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

https://morobinbarrystories.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/molaugh1.jpg

Track No. 59: Never Say Never Again ("Odessa", 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYs2nlbu-hg

The undercurrent of bitterness that runs throughout this album is something of an outlier in the Bee Gees catalog; nonetheless, the brothers' penchant for confusing romance with megalomania results in my favorite single line from "Odessa": "you said goodbye/I declared war on Spain". Says it all, really. Reminiscent in style and arrangement to other tracks like "Massachusetts" and "Melody Fair", we are once again treated to Barry's double-tracked 12-string, Shepherd's orchestral countermelodies, a bunch of nonsense lyrics, and the boys (or, at least, Robin and Barry) harmonizing on a serviceable chorus. The strings seem to be doing a bit more work than usual to make the song melodically interesting, and this maybe could have used a middle eight or some other sonic element to change things up, but overall a solid track that fits in well in the context of the album.

All good stuff, just rolling along. The piano intro for "I Laugh in Your Face" obviously follows directly from the end of "Seven Seas Symphony" - maybe a serendipitous sequencing possibility that came up. I also love the sequencing of "Give Your Best" into "Seven Seas."

This all gets me to thinking about alternative visions of what progressive rock could be. A progressive rock that's not oriented in instrumental virtuosity and however you might characterize progressive rock proper's tendencies in terms of song structure and rhythm.

"you said goodbye/I declared war on Spain"

honestly one of the funniest lines ever written

I don't deny that the orchestral songs do contribute to the "epic" scale of the album, they're obviously of a piece with the overall (albeit vague) concept album feel, I just don't find them interesting as songs in and of themselves.

They do leave me with the impression that the Bee Gees had no interest in or knack for something like Revolution No. 9, so when it came time to do their own White Album they just wrote a few extra "Goodnight"'s with no lyrics instead

I don't think a Bee Gees "Revolution No. 9" would have been a great idea tbh.

I think of Odessa as more their own Days of Future Passed and that they pretty much knock that out of the park.

I don't think a Bee Gees "Revolution No. 9" would have been a great idea tbh.

oh, totally. They wisely played to their strengths.

"Days of Future Passed" def not as good as "Odessa"!

xp

Mmmm...I wonder if the Gibbs would concur so readily with that. Odessa is better in sonic realization and better by virtue of its more epic length - that I wouldn't argue with.

MB guys are just inferior songwriters imo

Don't think I agree. I think the band tracks on Days of Future Passed are probably better on the whole than what the Bee Gees came up with on any of their first three albums. Odessa is where they become stronger.

I think the Gibb Brothers were pretty useful songwriters tbf.

"Days of Future Passed" just does not bring the hooks/melodies imo. To say nothing of the Gibbs' other charming idiosyncrasies (Robin's vibrato, perfect harmonies, impenetrable lyrics etc.), that is the one area where the Gibbs were head and shoulders above a lot of their competition. idk the MBs just never did anything for me, it's all well-made but their stuff just sort of drifts past me in an orchestral haze.

Can't see myself thinking "If only the Moody Blues had lyrics as charmingly idiosyncratic as 'Lemons Never Forget'..."

I'll take "bizarre but memorable" over "competent but forgettable" any day. Having just listened to the entirety of "Days of Future Passed" I have to say I can't recall a single lyric or melodic figure aside from the one I (and everybody else) already knew ("Nights in White Satin"), which I have never thought was a particularly good song, certainly not on the level of "To Love Somebody" or "I Started a Joke" or "Massachusetts" or "New York Mining Disaster" or "Every Christian Lionhearted Man".

"NYMD" is classic. Sometimes early Bee Gees veers a little into that late '60s, poetic easy listening, though.

Some people might say that's true of "Nights in White Satin" as well, I know. I'm not one of them.

If the Bee Gees did a version of, say, "Dawn Is a Feeling" on Horizontal or Idea, I think it could have easily been one of the best tracks.

"Another Morning" - strong Toytown psych.

"Peak Hour" - good freakbeat. OK, I'm done!

promise?

I might ask you that as well

But I didn't because I'm always willing to listen to opinions. Sorry I gave opinions on some songs if that bugs you.

Sometimes early Bee Gees veers a little into that late '60s, poetic easy listening, though.

... and this is a bad thing?

I'm just teasing, was a little worried this was going to become a Moody Blues thread :)

xp

and no, I'm not finished, after all we have uh over 120 more songs to go!

xp

I think it was a bad thing, sometimes, yes. I'm not sure how to characterize it - I guess I'm talking about like McKuen/Goldsboro/"MacArthur Park" type stuff? I hate to lump the Bee Gees into something of this nature, but I am honestly not a fan of something like "I Started a Joke."

xxp

Or Scott Walker, I know what you mean. I like that stuff.

Track No. 60: First of May ("Odessa", 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHyZSx8s9Gc

The song that ended the album also happened to end this phase of their career as well as (albeit temporarily) the band itself. In a career rife with comparisons to the Beatles, I'm not sure anyone's ever pointed out the parallels between Robin and George Harrison's positions within their respective groups at this point in time - both overflowing with ideas, with a backlogs of songs, feeling slighted by their more prolific (and spotlight-grabbing) bandmates, and eager to move on. As the lone single released from "Odessa", the band performed it on Top of the Pops, during which an extremely awkward Robin, who does not appear on the studio track at all, was relegated to just standing around with nothing to do. Robin had wanted "Lamplight" as the A-side, but Stigwood had favored "First of May" and that was that. The song was not a huge hit (no. 6 in the UK, no. 37 in the US).

