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

yeah it isn't terrible but I can't work up much enthusiasm for it either

Track No. 67: I Lay Down and Die (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WDuOBRibdk

I wouldn't be surprised if, excited about having a drummer that can think in terms of actual, musical drum parts, they built this entire track around Cox's opening tattoo on the toms. After that, things get downright Spector-ian - Barry's vocal bears more than a passing resemblance to Ronnie Spector's whoa-whoah-oh's, as does the pounding quarter note piano part, the simple, repeated three chord motif, and the keening strings that come in the second time around. Wallowing once more in a morbidly self-pitying lyric worthy of Robin, at least this time they've found some slightly different clothes to dress it up in. Only knock against it is that the song itself seems a little bit half-formed and sloppy; the three chord structure doesn't vary much, and Maurice actually appears to hit a couple wrong notes towards the end on the transition to the coda (or, at least, he misses a cue).

I don't think I have a problem with Robin's voice, but I am enjoying this extended stretch of Barryness quite a bit.

they're both fine on their own but honestly it isn't hard to envision the extra something Robin could have brought to some of these songs

Easily the best song on the album so far. As you say, very Phil Spector! And Maurice does miss his cue at the end there.

it's so weird that that flub got left in. I would think it wouldn't be that hard to just punch in the right note. maybe they were just in a hurry.

cuz they were definitely able to isolate instruments/using 8-track recording (if not 16-track) by this point

Track No. 68: Sweetheart (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRo3-Sly0Xk

No idea why they thought "I.O.I.O." was a better A-side than this charmingly succinct slice of lite country-pop, which was relegated to the B-side. While not particularly remarkable or unusual, this is just a sturdily constructed and competently produced tune with a beginning, middle and end, a decent hook in the chorus, a gentle country swing rhythm courtesy of Tony Cox, and syrupy two-part harmonies from Barry and Maurice. Apparently both Dean Martin AND Englebert Humperdinck recorded covers lol.

Pretty sure I first heard this perhaps two weeks ago but it feels like an obvious 1970 hit and minor easy listening radio fixture through to the present day. In reality, it was b-side a couple times, seemingly. Oh well.

Engelbert's arrangement is not attractive, it turns out. Someone should sample the first few bars. LOL.

Not UNattractive, rather.

haha I can hear that!

I think they should have left this one for Engelbert.

Track No. 69: Bury Me Down By the River (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTniNIWHNE

A proto-Bohemian Rhapsody narrative wrapped up in a gospel package. That's frequent Bee Gees collaborator P.P. Arnold singing with Barry; certainly the first (not sure if it's the only?) instance of a non-Bee Gee singing on a Bee Gees record. Features some of Barry's most furious emoting to-date, even if he doesn't quite reach the frenzied heights of subsequent records (thinking of "Trafalgar", but we'll get to that soon enough). The song itself is fine, nothing particularly special in the arrangement although there are some nice horn flourishes and other details worked in,and certainly by this point this kind of woe-is-me-on-the-gallows lyrical posturing was well-worn territory for them. As far as the genre-dabbling that characterizes this record goes, this dalliance with churchified dramatics works better than some others.

forgot to note that Petersen's drumming is once again like a lead weight dragging the song down

Track No. 70: My Thing (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlU9faiIAC8

Maurice's discovery of major 7th chords apparently inspires him to write and perform an entire song, by himself, about his dog. And honestly aside from the muffed piano chord at the beginning, it's pretty great! The structure is fairly basic - a repeated two chord pattern that drops the major 7th when it gets to the refrain and then shifts towards the end to a major key I-IV-V pattern, and the wistful melody and drifting mellotron are coupled with an endearingly dopey lyric that eventually devolves into wordless harmonies. For something that was obviously conceived as something of a jokey bit of fun it's actually quite pretty. A welcome bit of silliness amidst all the other maudlin weepiness on this record.

(er that first sentence was supposed to be a separate post in ref to previous song)

This stunned me a little in the film, which is where I started with the album. The best of the goofier tracks, I'd say. The faintly 'tense' tonal relationship of some of the piano plonks and mellotron (seemingly largely absent from the mix in that film segment?) to everything else feels surprisingly menacing for a song about dogs!

weird yeah that film mix is a bit different (I think it's even slowed down/pitched differently?) Here's the album mix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RenmZOxUm-k

Track No. 71: The Chance of Love (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZJpLBIGTCo

What, yet another plaintive piano + acoustic + orchestra ballad? Barry's beginning to approach Mike Love levels of commitment to not fucking with the formula. This song is not bad, the melody and lyrics and arrangement are all fine, it's just getting a bit repetitive at this point. It's evident he could churn this kind of thing out in his sleep, but nothing particularly remarkable or unusual happens in the song. It's tracks like this where you can start to feel the lack of Robin's presence. I suppose more input from Maurice might have been welcome as well.

