The Bee Gees: Maurice Gibb (vocals, acoustic & electric 12-string guitars, acoustic & electric pianos, Clavinet, Mellotron, organ, bass); Barry Gibb (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric piano); Robin Gibb (vocals).

Additional personnel: Alan Kendall (guitar); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (steel guitar); Rik Grech (violin, bass); Jerome Richardson (flute); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Jane Getz (piano); Jim Keltner (drums).

Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Barry Gibb (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Maurice Gibb (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric piano, Mellotron); Robin Gibb (vocals); Alan Kendall (guitar); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (steel guitar); Rick Grech (violin); Jerome Richardson (flute); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Jane Getz (piano); Jim Keltner (drums).

Recording information: Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, CA.

Photographers: Ed Caraeff; Marc Hauser.

Arranger: Johnny Pate.

The Bee Gees moved their base of operations from England to America, specifically to Los Angeles, in the early '70s, and Life in a Tin Can was the result of their first recording sessions out there. This was the album that heralded the group's collapsing fortunes. It seemed to break no new ground for the group, made up of tuneful if not always memorable material. Even some of the better tunes, like "Living in Chicago," ran too long for their own good, and many fans felt like they'd begun to have heard it all before. And for the first time in a long time, the Bee Gees' knack for devising hit singles to drive an album's sales failed them -- "Saw a New Morning" was just not exciting or particularly memorable and was overlooked by most listeners despite the group's hitting the talk-show circuit very heavily promoting it, and the rest of the album lacked the sense of emotional urgency that had characterized their best work up to this time. ~ Bruce Eder

The Bee Gees were now recording in the U.S. (Los Angeles, to be exact) and, if anything, that proved to be a detriment. For the most part, this is a record of "sensitive" ballads, much like everything else coming out of Southern California at the time and, for that reason, doesn't stand up against much of their earlier work. ~ Jim Worbois

1973's LIFE IN A TIN CAN was the first recording the Bee Gees cut for their manager Robert Stigwood's new label, RSO. After the departure and return of Robin Gibb a few years prior, the Brothers Gibb were trying to regain the hold they had on the pop market during the late 60's. Led by Barry Gibb, (who penned half the album), the Bee Gees came up with eight songs that still reverberated with the harmonies and solid pop sensibility that was the band's trademark. The difference was the acoustic, country-rock treatment given to this material.

Tracks such as "South Dakota Morning" and "Come Home Johnny Bridie" feature acoustic and steel guitars reminiscent of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose own Sneaky Pete Kleinow played on both songs). Other songs such as "Living In Chicago" and "My Life Has Been A Song" are wrapped in lush orchestration that avoids getting bogged down in any kind of mawkishness. TIN CAN was a singer-songwriter bridge for the Bee Gees from their origins as mere pop stars to giants of the nascent disco revolution.