DON'T FORGET TO REMEMBER: The Official ILM Track-By-Track BEE GEES 1968-1981 Listening Thread

HARRY BRAFF: Very fun opening! I like them when there's something a little dissonant or annoying in the sound, even when it might be there just for the sake of that effect. Finally something a little more rockin', some close listening to Revolver and maybe Who/Kinks paying off in this more mod take on psychedelia (but there will be horns!!!). Below the surface the arrangement's a little muddy though - the trying-harder drummer and the enthusiastic strummer just don't feel locked into each other. I like the rhythmic surprise on the repeated "goodbye, Harry Braff" part. This might be my favorite new-to-me song that's come up so far... once again, the influences are all right there to be heard.

DAY TIME GIRL: Are they just consistently alternating rockers with odes? A bit wearying. Feels like Robin (that's Robin, right?) trying to do "She's Leaving Home" which I'm okay with in principle but certainly a risky move. The melody and the story are both a bit too indistinct for me. Could be a grower I imagine.

THE EARNEST OF BEING GEORGE: Okay now this is a nice rough garage groove. Oh ffs it's just John Lennon's 1964 delivery married to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with "Lucy" for the B section isn't it? I swear I don't mean for this to just be the Beatle influence checklist but WHO in 1967 would have heard this track and not immediately thought of those things? It's a cool sound and I'm down with there being more songs having it, but again it feels like a band not yet realizing what they, uniquely, bring to the table. Also good lord at that title.

THE CHANGE IS MADE: Dreary Eric Burdon soul with strings. Guitarist wants to show off his bluesy chops which at least gives this its own flavor. In another timeline he became Dave Gilmour.

HORIZONTAL: Hmmmm, I still think "World" would be a better album-closer but I can see what they were thinking with this one. I wish it went more places - right as it's wrapping up you feel like some big psychedelic train is about to come crashing in with crazy drums and backwards guitars and piles of vocals but instead it just trails off. As performance it's fine enough.

Yeah overall, apart from a few much more focused high points, this feels like a classic rushed album - band too busy and overbooked to really let the songs percolate. It's not a total void of ideas, the singing is still good and maybe improving, and "Massachusetts" is a killer, but the derivative performances and arrangements start to pile up. In a way it's just proving the old rock historiographical cliches - a whole host of not-yet-fully-formed bands really WERE floored by "Pepper" and spent some time flailing around or playing catchup.

as I said upthread what's really baffling to me is the quality material they left off the album - it's not like they were actually hurting for material
to wit (and I know I said I wasn't going to do this but these songs are *too* good imo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLrZbGICS8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGAKDsnSe5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LNmurdJsLI

and these are complete, fully formed productions! There is apparently even more that has yet to see the light of day

Are we doing Robin’s Reign, by the way? I remember liking it more than Cucumber Castle.

I was erring on the side of skipping it - not because it's not any good but because it's not released under the Bee Gees moniker

that album is nuts

is it? I mean, yeah it's p weird because Robin is p weird but it's about what you would expect a solo album from him to sound like at that time. I think both Robin's Reign and Cucumber Castle are generally lacking - they were better together.

but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves

I'm not familiar with a lot of these b-sides tbh, so "The Singer Sang His Song" is just a classic Robin track, melodically and arrangement-wise, it could almost have come from "Robin's Reign".

There is apparently even more that has yet to see the light of day

They were also churning out songs for other artists.

Gee, that Idea-era TV special is incredible. For the sets and endless zoom-outs alone.

Track No. 34: Let There Be Love ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Te0-gAYEyY

Opening their third international LP with neither a single nor the title track, the boys instead deliver this slice of pop decadence with all of their particular talents well in evidence. There are lots of great details in this track, from the background vocal warbling beneath the intro and outro to the the minor lift when the harmonies come in on "I am a man" and the way the song builds up to the lead vocal trade-off from Barry to Robin. The arrangement again relies on a particular sound they had become enamored of that I mentioned previously - the super-compressed piano/acoustic guitar/thumping bass overlaid with the full range of skillfully deployed orchestral accompaniment.

