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

Track No. 134: Jive Talkin' ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oALKAh_bL5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2beD9XzT3_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAXkgpb7Po

The official "comeback" single: first single released from the album, and their first to hit #1 since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (which makes for a very interesting contrast in terms of their artistic trajectory). The oft-repeated story behind the song's genesis is that its rhythm was inspired by the sound their car made traveling over the the Julia Tuttle Causeway each day from Biscayne Bay to Criteria Studios in Miami, which sounds like an explanation more likely to come out of the mouth of Iggy Pop than Barry Gibb. I can't think of anything previous to this in their catalog that was built around a rhythm pattern; having never really had a strong rhythm section prior to this incarnation of the band maybe that isn't so surprising. As an early disco song its overall rhythmic template feels right in line with stuff like Shirley and Company's "Shame Shame Shame" and the Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat", transposing a Bo Diddley guitar figure over a four on the floor beat. But it also features a couple Bee Gees-specific innovations: the ARP 2600 synth bass line is nuts, and then, of course, their newly reconfigured harmonies. The song also features a bunch of clever breakdowns, not the least of which is that rapidly descending and ascending melody-line that's doubled by the synth and the vocal. Lyrically its a bunch of gibberish, albeit of a different kind given their naive re-appropriation of black slang. Classic.

Perfect, of course, but Barry's various explanations of the writing of this song have always struck me as pretty farfetched - they had no idea that 'jive' meant anything other than a dance, for instance. Yeah right, Barry.

Track No. 135: Winds of Change ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfi-UdmTEKM

Moreso than the previous two tracks, this one is practically the platonic ideal of the disco sound. The strings, the clavinet, the synth bass, the snapping hi hats and steady pulse of the kick drum. Barry doesn't so much as transform his standard melodic approach as just slather it over the top; it's not hard to imagine this melody or its changes with a completely different backing and arrangement. The vocals sound like they're all Barry, and that's obviously him at the end leaning into his disco shriek for full effect, especially after the breakdown. Robin appears to be absent, Maurice relegated to thumping away on the low end. Honestly I get tired of this song fairly quickly, although I wouldn't say that it's bad per se.

Track No. 136: Songbird ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl3vabbDASA

Just in case you thought it was going to be a non-stop groove-fest, Barry pumps the breaks to make way for what is essentially an Elton John song. While the opening song bird/wrong bird rhyme is head-slappingly stupid, at least the rest isn't quite as bad as Taupin's usual dreck. Barry's double-tracked vocal is underpinned by a piano part that builds up to the end of each verse, eventually joined with the requisite strings and drums to add some power to the balladry, as well as Robin and Maurice's harmonies. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.

Oops, missed "Winds of Change", which is great. I really like "Songbird" too. The songs on this album are just so catchy and memorable.

I like both okay and they are definitely catchy, just a step down from that initial 1-2 punch of the first singles.

Track No. 137: Fanny (Be Tender With My Love) ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgDbE6WOyws

The third single, one of Quincy Jones' "favorite R&B songs of all time", and the first to really spotlight Barry's shout-y falsetto as a lead. The singing on this is crazy, all three are at the top of their registers in full voice. This vocal style isn't without precedent (tons of black singing groups incorporated a showboating falsetto - the Temptations, Curtis Mayfield etc.), but it is rather freakishly unique in terms of Barry's tone, how heavily they leaned on it, and how successful it was. Barry's story about how this is based around the name of their housekeeper in Miami rings false to me - I much more suspect that this is similar to "Harry Braff" in the "lol let's put over some slightly dirty British slang" department. Musically it's something of an extension of "Nights on Broadway" and some of the tracks on "Mr. Natural", combining that gauze-y soft focus rock sound on the verses (acoustic guitars, twinkly fender rhodes, unobtrusive strings) with a tight in-the-pocket rhythm section that picks up energy in the choruses, which build through the key change at the end.

Fanny is such a fucking great song my god, despite/because of the absurd title/refrain

Also since this is the active Bee Gees thread of the moment, Barry was just in the studio with Jason Isbell, which is neat!

huh that's not a combo I would have expected

Probably my all time favorite bee gees track, once I got past snickering at the title.