The song itself is a fine example of Barry's balladry at this particular juncture - it's got Maurice's signature piano sound, another gorgeous arrangement from Shepherd (I particularly like pairing the bells, strings and piano on the intro melody), and a decent lead vocal melody that matches the wistfulness and regret of the lyrics. But it feels a little slight; there's no real chorus and the song is over after just two run-throughs of the verses and a brief solo/sotto voce repeat of the refrain at the end. As a single choice, is it better than "Lamplight" (or "Melody Fair")?

Worth noting that at this point, following the release and relative commercial and critical failure of "Odessa", the brothers' activities splinter considerably. While they had all been involved in writing and producing for other artists (particularly the Marbles, but also Samantha Sang, P.P. Arnold, Lulu, Lori Balmer, etc.) at this point Robin goes off to record "Robin's Reign" and Maurice, Barry and Petersen soldier on as a trio, officially releasing another single initially intended for Joe Cocker (which we will get to tomorrow) and one more full LP before officially splitting completely. I'm not going to get into all the side-projects and will be sticking strictly with songs released under the official Bee gees moniker.

Track No. 61: Tomorrow Tomorrow (Non-album single, 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvzeG-5cP3U

Originally intended for Joe Cocker but subsequently recorded by Barry, Maurice, Petersen and Shepherd the same day Robin publicly announced his departure from the band, and then rush-released in June 1969. Kind of a weird pick for a single, what with the abrupt shifts in tempo between the songs A and B sections. Its structure is sort of the inverse of "Whisper, Whisper" - starting out with the faster section and then downshifting to the slower one, and then repeating it twice. The overall sound is solid, with some nice horn accents. The melody and vocal phrasing do seem suited to Cocker, but it isn't hard to guess why he passed on it, it's a bit odd and shapeless.

Bit of a clunker.

'69-'70 was generally a period where they were making a lot of inscrutable decisions a la "let's make a slapdash costume-comedy film set during the middle ages"

I mean right after they released this single (with a B-side that's better than the A-side imo), they went to work on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiAvgBXjEik

Petersen was also fired during this time. They got the Pentangle drummer to fill in for the rest of the studio sessions to fill out the album that accompanied the above-linked TV special.

wow, that's certainly a step up in the drummer department

Yeah from here on out their supporting session guys represent a marked improvement

The music took a bit of a nosedive for a while though.

Says you!

The next two albums are distinctly average.

I think Cucumber Castle has more decent songs on it than 2 Years On but... yeah, both albums are p inarguably a step down from "Odessa". Nonetheless, I think the early 70s period is a bit unjustly overlooked/undervalued.

Undoubtedly some great things on those albums.

Track No. 62: Sun in My Morning (Non-album single, 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr7lY0D1yBE

Not a mindblowing deep cut by any stretch, but still a nice little slice of country pop. Shedding Melouney, Petersen and (unfortunately) Robin, this track is all Barry, Maurice and Shepherd, and you can hear all their respective talents bleeding into each other. Has that hazy, acoustic, soft-focus sound that was very au currant in the early 70s.

Interesting how misleading some of the single sleeves were, re membership:

https://www.discogs.com/Bee-Gees-Tomorrow-Tomorrow-Sun-In-My-Morning/release/11809866

This one is quite catchy, it turns out. It's been cycling around in my head for several minutes after one listen.

They did an hour long tv special for Cucumber Castle?? And it had Frankie Howerd and Eleanor Bron in it?! Or appears to at least..

There was an hourlong “Frankie Howerd Meets the Bee Gees” tv special in 1968.

And who can forget Frankie Howerd's performance, alongside the Bee Gees, as Mr. Mustard in the film of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"? Not that I've ever seen it, of course.

Must have been some sort of Stigwood connection going on there.

https://editorial01.shutterstock.com/wm-preview-1500/1795394a/c8111fd5/pop-manager-robert-stigwood-at-the-merger-between-his-company-and-associated-london-scripts-picture-shows-writers-ray-galton-and-alan-simpson-comedian-frankie-howerd-and-pop-group-the-bee-gees-1968-rexscanpix-shutterstock-editorial-1795394a.jpg

Pop Manager Robert Stigwood At The Merger Between His Company And Associated London Scripts. Picture Shows Writers Ray Galton And Alan Simpson Comedian Frankie Howerd And Pop Group The Bee Gees 1968. .

Stock image, 24 Feb 1968

Track No. 63: If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdxULCTRok8

For a band that always chased trends, it's interesting to track *which* trends they actually chose to hook onto. Never having really been a "rock band" in any traditional sense, come 1970 they don't opt to go the stripped down route, they don't get heavier, and they don't attempt to rock harder. Similarly, they don't get spacier or more proggy either, as some of their peers-in-psychedelia did. And their guiding light is clearly no longer the now-defunct Beatles - if there's any act their overall sound and approach generally parallel in this period, imo it's the Carpenters. "Soft rock". "Easy Listening". "Adult Contemporary". This song's opening "do doo doo doo, doo doo, doo doo" melody/refrain, drifting gently over the string arrangement, leads into Barry's wistful self-pitying lyric, which honestly seems like something Robin would sing - all those lines about being a ship's captain or a fighter pilot or a king. He practically chokes up when he gets to the choruses, dropping a beat and switching rhythms for a bar at the top of each one. And this tricky bit is, for once (finally!), handled with aplomb by a competent drummer - Terry Cox. A solid song and a good opener for an album that is, at best, a weird grab bag.