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

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.

I don't know who's singing there (or rather trying to sing) but it isn't Barry Gibb!

Far too heavy on the schmaltz this song.

whoah sorry, dunno what happened there, totally the wrong youtube link (why are there so many amateur covers of this song!?). Here is the original, featuring Barry (and only Barry) singing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dmj_sdhnU

Jesus, this is really good. The TV special left me a little fearful, but I don't think this appeared there. The aforementioned rhythmic shifts in the chorus totally make it. (Plus I'm a sucker for this sort of arrangement. And the Carpenters, for that matter.)

lmao at the recording on the original link

always liked this one

Track No. 64: I.O.I.O. (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1SUVq8IHO8

I have no idea where the ridiculous footage above is from but it seems appropriate. I think this might be the first time the Bee Gees use the tried and true arrangement tactic of opening with the chorus, which in this case is Maurice singing some nonsense syllables over a drum break courtesy of both Colin Petersen *and* Terry Cox (I doubt longtime followers of this thread will have any difficulty picking out which one of them is doing what). Reportedly inspired by a trip to Africa that Barry took, the song was initially worked up in 1968 during the sessions for "Idea" - which is why Melouney is credited on the track with acoustic guitar - and then dusted off and completed in 1970. In a somewhat typical yet still baffling move, this was selected as the second single from the album. As far as purported exercises in "world music" go this is fairly weak ("Mother and Child Reunion" it is not) but it's not bad as a dopey, lightweight singalong.

That has to be an Italian movie. God knows what the record company thought they were doing releasing this lame novelty number as a single.

I thought the woman, er, featuring in the video might be Florinda Bolkan but it is, of course, Edwige Fenech and the film is "Five Dolls for an August Moon" by Mario Bava.

to be fair there are not really a bunch of obvious singles on the album. Still, for this single the b-side was "Sweetheart", which is definitely better and might have been a smarter A-side bet.

xp

looks like the single tanked in the US and UK but did fairly well on the continent

Track No. 65: Then You Left Me (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw6ZaEgrnkQ

Barry's lament for a departed Robin? My suspicion is that this is one of the earlier tracks recorded, it feels like a leftover from some previous album session and features Petersen behind the kit. The descending vocal melody in the verse over the by-now familiar lush bed of strings, piano and acoustic 12-string strikes me as a bit catchier and stronger than the choruses. Some nice details in the orchestration - church bells, mandolin, and I think a vibraphone? Barry's spoken bit on the first chorus is a tad over the top.

Without Robin around Barry appears to have fallen back on maudlin schmaltz.

it was a default mode for him generally, the sillier stuff on the album (more tomorrow!) seems to come more from Maurice

Perhaps not quite as good as the opener but still well-crafted maudlin schmaltz. Saving up the full-bodied chorus until the end mostly works, I think. Thumbs-up! A spot of pre-listening suggests that I'm going to continue to dig quite a few of the less goofy tracks on this record.

Track No. 66: The Lord (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CynqbEwYF_0

Even when they are being inexplicably bad (and this song is comically bad) you kind of have to give them credit for so thoroughly committing, with good humor, to their bad ideas. The song is repetitive, rudimentary, and performed badly. A flubbed vocal line is left in (Barry clearly sings "the lord says the stole sticks around"), Petersen's drumming is as stiff and awkward as ever, the harmonies are sloppy and they throw in a rote key change in lieu of anything else interesting to do with the song, which otherwise just cycles through it's half-assed verse + chorus structure. Maurice's bass playing is at least decent, and as a goofy throwaway it's incongruity makes it funny maybe once or twice. I assume the lyrics are "in character", given that religion never seemed to otherwise be a lyrical preoccupation for any of the Gibbs. For some reason this was selected as the b-side to "Don't Forget to Remember".