hadn't mistaken it for a new Beatles single. Supposedly, the Bee Gees' label sent the 45s out to stations without any markings to encourage this incorrect assumption. It's a great song, with a sense of melancholy in its verses, appropriate to the subject matter, with a chorus that has an incongruous upbeat energy. But, for me, it's just one of many such songs on the album Bee Gees' 1st - I probably prefer some of the other songs that pull off the same trick just as well (like "Holiday" or "Please Read Me").
I put off getting Bee Gees' 1st for a long time, even though I heard really good things about it. Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of new releases, and I don't take the time to pick up superior albums from previous decades. Every now and then, though, I find an opportunity to make up for this. I'm not much of a "Black Friday" shopper, but I went down to the local independent record shoppe today and picked up a few classics for about $4 each. Among others, I got Adventure by Television, ABBA's Waterloo, Long After Dark by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Living in the Material World by George Harrison. I'm going to spend some time with these records over the new few weeks and maybe squeeze a few of them into "It's New to Me" entries before I start my end of year countdown. Stay tuned...
"New York Mining Disaster 1941" by the Bee Gees
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