Flowing Rivers

Background

In August 1973, a 15-year-old Andy Gibb cut his first recordings at London's Nova Sound Studios: "Windows of My World" and the country number "My Father's a Rebel." According to a November 1973 fan club newsletter, Maurice Gibb wrote "My Father's a Rebel" and also produced that session. At his brother Barry's urging, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974, where he recorded demos of his own songs and covers. After releasing his first single, "Words and Music," he performed it on the Australian TV show The Ernie Sigley Show. In June 1976, Barry called Gibb to come to Florida; before leaving, Gibb re-recorded several tracks at Criteria, including "In the End," "Flowing Rivers," "Come Home for the Winter," and "Let It Be Me."

Recording

Gibb recorded an album's worth of songs at Criteria around October 1976. He arrived in Miami that September, and the sessions overlapped with the Eagles recording Hotel California, which they finished in October. Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh played on two tracks, and Andy said hearing some Eagles songs influenced the sound he wanted.

Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson produced the sessions, with Barry Gibb present only for the two songs he wrote for Andy: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" and "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water." The core band included guitarists Joey Murcia and Tim Renwick, pianists Paul Harris and Galuten, bassist Harold Cowart, and drummer Ron Ziegler. The title track was recorded for the third time during these sessions. Barry was impressed with the polished sound of the session players.

Release

The album came out almost a year after recording, carefully timed between Bee Gees releases. Andy wrote eight of the ten songs; Barry contributed two.

Both singles hit number 1 in America. The title track was originally planned as a single alongside "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" but was pulled in favor of "Shadow Dancing" from Andy's next album. After the album's release, Andy gave a statement.