I love the drama of Robin switching from falsetto to chest voice, but that's the Bee Gees' magic for the next few years innit

Odd that this doesn't seem to have been released as a single in the UK - and neither was "Nights On Broadway" - despite "Jive Talking" reaching Top 5. I like this song but it's not a big favourite of mine, I don't like the key change at the end.

Chord change lifted from Hall and Oates, according to Maurice

Er key change

Track No. 138: All This Making Love("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oef8ze7mps

First they had a lot of love, but now like warriors on the edge of time they are TIRED of making love. Also tired of coming up with decent songs, evidently, cuz oof this one sticks out like a sore thumb next to all the other quality material. Swapping the disco heartbeat for an oompah band rhythm, we are treated to six verses in a row of a male hustler's lament, complete with silly voices and sound effects (check out that tiger's roar) in the background. Kendall and Blue Weaver get in a little bit of semi-interesting guitar/synth interplay during the guitar solo verse (with a very Beatle-y guitar tone). Robin's sweeter lines come off better than Barry's more strident ones, but "Dirty Work" this is not. Feels like an out-of-place leftover from a previous album.

I love all their songs about how they got laid too much.

you've got to be tender with their love, you know how easy it is to break it

Yes, it's a strange one this, I like it though!

Track No. 139: Country Lanes ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLShQCfap1Q

Barry gets a co-write, but this is a Robin track to the core, and something of an outlier on the album as a throwback to their melodramatic piano ballads. Also one of their few songs in 3/4. Feels a bit like something Rundgren or Eric Carmen might come up with. Robin of course makes it his own, deploying his quavering vibrato freely. Honestly, the lamest thing about this is probably Barry's unnecessary interjections of "country" in the choruses. If this album were a film, this song would accompany the "morning after" sequence following all that tiresome boogieing and lovemaking, with Robin leading his new lady-love on a tour of his rambling English estate.

Track No. 140: Come on Over ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYd42zwvDpg

Successful as this album was, it's not surprising that the monster R&B jamz on this album would overshadow the odder, deep cuts in the popular consciousness. There's a handful of tracks, including this one, that still bear the hallmarks of their stylistic range and earlier approaches which, while not exactly fitting in with contemporary trends, are nonetheless solid efforts. The vocals on this are wonderful from the get-go, with Robin out front singing the pleading lyric over a piano part that is all curlicues and filigrees. Once the slide guitar comes in it's clear they're hitting that sugary-sweet country-pop ballad target they were aiming for (and largely missing) several years ago circa "Life in a Tin Can". Arif Mardin's hand doesn't sound particularly evident, the production is generally straight ahead and the string arrangement that comes in midway is fairly unobtrusive - everything makes way for the harmonies, accented by some back and forth between the piano and the slide guitar.

I love "Country Lanes", it's basically Robin's last stand before being subsumed in an avalanche of Barryness. I don't know what it's actually about, as per usual, but it gets me right there. "Come On Over" is another good song, well sung by Robin but not especially memorable given the company it's keeping on this album.

this album is much more all-over-the-place than I remembered, it's not really that far from the previous two in terms of variety, it's just dominated by the huge hits.

I don't know what it's actually about, as per usual, but it gets me right there

bee gees in a nutshell

lol true

If this album were a film, this song would accompany the "morning after" sequence following all that tiresome boogieing and lovemaking, with Robin leading his new lady-love on a tour of his rambling English estate.

If they'd had a lot of love last night perhaps?

Track No. 140: Edge of the Universe ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dFXS94X7Uw

Taking the prize for lyrical what-the-fuckery this time around, a ten-feet tall and three-feet wide Barry appears to don the moniker "Shenandora of the Ar" and gets kozmic with his dog. Robin may have his moments of over-the-top theatricality and melodrama, but this far into their catalog I don't think it's really disputable that when it comes to lyrics, Barry is the bigger weirdo. Musically things hang together much more successfully: the band hits a mid-tempo ELO-ish groove and feel, with a prominent synth line weaving in and out of Barry's lead vocal. Dennis Byron takes the dropped beat in the bridges as a cue to throw in some disorienting fills, but where he really lays into it is on the coda's outgoing plagal cadence. Worth noting that this is preceded by a brief snatch of the guitars, synth, and a bizarrely sped-up backing vocal all hitting the same melody in unison.

Yes, this is a strange old song, sort of psychedelic or maybe that's just because the words are like something an acid casualty sitting in a squat in Ladbroke Grove might have come up with. As is par for the course for this album, catchy as hell!

