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When "Robin's Reign" was a disappointment and Barry and Maurice scrapped their solo efforts, "Cucumber Castle" carried on the Bee Gees name. Extremely typical in their ballad approach throughout this album, they still manage to bring in a few gems...and a few duds. "If Only I Had My Mind On Something Else," is one example. Singing about captains, submarines and an ace in an airplane flying to Spain, might have been more serious in its lyrics as it is in it's sound. "The Lord," "My Thing," "The Chance Of Love" and "Turning Tide" all seem odd and frivolous, as if to fill the album with whatever came to mind. Teenage love songs come to mind. But remember, the Bee Gees were a 'singles' oriented group at the time. They released three singles from this album that went nowhere. Some face is saved by the tempo building "I Lay Down And Die" and an extremely strong blues number called "Bury Me Down By The River," where Barry really belts it out. I only wish they had given credit to the female back-up singers. The Gibbs are, after all, songwriters first. They were paid compliments from this collection by Janis Joplin, who covered "I.O.I.O." and Englebert Humpberdink who recorded "Sweetheart." All in all, a modest, pleasant effort.

Rating: 5 out of 5