Youth and first fame....not always a good combination. In one of the documentaries (This Is Where I Came In, I believe) he said he tried to give Andy advice about this very issue when Andy started having his success.
A magnificent album in my view. Very well balanced in terms styles and lead vocals. Love the production - very detailed and layered without overdoing it. In some ways I see it as a logical follow up to Hi Civ. I think that they did a great job with the packaging and photos of the guys as well. Paying the Price of Love is a great track. I actually cannot get enough of it. And that key change at the second chorus gets me every time. It's sad that it wasn't a big hit. There's a video of them performing the track outdoors in Miami I think (not completely live) which is awesome. They look really good. Great vocals and guitar work on Kiss of Life. How to Fall in Love Pt. 1 is a lovely ballad. Their voices really blend well together on this one. Interesting choice for a third single (top 30 in the UK if I remember correctly). And where is Part 2? I think that Omega Man is an excellent Maurice track. When I first heard the album this was the first song that really grabbed my attention. Interesting lyrics as well. Has anyone seen the "promotional video" on YouTube? Does anyone know about the story behind this video? Haunted House is creepy and beautiful at the same time. I love the way vocals are traded on Heart Like Mine. I am quite a fan of Anything For You. I have seen reviews and read stuff by others saying that this is the weakest track on the album. But I dig it. Blue Island is a lovely acoustic ballad. Sounds almost like early seventies Bee Gees to me. I thought that this could have made a good choice for a single. We get a bonus with a second Maurice lead with Above And Beyond. Nice drums! I just knew when I first heard the album that For Whom The Bell Tolls would be the big hit. Absolutely wonderful track. Reminds me of The Only Love. Why, why, why was this not a hit in the US?? And I am NOT a fan of the single version. A song like this should not be truncated. Fallen Angel is a great dance track. Fast paced with nice Robin vocals. I love Decadance! What great production to bring this track into the nineties. It should only be played at maximum volume. Barry is in fine form here. My Destiny is probably one of my favourite tracks ever! What a great guitar riff. And I really dig Robin's vocals. 855 7019 is a really sensual track in my opinion. I like Barry's phrasing in the verses.
An acetate demo Robin cut for Peter Wyngarde in 1970. Very much in the style Robin was working in at the time. There was recently an auction of some of Wyngarde's estate and a letter with lyrics scribbled down by Robin was among the items. Turns out that it was originally attached to an acetate that Wyngarde had parted with back in '98 which the current owner now has presented a piece of.
The biggest turn off for me about the albums from 87 - 93, is the sound production. They are certainly of product of their time, which doesn't particularly appeal to me. Personally, I'd rather see the albums re-mixed and/or stripped down/less reverb, and lose some of the 'digital' edge to them, and remastered. This of course is not a flaw, but the current sound that was taking place during that period. Most music around this period doesn't appeal to me because of 'the sound'. @Photon said above about 'Blue Island', being a lovely acoustic ballad. I whole hardheartedly agree, but this version below explains to me why I think the 'less is more' approach works particularly well for The Bee Gees. Personal taste of course....
The video was something that Maurice did at home on his Mac. It was added to a fan club VHS which is where it got out. Some of the uploads are b&w, others in colour. I fall in the 'not a fan' category. Find the ad nauseum repeat of the chorus irritating to the point that I don't ever want to hear it ever again. It could easily have been dropped in exchange for one of the b-sides. At least it got a promo release. Maurice and Robin's homage to the Pet Shop Boys (who in turn had voiced interest in producing them - quite circular seeing as Blue Weaver assisted Tennant and Lowe in their early years). Very reminiscent of their live performance during the One For All tour. I'd venture a guess either a remix of the live performance itself or a taped pre-tour rehearsal. Excellent songs and quite possibly a wasted opportunity by relegating them to b-side status only. Size is in my mind the last time it all really clicked for them on an album. This is the closest thing to perfect that they had achieved in over a decade and would never come near to again. Too bad it all largely fell on deaf ears.
The studio version was pretty much a live take with Alan on guitar (on top of Maurice and Barry) and Gustava Lezcano on harmonica. The only thing they added afterwards was the keyboard on Barry's suggestion.
Too much reverb/delay and signal processing for my taste. It sounds 'drenched', but so did a lot other recordings around that time too. Still sounds alright though.
I really like it too. I've always been charmed by it and I love the how Robin is at the very top of the mix, it's a fun contrast to Barry's very low "you knooooow.... I will do anything." It's not a deep track but it's a fun listen for me. It's my favorite Bee Gees song. I never tire of it. Agree that the single version is inferior, I actually mentioned that in this thread recently when I realized that one of my Spotify playlists had the version from The Record on it by accident. That last minute of the album version is sublime. The edit basically takes out all of Robin's bonus vocals, and they are among his best to play out a song! Let me tell ya, I hadn't heard this song til relatively recently and when I did, my jaw dropped to the floor. What the heck is this song doing being a b-side! Size is one of my Top 5 Bee Gees albums and to know this song could have actually been ON it?! Man, I love this album though. And I agree with who said that it has great photos, the one I use as my profile pic is one of my favorites of them!