This last song is irritatingly anonymous and unmemorable without being actively bad - also seems to be missing another chorus. "Bury Me Down By the River" however is good, I much prefer Barry doing gospel/soul than country. The Maurice song is a Maurice song.

Track No. 72: Turning Tide (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycmxKwrK08A

In some places this feels like a lazy re-write of the previous track, somehow becoming even more irritatingly anonymous and unmemorable in the process. Here we get 6/8 verses interspersed with choruses in 4/4, a switch that's barely noticeable thanks to Terry Cox's restrained drumming, but there's nary a memorable melody or hook in sight, and there are places where it seems like Barry's not even sure which note to sing. The track is not actively bad but it feels pretty shapeless and lazy. What's baffling is that they were hardly hurting for material - they could've swapped in "Give a Hand, Take a Hand" (which Barry had passed on to P.P. Arnold), or dug up some other castoff like "Chocolate Symphony" from previous albums, but instead they threw in this piece of filler.

Should maybe be noted that between the recording for this album being completed and its release, the band essentially broke up. Barry announced his departure in December 1969 and proceeded to work on his solo album "The Kid's No Good", while Maurice was also working on his own solo album "The Loner" (neither of which got released), and both were writing for and producing other artists (P.P. Arnold, Tin Tin, etc.) Robin had finished "Robin's Reign" a couple months earlier, but that wouldn't come out until February/March 1970. "Cucumber Castle" followed in April 1970. None of them really seemed to enjoy this state of affairs, and their competing singles both stalled out at no. 2. Within months, Robin and Maurice had reunited and recorded 14 songs, and by the time August 1970 rolled around Barry had a planned solo single pulled from release and returned to the fold as well.

Track No. 73: Don't Forget to Remember (Cucumber Castle, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnthhfVuJI
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Dont_Forget_To_Remember.jpg/220px-Dont_Forget_To_Remember.jpg

The last song on the record also happened to be the first single, going to number 2 in the UK. Reportedly an homage to Jim Reeves, it's another country ballad sung in a register that's a bit lower than normal for Barry, featuring the by now well-worn combo of Barry's 12-string, Maurice's piano, Petersen's fumbling drum fills, and loads of syrupy strings and bells. But at least they hit on a strong melody this time around, and overall it hits that sweet spot of yearning country-pop balladry that the boys were fixated on at this particular junction. For all their purported interest in country around this time, it's odd that they never really got in a good pedal steel player.

I can only surmise that the reason this song reached No. 2 in the UK charts was that the entire middle aged population of Scotland and Northern Ireland bought a copy - this being the constituency that has lapped up this kind of lachrymose faux-Countrypolitan schmaltz since Jim Reeves flew his plane nose-first into the cold cold ground somewhere outside Nashville.

... the Gibb family was originally from Paisley. That explains it.

never really listened to Reeves, that's a wing of country w limited appeal to me.

next up - the reunion album!

great song, was probably my gateway into the early stuff I think

It is quite good. I like the bulk of this LP a whole lot more than I was expecting to. And possibly more than I should!? Wouldn't hesitate to buy a used copy. (Though I get the impression the post-Odessa era is largely out of print anyway -- if "out of print" even means anything in 2019.)

I had the opposite reaction, this album seems a lot worse than I remembered.

if you think that one was bad...

Track No. 74: 2 Years On (2 Years On, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Rj7ojTesQ

Opening with a striking choral a capella bit directly referencing the split and reunion is a canny move, serving as an immediate reminder of what was missing in the intervening period as well as whetting the appetite for things to come. An abrupt jump-cut into the main body of the song opens the door on Maurice's rumbling bassline and a steady backbeat from
new drummer Geoff Bridgford (borrowed from the Maurice-produced Aussie band Tin Tin) and an uncommonly strident lyric and lead vocal from Robin. Barry apparently does not sing on this track, but I assume that's his guitar (I suppose it could also be Maurice). The chorus is great, everything a Bee Gees chorus should be. And although the transitions from the chorus back into the verses feel a bit forced, the tune is capped off by a brief ascending falsetto melody at the end. A solid albeit nakedly autobiographical opener. Unfortunately, things go downhill from here imho...