Track No. 141: Baby As You Turn Away ("Main Course", 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAB66ndoCpc

This has all the hallmarks of earlier Barry material: the shimmering acoustic guitars, the simple chord structures and compelling melodies, dopey lovelorn lyrics, smooth-as-silk harmonies. The key difference this time around is obviously that Barry is singing the lead two octaves above his normal voice in that hard-edged falsetto everybody had become enamored of. Lots of great overlapping vocal melodies throughout, especially in the coda at the end as the acoustic guitars and tambourine lock into that 8th note pattern/groove. A good note to end the album on.

I guess that last youtube video was a direct transfer from a hand-cranked turntable.
(there's a nice enough song under there somewhere)

haha wow sorry about that, there is a lot of weird warbling on there!

here's a better one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26zbuY3cJjQ

Track No. 142: You Should Be Dancing ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dCkUh7UzvU

Unsurprisingly for the group's only song to ever top the US dance chart, this is pure groove from start to finish. It's also the point at which Barry *really* starts to run shit. They didn't have Arif Mardin anymore due to record label shenanigans, so Barry assumed a lead role in production in addition to his already increased songwriting and singing duties. Robin's essentially relegated to backing vocals as Maurice, after introducing the song's throbbing heartbeat, gamely supplies some energetic basslines. Melodically simpler than anything they'd done up to this point, the song is a dense mix of interlocking motifs from the horns, clavichord, synths, and electric guitar, and of chorus Barry's shrieking falsetto. The band had clearly grasped the essential dynamics of dance music, mixing and matching elements while maintaining a forceful rhythmic drive. Plus percussion from Steven Stills. (always essential! lol)

Was this one of the first records to use drum loops, or am I completely off with that notion?

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-bee-gees-stayin-alive

it is, we'll get to that!

Track No. 143: You Stepped Into My Life ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Zk7TJ7f3w

When the Gibbs hit on a formula, they sure knew how to run with it. Barry's falsetto, chicken-scratch guitars, a wash of strings and fender rhodes, an airtight rhythm section, and in this case a synth sound I primarily associate with P-Funk and Bernie Worrell. Even without Mardin behind the boards, they've finely tuned their Miami sound machine so that everything sparkles and the groove never lets up. Melodically eh this is a little boring, Blue Weaver's synth line is probably the most memorable thing about it. Maurice again is relegated to bass and if Robin is anywhere on this track it's indetectable. (I wouldn't be surprised if Robin's biggest contribution to this album was suggesting they all dress as aviators for the cover). That being said, even with Barry firmly in the lead, it's worth noting that song credits on their disco era albums are all almost uniformly split between the three brothers, possibly an act of solidarity on Barry's part that was both smart and generous.

Track No. 144: Love So Right ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiV7VgC4UUE

The second single from the album, showcasing their softer side. A misty-eyed, proto-yacht rock Delfonics homage, with Barry's falsetto nestled in a bed of strings, acoustic guitar, fender rhodes, and synthesizer. The rhythm section deploys a light touch, Maurice and Robin chime in on the refrain, and the lyrics are a bunch of generic cliches. I like that he reins the falsetto in a bit for this gentler material, but when he goes into the shrieking ad libs at the end it feels a little out of place - that's better suited for the dancefloor fillers. Best thing about this song is the chorus, which is definitely catchy, but feels like it wears out its welcome by the end.

Oops, missed the last few tracks. I never thought I liked this album much but I like all the tracks so far - "You Should Be Dancing", goes without saying.

Track No. 145: Lovers ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XopiApTvlIg

Listen to that glossy synth tone, damn. The hi-hats, the kick drum,and a palm-muted chicka-chicka wah-wah guitar pattern that is practically a reggae/one-drop rhythm (in places, anyway) keep the groove steady while a wah-wah bass, synths, and a bunch of silly voices dart in and out in polyrhythmic fashion. The instrumentation is actually fairly sparse compared to other tracks, and feels like a close cousin to "Jive Talkin'". What is different here is the overall sound, which is much more rubbery and synthetic than on "Main Course", and the vocal arrangement. I'm not sure if there was a specific inspiration here but it sounds like they were trying to replicate the multi-part techniques of various R&B singing groups that usually had 5 or 6 vocalists with distinct tones/ranges (Temptations, P-Funk) where you'd have guys trading lines. So instead instead of singing thick harmonies they're voices are split - low growly Barry here, Robin (clearly showing that hey, he can do that falsetto thing too!) there, Maurice joining in for the chorus. Robin's voice in particular sounds great when it jumps out, he has a rounder tone that makes his falsetto less shrill than Barry's. The overall effect is sorta goofy, but I love it.