Agreed! For me it kind of captures the feeling of the music inside. I once heard them (I think that it was Barry) say in an interview that Mr. Natural was a "rehearsal album" for Main Course.
So because I was bored, I decided look at Wikipedia to see what in their catalog may have been released in April: Albums: Cucumber Castle (1970) One (April 17, 1989 in the UK; April 24, 1989 in Germany....it wasn't released in the US until that July) This Is Where I Came In (April 24, 2001) Singles: New York Mining Disaster/I Can't See Nobody (April 14, 1967) I.O.I.O./Sweetheart (April 1970 in US, March 1970 in the UK) Love You Inside Out/I'm Satisfied (April 1979) How To Fall In Love Part 1/855-7019 (April 4, 1994)
NEW DATE 6/26 - Get ready to add these classic reissues to your #BeeGees vinyl collection! https://ume.lnk.to/beegeesvinylfp/uDiscover
The book The Bee Gees: The Day-by-Day Story, 1945 - 1972 by Andrew Sandoval is a magnificent read. Impeccably researched and well presented, the book is a must-have for any fan. One of the things that struck me was the amount of unreleased material from the early seventies. So these would fit perfectly on reissues of the early seventies albums. In the same way that the first four albums (including Robins solo material (Saved By The Bell - The Collected Works of Robin Gibb)) were packaged, we could have the same for Barry and Maurice's solo work and the albums Cucumber Castle to A Kick In The Head. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
During the early to mid seventies the Bee Gees were almost totally absent in terms of singles on the UK chart. But as far as albums were concerned, they were TOTALLY absent! 2 Years On charted at 33 and then no album, whether studio, compilation or live, charted until Saturday Night Fever and Spirits. Am I correct? And if so, what happened. Further, given the monster success of Saturday Night Fever and Spirits why didn't people go out and buy the older albums (thereby making them chart)?
So, a thing that's been interesting to me is that when Andy comes up in interviews, they often say how "he could have been a Bee Gee" or some people thought he was a Bee Gee. I know there was talk after Andy's initial success that something like that might've happened, but the idea seems so odd to me. The Bee Gees, by that point, had been incredibly successful in multiple eras of music and had a massive catalogue of hits where Andy's voice was not included. Even if they had moved forward with him as a Bee Gee, how would they have incorporated him into the very specifically crafted harmonies made for three voices? I wonder how much of that is even a hindsight thing. Something they can reflect on years later because there was no possibility of it happening. There's one interview where Robin says that he doesn't think that any of the three of them really truly knew Andy all that well, and they can't even know that he would have wanted to stay in music. I find that to be a heartbreakingly self-aware reflection on their relationship with him. I know Barry and Maurice paint it differently and I have no doubt they all loved him, certainly his death was heartbreaking, but the age difference, and their careers, and then his career... it seems very possible that they were in two different worlds that occasionally intersected. Part of me wonders if saying he could've/should've was just a way of dealing with everything. Did this ever seem like a realistic possibility at any point in time? I'm curious what other people think about this!
We will likely never know full truth, but I have read that Barry was outvoted by the twins on this issue. Probably another reason there was so much tension within the group after Andy died. The natural point would have been the ESP comeback and the age gap would have been less of an issue as four adults. Sadly Andy was still dealing with his demons in 1986.
A great interview/talk between Robin Gibb and Leslie Phillips. What is great here, is seeing Robin open up as genuine, honest and a curious person. Always found Robin always having some kind of 'guard up'. Here he seems so down to earth, it's refreshing to see him like this.
I always found it interesting that Barry would say that he and Andy were like twins. It kind of felt like he was trying to create something he might've felt he was missing out on and couldn't have because he wasn't a twin. It seems natural to feel like an odd man out with that kind of dynamic. It seems believable to me that he would have pushed for it more, but it also doesn't surprise me that the other two weren't as open to it. True, moving forward on studio albums could have worked, I guess I'm mostly thinking about live shows and re-creating old songs. But it still seems odd. They barely had enough room for the lead singers they had, imagine bringing another into the fold! Thanks for sharing this! I'm adding it to my watch list. I really enjoy listen to Robin talk about things. I agree that he seems guarded at times, but I've found that he generally seems to give a measured, well-considered response to things that Barry might romanticize. I find that refreshing as well.
What a lovely interview! I quite enjoyed it. I agree he always came across as "guarded" but I think that that was just part of his personality. I've always actually kind of liked that and quite frankly I've always related to that---listening to him in this interview and the way he sometimes stutters or hesitates to find the right wording/phrasing reminds me of me when I talk lol. Thanks for posting this! Me too on both accounts.