Yes, this song is not bad, a relief to hear something that sounds like the Bee Gees and not Englebert Humperdinck, even then Robin had much better songs lying about unreleased. Taking a minute and half to reach the chorus is pushing their luck though.

ha yeah I almost mentioned that the verses in this feel really long

Track No. 75: Portrait of Louise (2 Years On, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-FCMzI_xSM

Actually, things don't go downhill quite yet, as evidenced by this compact little tune. While Robin is apparently absent from the track, the vocal harmonies still sparkle, particularly on the overlapping "you can shelter in my arms/and I won't ask you why" refrains after the key change at the end. The orchestration gets a little busy in places, can kind of tell Shepherd was trying to fill the bars of some fairly simple chord changes. Bridgford acquits himself nicely; after his deceptive opening kickdrum hits suggest a more uptempo song, he settles into a gentle groove with Maurice that rolls along with none of the stiffness that characterized Petersen's playing.

can hear some traces of Barry's disco-era falsetto peaking through as well

OK song, nothing special though.

I think a lot of their weirder, more idiosyncratic edges got sanded off in 1970. There's not many surprising elements on either Cucumber Castle or 2 Years On. Maybe they were feeling skittish after the relative commercial failure of "Odessa" and the breakup, hedging their bets by playing it safe.

I don't know, some of Robin's vocal performances on this and the following albums are pretty weird and idiosyncratic!

oh, yeah, next album is def a different story imo

Indeed, these two albums are pretty dull.

Wikipedia makes the reunion sound kinda tentative at this stage. With Maurice perhaps being the glue holding things together?

Maurice and Robin announced that the Bee Gees were back with or without Barry's participation ... Despite the album marking the musical reunion of the Bee Gees, only three songs credited all three Gibb brothers as composers: the single "Lonely Days", its flip side "Man For All Seasons", and "Back Home". Maurice sings on all songs, but Barry and Robin are only on the ones they wrote or co-wrote.

I didn't feel myself missing Robin much in his absence but it probably was about time for a track like that there title track, if only for variety.

Track No. 76: Man For All Seasons (2 Years On, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te2ssm3IZp0

At first this sounds like another ho-hum sadsack Barry piano ballad, but Robin's entry toward the end of the second verse as the melody climbs upward definitely kicks the song into a different gear as the chorus blossoms into those inimitable three-party harmonies. Laid back drums and a fuller orchestration follow, and it sounds like we'll get their by now standard two verses + two choruses and done structure, but instead there's an extended coda which briefly features one of my favorite arrangement tricks: a melodic call-and-response between the vocals and the horns. I wouldn't say this song is great - the chorus hook is a bit generic - but it is refreshing to hear all three singing together.

Yes, it's another decent song and demonstrates how much they'd missed The Robin Factor in the last snoozefest of an album.

toward the end of the second first verse

correction!

Track No. 77: Sincere Relation (2 Years On, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmSnk4QZ4U

This song isn't bad exactly but it's hard for me to work up too much enthusiasm for it. Robin spins a mournful ode on the tragic death of a hapless Londoner, his melody gradually spiralling upward over his isolated piano, unexpectedly complimented by the occasional thunderous drumbreaks. The second verse rolls around and Maurice's bass enters the mix along with the orchestra, Barry altogether absent. Feels like a leftover from Robin's Reign, and something about the melody seems reminiscent of one of his solo tracks but I can't quite place it.

Apparently the song is about Robin's father-in-law, who'd recently died, which might explain the overwrought vocal performance but I'm not sure it excuses it. A more stripped down arrangement might have suited the song better as this slightly bombastic approach only makes it seem silly and melodramatic.

idk if his vocal is especially overwrought (at least, not any moreso than his lead vocals normally were), I just don't think it's a very strong song. The drums in the first verse are over-the-top/distracting though.

The way his voice cracks up in the chorus is a bit o_0 tbh I can't help wondering a bit about Robin's mental state in these early 70s albums, the songs are so relentlessly gloomy and some of the vocal performances are a bit unnerving.

Track No. 78: Back Home (2 Years On, 1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug9cYcSuh6g

Regrettably, all three Gibb brothers participating on a track has never been a reliable guarantee of quality, as this track amply demonstrates. And what really sinks this song is just how lazy it is, you don't hear any of the formulas or attention to craft that usually at least makes their lesser material listenable. Granted, they step out of their comfort zone to apparently try out what it's like to be a rock n roll band; I don't think there's a single track preceding this one that is based around a distorted electric rhythm guitar riff. But it just doesn't work, as a song it feels like no thought or energy went into it. Maurice gamely thumps away in an effort to give the song some heft, but there's really nothing for him to work with, no real hook, no melody, no chorus, nothing but the basic drum track, Barry's two-note riff, and the boneheaded vocal. The nonsensical travelogue lyrics don't add much either.