There are two parts to learning about the birds and the bees.
Last week it was the birds. This week it's the bees.
As in Bee Gees. They've just released The Studio Albums 1967-1968 a box set of their first three Polydor albums ( 1st Album, Horizontal, and Idea) with complete mono and stereo mixes of each album and tons of singles, outtakes, and other bonus tracks.
Anyone who doesn't like the Bee Gees because of excess baggage from their late 70s gold chains era, should immerse themselves in their early albums (not just the hit singles but the albums) before making any judgements. Having all the songs in both stereo and mono is probably overkill, but the Bee Gees rule, and not liking them is weird.
Last week it was the birds. This week it's the bees.
As in Bee Gees. They've just released The Studio Albums 1967-1968 a box set of their first three Polydor albums ( 1st Album, Horizontal, and Idea) with complete mono and stereo mixes of each album and tons of singles, outtakes, and other bonus tracks.
Anyone who doesn't like the Bee Gees because of excess baggage from their late 70s gold chains era, should immerse themselves in their early albums (not just the hit singles but the albums) before making any judgements. Having all the songs in both stereo and mono is probably overkill, but the Bee Gees rule, and not liking them is weird.
Here are five covers of early Bee Gees tracks, recorded between 1983 and 2006. Artists link to artist info and tracks link to mp3s.
- The Three O' Clock - In My Own Time
(1983, from Sixteen Tambourines) - Moxy Fruvous - I've Gotta Get A Message to You
(1997, from You Will Go To The Moon) - The Jigsaw Seen - Melody Fair
(2002, from Songs Mama Used To Sing) - The Lucksmiths - I Started A Joke
(2005, from "The Chapter In Your Life Entitled SF" single) - Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Run To Me
(2006, from Under The Covers: Volume 1)
Bonus cover from the Bees' Saturday Night Fever disco era:
Baby Lemonade - How Deep Is Your Love?
(1994, from Melody Fair, one of the best tribute albums ever!)
Baby Lemonade - How Deep Is Your Love?
(1994, from Melody Fair, one of the best tribute albums ever!)
4 comments:
No kidding! Alice and I stayed up late last night watching old Bee Gees tv clips on You Tube.
I never had a problem with the late 70s stuff; when viewed in real time, the transition was quite natural. Like virtually every other 60's British band, they had a shameless crush on American R&B ("Gotta Get a Message to You").
I became a fan around the time of "Run to Me." Then they hired Arif Mardin and really started to incorporate R&B into their sound on MR NATURAL in 1974. It's uneven and was a commercial dud, but it's a kind of fascinating flop - and shows them squarely in transition, the missing link.
For followers, then, MAIN COURSE simply pushed matters slightly more into R&B territory. And since disco had completely hijacked R&B in the time since MR NATURAL was recorded, "Jive Talkin'" barely raised an eyebrow. In fact, there are more weepy ballads than thumpers on MAIN COURSE - the big difference was that MAIN COURSE was an astonishingly good record!
(One amazing fact about the transition was how well their British drummer adapted - I wouldn't trust a drummer who wouldn't confess that he'd kill to be able to nail a groove like "Stayin' Alive"!)
CHILDREN OF THE WORLD, S.N.F., and SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN were just three more excellent albums. All of these records continued to feature ballads as beautiful and tuneful as "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" - I don't think they ever made a more glorious record than "How Deep Is Your Love." Barry just toned down the quirkiness in his writing while they were riding high. Ironically, a return to their 60s Brit pop roots during this time (SGT PEPPER) was what fucked everything up.
And the falsetto thing was a slow disclosure, too - it kind of got slipped in on the "Nights on Broadway" b vox overdub and ended up as a the big hook.
A fine post Steve (but please - one "e" in judgment!). Another fantastic cover of "How Deep is Your Love" is by the new-jack vocal group Portrait from the early 90s. Although I usually don't go for that absurdly melismatic singing style, check out their a capella version. Stunning.
I just realized when I mentioned "Gotta Get a Message to You" above I was actually thinking of "To Love Somebody" as an example of a blatant early stab at an R&B by the Gibbs.
Actually, pretty much everything Barry Gibb sings has an "R&B influence"
Another good acapella Bee Gees cover is Chumbawumba's "NY Mining Disaster" from their album after the one with "Tubthumping"..
Okay, I'm going to throw caution entirely to the wind and admit that I really dig Barry and Babs mixing it up on "Guilty." She sings the *hell* out of that thing!
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