The Bee Gees: Song by Song

This song hits you like a slap in the face! It has not one, but two kitchen sinks thrown in for good measure. It is a "big" song - it could be from the soundtrack to some post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. I love the vocals and the lyrics, that falsetto bridge and the bit immediately after it, the crowd noise, and the fade out with the cymbals going crazy. Awesome! Could have been a single in my book, but to echo what Jrr said about "Overnight" I think that it's ahead of its time. (I am in love with this entire album by the way ).

 

Not one but two kitchen sinks is a great description! It definitely feels like it could be on a soundtrack and it probably could have been a good single if it weren't so long (story of the album, haha).

It's a grower of an album for me, but seeing as I love both albums that bookend it, I have given it time and I'm coming around on it more than I was originally!

 

Ha!

Same for me.

It's a good album to be sure, but for some reason it never sticks out to me when compared to their other albums (particularly, as you said, the two albums book-ending it).

Yet it's a very solid album with quality songs that I enjoy when they come on my playlist(s).

Not sure how to explain it lol.

 

Great album opener, great energy to it and I love how the chorus is off the beat. A bit of a kill-buzz having Secret Love right after as I think another similarly energetic track following it could work better.
Interestingly, there was another mix of the song that featured soundbites of George Bush and Margaret Thatcher at the start of, and through, the instrumental break. Guess perhaps thinking it coming off too much as a bit of a political message they got cold feet or they or someone thought it ultimately wasn't needed.

 

Oh wow - very interesting indeed. It would have made it like Def Leppard's "Gods of War".

Your description of the chorus being "off the beat" is perfect! Thanks - I just could not find a way to describe it properly...

 

Yes! I think it's a great one that belongs along side the rest of their 'medley' hits.
Periodically they'd pull it out.
I actually would take this over 'To Love Somebody'.

 

Speaking of Aussie recordings.
One of the first one's that took to my ear was 'And Children Laughing' written by Barry.
I first heard it on a cheap Aussie compilation.


They must have pressed millions of these, they're pretty common to find.
The first song on side 1, 'And Children Laughing' just blew me away.
It suits the period and the time it was written and recorded.
You can hear a little Dylan, Peter Paul & Mary, Barry McGuire.....
The era of 'speaking up', 'politics', 'racialism', 'peace and love'....
I still think it's pretty advanced for it's time and the message is still relevant.
The recording itself is a bit 'sloppy', the 'timing' is scattered, still.......

'And Children Laughing'

 

I'm at the Kick in the Head portion of Tales from the Brothers Gibb, and this song gets a mention, particularly Robin's vocal. It rocks!



It has some "Road to Alaska" vibes, and you can feel the Mr. Natural tracks coming too. I also love the string section in the background!

I like that the book predicts (knows?) that this album would be a fan favorite based on the reaction to circulating tapes at the time they were writing it. Accurate!

 

For those of us who had tapes of it it certainly was a fan favourite or at least very well liked. Tapes had been circulating for several years, I got mine in the mid- to late-80s from another fan. I think the first CD of it appeared in the mid-90s.

 

Have pretty much said it before but Mr Natural was almost in some ways a step backwards from Kick.
I guess Stigwood was picking the singles but Wouldn't I be Someone just was a terrible choice.

Mr Natural is a good song but for some reason flopped and the follow ups were panicked attempts to gauge if the old Bee Gees were what the public wanted imo.

 

Oh I love this one. It seems to flow on from the previous track ("Harry's Gate"). Great acoustic guitar and drums fills and guitar solo. Robin is in fine form and I like when Barry comes in for the "But it's all gone" part. And a nice sing-a-long chorus

 

This popped into my head today:



It's a beautiful song. Great vocals and the heartbreak can be felt. It sounds a like classic Bee Gees song that should be a concert and compilation and radio staple. I think that it was released as a single - but not worldwide?

 

A single in Japan and the Netherlands.

 

I like this one a lot, and if Living Eyes had gone at all better than it did, I bet it would have appeared in acoustic medleys. There's audio of a radio show from around the time of release where they do it and it sounds amazing.

Bee Gees - Unplugged 1981 - Rare With Guitar - 10 Songs HD (just about a minute in)

It's too bad they basically opted to act like Living Eyes never happened.

 

Oh wow! Thanks for posting that. It was an awesome live acoustic performance. So nice to hear "Paradise", and "Stayin' Alive" was especially well done

 

Every now and then, there is a song where it's like, "Ahh, yes. Teenage boys."

 

Strangely enough Stiggy wouldn't pick that as an A-side!

 

man, I wish they had toured Living Eyes album now. The title track and “Paradise” in amongst the hits of 60s and 70s...

 

This one just popped up on my playlist:

The Marbles
The Walls Fell Down



The Walls Fell Down - Wikipedia

"The Walls Fell Down" is the second single by the English rock duo The Marbles with Lead vocals by Graham Bonnet. It was released in March 1969, and was written and produced by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, of the Bee Gees, and was produced by Robert Stigwood. It was recorded as a follow-up to "Only One Woman" but did not repeat the success of the previous single.

"The Walls Fell Down" was recorded on 10 January 1969 with other Gibb brothers-penned tracks "Love You" and "Little Boy". An instrumental work by three members of Bee Gees: Barry and Maurice Gibb, and drummer Colin Petersen. It reached #28 in the United Kingdom, but in the Netherlands it reached #3. There is a promotional video for this song.

A French TV performance of "The Walls Fell Down" was televised on 192TV. The song's original music video features Bonnet with a Gibson SG and Gordon with an acoustic guitar and was televised on a Dutch television.

Personnel

• Graham Bonnet — lead vocals
• Trevor Gordon — backing vocals
• Barry Gibb — guitar
• Maurice Gibb — bass, piano
• Colin Petersen — drums
• Bill Shepherd — orchestral arrangement

I have the 45 of this song and Only One Woman (both being MONO/PROMO copies if I remember correctly). I might have a third 45 of theirs, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

I must say that the lead singer's vocals are awesome. Very powerful.

 

Another promo video of The Walls Fell Down:

 

Thanks for sharing this! I had never heard it, and I like it a lot! What a soulful song!

It's one of those ones I'd like to hear them sing themselves. I can totally hear how Barry would have sung this song at this point in his career. I wonder if there is a master-list of all the songs they've written for others but never recorded. I'm sure it's massive.

 

Agreed!

This is totally a Barry-style vocals type of song lol.

 

Oh wow! What a great song. I really like it. First time that I am hearing it as well. It does sound like a Barry-led song of that era.

 

After really like "The Walls Fell Down," and REALLY liking Graham Bonnet's voice, I sought out a few more of those tunes last night! Turns out Graham is still singing them live, and impressively, still has some power in his voice and seems to be able to get up to some of the higher notes.

I really enjoyed "Only One Woman"! "The Walls Fell Down" is a stronger song (and more Bee Gee-esque to me) but this one is pretty great too!



This one was apparently recorded for Main Course but not included, so there is at least a Bee Gees version of this one floating around, give to us.

 

Technically the Bee Gees version wasn't intended for release or a conscious decision, it was simply due to Blue who brought up the song during the MC sessions (and probably just a live studio take of it). Blue still has that on a tape. I would love to see it getting a release some day though.