I guess they couldn't afford a copy editor for their Dutch singles releases

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Let_There_Be_Love_%28Bee_Gees_song%29.jpg/220px-Let_There_Be_Love_%28Bee_Gees_song%29.jpg

lol

Track No. 35: Kitty Can ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q56X9fkkoyg

A bit of a throwback to their childhood folk-rock roots, a super-simple song structure with a great melody, harmonies and stripped down accompaniment. Oddly there is also a much more heavily orchestrated version with horns and strings and bells but I think they made the right choice in going for the simpler version. Lyrically we get a "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" variant that's pretty conventional but serviceable. Really this is about the boys' vocal and melodic prowess, which shines through.

apparently their first song done on 8-track!

Feel like we’re moving away from the really egregious lyrics like “And now I’ve found that the world is round.” And that the music is getting better.

don't worry there are plenty of egregious lyrics to come, I don't think they ever entirely escape it

Maybe not as bad as that one, though, or “lemons never forget.”

I wouldn't be sure about that, they were still writing the occasional howler well into the 70s.

yeah I can think of literally dozens of examples

someone crown the clown with the red balloon

love is thicker than water

how can you tell humans are real?

I think the musical context is significant here, though. Was trying to get at it with an earlier post here about Horizontal. There’s a reason why “Saved by the bell on your own carousel” works better for me. It’s that The Bee Gees developed a kind of musical surrealism that is post-psychedelic. It’s not there yet on Horizontal. When their music gets better, that’s when I think it starts to click. We’ll hear it here for sure with “Kilburn Towet,”

tower

Track No. 36: In the Summer of His Years ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XD465oP-ms

Robin takes his first turn at the spotlight, leaning on their aforementioned symphonic formula to deliver a mournful paean to lost youth. The arrangement does all the heavy lifting here, supporting a fairly simple song structure that just follows the lone vocal melody line. It doesn't really go anywhere or have a hook per se but at least it doesn't over-stay it's welcome, and the production is suitably luscious, swirling harps and trilling flutes and all.

this is probably the weakest of the ballads on the album tbh, the others are all top tier

Again this is very much in Robin's signature late 60s style, very like his solo material. It's nice.

Believe this song is about Brian Epstein.

Hmm timeline would kinda check out, this was recorded around the time he died

Track No. 37: Indian Gin and Whiskey Dry ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpPowloNgcY

Another concise, tightly arranged folk-pop gem, with all of the band's resources skillfully deployed. Even Melouney and Petersen acquit themselves admirably, with the former restricted to some tasteful leads on the intro and the latter managing a serviceable shuffle throughout. A simple string quartet backing provides ballast, with Maurice's bass (processed with some kind of phasing effect?) bouncing along.

This is a good one.

It is! very rich

I enjoy when Robin rei(g)ns in the warble a bit - though I love the warble too.

Track No. 38: Down to Earth ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svrR9g8KeuM

In which the yawning caverns of angst that stretch across Robin's soul are laid bare. The orchestration here is fantastic, with those clanging opening chords really conveying a sense of weightless dread before the titular refrain sweeps in, Robin's tremulous lead doubled by Barry and then bursting into the multilayered "millions and millions and millions..." harmonies. Saxophones drift in and out offering counterpoint. Lyrics are again some surrealist psych nonsense, each line making sense (maybe) in isolation but appearing increasingly random when set next to each other.

Track No. 39: Such a Shame ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pv4YeUyaRY

And now for a real oddity, the only song in the Bee Gees catalog to *not* include a Gibb brothers writing credit! Melouney sings and plays harmonica, restricting his typical guitar leads to a short bit at the end. Not a bad song, really, integrates their harmonies well and moves along at a good clip, although it feels like it could use a middle eight or B section to shake up the fairly standard structure. Lyrically this is apparently about what a bummer it was to be in the band at this point, as tempers were starting to flare and egos were beginning to chafe.

no love for either of these? :(

"Down to Earth" is brilliant, "Such a Shame" isn't.

it's not great, but I don't think it's bad. Melouney apparently was itching to do "bluesier" stuff, maybe that harmonica is him trying to get in on the Stones/Yardbirds sort of action

I'd call it b-side material but the Bee Gees' b-sides are generally a lot better. "Down to Earth" really reminds me of something else but I can't work out what it is yet. Listening to it however I can understand why Tony Visconti thought "Space Oddity" sounded too much like the Bee Gees.