honestly this might be my favorite track on this album so far

Track No. 146: Can't Keep a Good Man Down("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYeYSlV87A

Things are so airtight and buffed-to-perfection now. The sound is exceptionally dry (no reverb anywhere!) and cleanly separated, every element - including the Gibbs' voices - isolated with a shiny, plastic clarity. Wah-wah guitars and fender rhodes are thrown up against a choppy horn line and staccato organ and the by now familiar disco groove. The only incongruous element here is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Robin's voice, which really leaps out when he hits his a capella break. Melodically, lyrically, and harmonically there's not a ton going on here, it's very much groove oriented, with various riffs cycling in and out, but the hook in the chorus is not particularly remarkable. Serviceable filler.

Track No. 146: Boogie Child ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyqmwoCWHYs

Back to the hits, with the third single from the album which peaked at #12. I have to say, the opening bars of this always put me in mind of Nilsson's (abetted by Lennon) "All My Life", although it quickly goes different places. The staccato horn lines are great, very Sly & the Family Stone, as are the "when you're groovin/like you really know" breakdowns. The vocals are again fragmented and split into different lines, working in a call-and-response fashion over the clavichord and wah-wah guitars. And then the song really kind of goes some weird places when the strings come in, running through a series of turnarounds and ascending melody lines until it hits that ghostly drop-off. Barry can't resist throwing in the shrieks at the end but he doesn't really overdo it, thankfully. Lyrically it's a bunch of nonsense about boogieing, which is exactly what the song calls for. I feel like Dr. Teeth and the Muppets could've covered this song.

Track No. 147: Love Me ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj92dFJ2euE

Robin takes another lead vocal, delivering a mid-tempo ballad that wouldn't have been out of place on "Mr. Natural". Robin's vibrato carries the minor key verses, and is joined by Barry and Maurice when the choruses shift into major, delivering a fairly memorable, pleading hook. Barry butts in with his falsetto for the bridge, since they can't let a song go by on this album without featuring *that*, now could they? Robin responds with some fairly awkward vocal ad-libs of his own. The instrumentation is consistent with the rest of the album, with wah wahs and synths dominating

Been away, so missed most of this album. Will try to catch up at some point.

the Bee Gees stop for no man!

https://www.betootaadvocate.com/humans-of-betoota/band-of-friends-use-up-entire-footpath-walking-three-abreast-like-theyre-the-fucking-bee-gees/

I hadn't really noticed "Lovers" before but it's bonkers! Is it just me or is there some time signature fuckery going on?

There’s some bars where they drop beats, yeah

Track No. 148: Subway ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOPWwnVeKy0

Right out of the gate there are several things in the introductory chorus that do not bode well for this song: the synth stacked-strings sound, the saxophone wailing, and breathy Barry rhapsodizing about the subway. All of those elements get stripped out for the verses where Barry switches to falsetto, which works a bit better. But Blue Weaver's wandering synth part really gets on my nerves, and Barry can't think of anything better to do than shriek a bunch of wordless ad-libs. This song just does not work.

Track No. 149: The Way it Was ("Children of the World", 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W4cgutr4cA

Completely switching gears, the band delivers this throwback piano ballad with Barry in full-on reflective lovelorn mode. Still managing to work that falsetto in there as the song crescendos at the end of each verse, things still feel pretty perfunctory and tossed off. The saxophone at the end threatens to really kick the song into overblown yacht rock territory, but somehow just mercifully peters out instead. Robin and Maurice do not appear to be on the track at all, seems like this is mostly just Barry filling space.

I don't think these last two songs are that terrible, but I agree they're not especially interesting - mind you, that sax and ending on "The Way It Was" are bad bad bad. As I said before I've never rated this album much in the past but it's pretty easy on the ears.

Yeah, I'm not that familiar with the order of their discography, but it feels like we're approaching peak Bee Gees here.