This Is Where I Came In

At no point on the twenty-eighth Bee Gees studio album does Barry Gibb really unleash that falsetto — what former producer Arif Mardin called his method of “screaming in tune.” This Is Where I Came In is a little light on the Brothers Gibb’s trademark keening harmonies. The toothsome threesome does, however, winningly assume the mantle of boy-band elder statesmen. Each Gibb stakes out a portion of the album for his own: The Eurodisco “Embrace” is Robin’s own version of Cher’s “Believe,” while Maurice evokes the Beach Boys on “Walking on Air.” As ever, though, Barry is the Bee Gee MVP. The blow-dried love-song bard makes like Noel Coward on “Technicolor Dreams” and sounds like he rediscovered cocaine on the frantic “Voice in the Wilderness.” He powers through terrific ballads such as “The Extra Mile” and “Loose Talk Costs Lives” like he’s been doing them since Max Martin was in nursery school. Which, of course, he has.