Track No. 40: Idea ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdCzzHJDwfc

HA! A great opening to side 2, with sort of a cod-Motown backbeat pounding away. Melouney gets off some nice vaguely Eastern/sitar-ish like lead bits, particularly on the droning coda. Some more vague lyrical nods to the group splitting up ("don't you think it's time you got up and stood alone?") and overall adopting a posture of youthful rebellion, which is a little out of character. The vocal melody isn't that great but I do like when the overlapping harmony parts come in.

Songs are still not sticking for me but I feel like we're closer with "Down to Earth" and "Idea."

I didn't realise that was Melouney singing! Obviously doesn't sound especially like a Gibb, but never considered that possibility. I don't think I even realised the adequate-but-nothing-special 'strayan rhythm section lasted this long.

I'm *really* liking Idea so far. Pretty much all of it. Call me undiscerning if you must...

Er, not "rhythm section" really. The non-Gibb members...

catching up on the thread

"lemons never forget" reminds me of rick wright - see for instance "paintbox"

yeah "jumbo" is a complete flop, i don't know what possessed them to release it as a single

"the singer sang his song" though, i have limited ability to get down with this kind of ott balladry, all i get out of it is "robin really ought to tone down that tremolo a little bit"

i appreciate hearing the outtakes, i'm mostly in it to hear some of their great stuff that's passed me by, the bee gees have a lot of great songs. "out of line" is fantastic though the shit-ness of their guitarist and drummer is one heck of a running joke (the shit drums on "i close my eyes" actually sell it for me)

i don't hear so much beatles-ripoff as a certain affinity for the monkees, particularly on their more "socially conscious" material - "mrs. gillespie's refrigerator" has the absurd title of a nesmith song for instance. not really as good though.

re: the typo on the dutch single - there's an egyptian pink floyd single of something like "point me at the sky" where the band name is spelled wrong, it regularly trades for silly money on tulips^H^H^H^H^H^Hdiscogs.com

that promo film for "kitty can" is utterly ludicrous, i wouldn't be surprised if beck at one point had done a music video tribute to it

best thing about the "idea" special for me is julie driscoll being groovy, is there an animated GIF of her dance moves during the organ solo at about 35 min in? there should be. anyway she consistently steals the show from the gibb brothers imo.

i also love how they apparently got a sesame street cartoon in for the background of "harry braff" (seriously that car is "jazzy spies" af)

"indian gin and whiskey dry" is another ridiculous video, jesus i thought i'd seen some ridiculous '60s promo films but the bee gees just top everything here, compared to this "head" is a coherent and sensible film

"down to earth" sounds like some david sylvian shit at the beginning, it's impressive

calling melouney/petersen "adequate" is an insult to adequacy imo. nick mason is "adequate", colin petersen is "what the fuck are you still doing here"

splice at 1:39 of "idea" should be entered into the pantheon of awkward splices.

I had no idea this album even existed... my mental chronology skipped right from 1st to Odessa. Which is why that whole "the Bee Gees are the new Beatles" never made much sense to me. (it makes a lot more sense now)

Loving "Indian Gin and Whiskey Dry", especially because of that awesome video.

You do know there was another album between the first album and this?

Man, I really love “Down to Earth.” It feels a little like the material off Robin’s solo albums in 1970 (and I’m of the opinion we should cover Robin’s Reign as well).

“Indian Gin...” is one of my favorites from this period. The Mu-Tron bass wah is such a great little touch.

I love this thread and need to do better about keeping up.

Xpost: Yes, I was actually vaguely aware of Horizontal (though, again, I had never heard any of the tracks until this thread)

I hope Οὖτις is okay. Experiencing withdrawal symptoms here!

the Eastern guitar licks on "Idea" sound an awful lot like Jimmy Page

Track No. 41: When the Swallows Fly ("Idea", 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBMJBG8yzjA

Not one to be outdone by Robin in the soaring melodrama department, Barry decides that the best way to complement the intro's magisterial piano arpeggios (courtesy of Maurice) is by quoting Wordsworth and then moving on to deliver an impassioned vocal about an isolated, tragic protagonist that's closer to R&B and gospel that's a bit outside Robin's standard wheelhouse. Another Barry ballad that isn't hard to imagine in the hands of Otis Redding or Mavis Staples (ok maybe the lyric is a little weird for either of them but still). The backing harmonies and swelling strings are expertly deployed, ebbing and flowing with each verse right through to the ending's triumphal plagal cadence.

welcome back!