The Bee Gees: Song by Song

I like this one. Nice vocals and some very interesting keyboard/synth sounds. And that chorus IS catchy .
I am a big fan of Robin's eighties albums.

 

We've talked about this song before but I was listening to the single version and I'm just really taken by the bass line! It's so good! And I am pretty sure more prominent in this mix than the album version.



I also love this slightly longer version, with Robin's extra "I've just gotta get a message to heeeeeer" at the end.

This is probably my favorite early era Bee Gees song, I'm pretty sure I've listened to it more than any other when you combine all of the different versions of it!

 

Agreed on the single version.

 

I actually heard this once in a Safeway grocery store in California!

 

I really like this 80’s synth pop album, and own it on three formats: cassette, LP and iTunes files!

 

This was the first Bee Gees song I had ever heard. I was drawn to the dark nature of the lyrics. Great bass line and I love the "Ahh, aah, aah..." part. A timeless classic...

#1 in the UK and their first Top 10 hit in the States.

 

It's very interesting to hear the different versions of this song on the 1st reissue. I must say that I do prefer the "stripped down" final released version, especially with that Robin solo bit towards the end - it always goes down well live.

 

I find it strange that the record companies/labels went for different tracks on the Idea album for the US and UK markets. Not including " I've Gotta Get A Message To You" on the UK version was surely a big mistake. It would have boosted sales of the album. It also meant that Idea in the UK had no singles as "I Started a Joke" was not released there. In any event in the album did very well to get to #4 without a single (definitely one my favorites from the early years).

 

It is strange, was that a common thing to do at the time? I know it wasn't unheard of to release singles that weren't on albums, but it seems odd to omit a single from an album in one place but not another. It's also strange that "I Started a Joke" wasn't a single in the UK, though!

 

"Sincere Relation" from 2 Years On



This is a song written by Robin after his father-in-law, Molly's father George, passed away suddenly. It's pretty straightforward, and clear Robin was fond of him. There's that raw emotion in his voice that reminds me of "Really and Sincerely" (the two songs have a few similarities). It's a really moving song. I also really like the piano part, that kind of instrumental seemed pretty tied to this era of the group and I wish it had stuck around a little more!

 

I like this song, especially how Robin manages to chronicle George's life in under three minutes. And I agree with your comments. The piano playing is really good - Maurice once again proving how talented he was.

 

Composed by Barry and Maurice and demo'd in April '83 for the Kenny Rogers album. Dark subject matter but a very beautiful song too.

 

This is a lovely song! Nice guitar and I like the vocals, even if it is a demo. How can something like this go unreleased?! It baffles the mind

 

It's a headscratcher that they never made something more of it, even as a solo outing.
There was a tribute act called Three Bees, a trio of brothers of which two are twins as well, that covered it on a self-released CD back in 2000 or so but even then it is quite obscure. They are still active as far as I know but reduced to Twin Bees now.

 

Very common in 1960s. The Beatles never released a single from an album in UK, but Capitol rejiggered the US albums to include them!

 

"Days of Wine and Roses" from Robin's 50 St. Catherine's Drive



It was about time I gave this a listen and man, this opening track just grabbed me immediately. Definitely the standout on the entire album for me. It's such an illustration of Robin as a songwriter and singer, and yet it also sounds like something that could have worked as a Bee Gees track in a different time and place. The lyrics are open and honest, and seemingly quite personal. I really, really like the way the song builds from the simple piano instrumental at the beginning (reminds me of that era of the Bee Gees where Mo on the piano was featured a bit more) and then adds the bagpipes that give it such a specific sound, immediately making me think of Robin's version of "Ellan Vannin," a perfect symmetry as he's singing about his childhood. Then it builds again in such a powerful way. It's really moving! His voice is strong and emotive and just everything I love about it.

I've already listened to this a bunch of times because it really just stuck right with me. It reminds me a little bit of "Alone" as well, possibly because of the sound, but also just that element that grabbed me immediately in such a similar way. It's an interesting bookend for me personally, as this is the last full Bee Gee related album that I had left to listen to.

 

What a lovely track!

I haven't listened to all of Robin's solo tracks/work yet (though it's on my to do list lol), so this is my first time hearing this song.

I totally agree with your assessment. This track really shows his range as a songwriter and singer, and strikes you as a really personal song.

Simply wonderful.

 

A beautiful song. Agreed 100% with the comments above. There are many songs on this album that are tearjerkers...

 

The guy kept his amazing vocals intact too!
Listening to this, no doubt in my mind, he was still vocally as good as he ever was.

 

He really did make it work! Even though I hadn't listened to the whole album until this weekend, I was familiar with a few tracks from it ("I Am the World," "Don't Cry Alone") so I wasn't so much surprised that he still sounded good as I was impressed that there are moments where he sounds so particularly good. It's not even really just a him thing, once long-time singers get into their later years, things just natural diminish and it becomes a matter of how they use what they've still got mixed with whatever tools they have to create a sound that works for the time and their age and the song. Thanks to his voice remaining strong for so long, he was able to make it work for a long time!

Does anyone happen to know if Robin himself plays piano on this track? It looks from the online liner notes that the keyboards are credited to Peter John Vetesse, but for some reason, it feels like on this one, it could be Robin, so thought I'd ask!

 

The opening is simple enough that he himself could have done it but it is Vettese throughout.

 

Let's get some Barry back in here!

"The Way It Was" from Children of the World



One of the few Bee Gees songs that has a non-Gibb songwriting credit! Blue Weaver gets his name in print thanks to his coming up with the piano melody to this standout track. It's a great part, too! I especially love the lower parts on the chorus. I'm curious to know a little background, though, as I would think this is a role Blue often played. I know the Bee Gees around this time reconfigured how the band was paid and perhaps tied it to the royalties (I'm sure someone can confirm?) so perhaps that's why certain levels of creation were covered under that agreement and Blue took it a step further with this song?

I really love Barry's vocal on this track. I also love when he uses that strong, full voice as he does on the verses. It's so powerful! Working his way up on the chorus is effective and he doesn't push the limit like he sometimes could. And the sax on the end sounds fantastic. It's just a really great song!

 

Blue recently brought up the making of both The Way It Was and Songbird. The gist of it was that they were melodies that Blue had tinkered with for a couple of years (Strawbs period). Trying to find the posts he made for exact quotes but FB is the worst in this regard... Essentially Blue was playing and Barry started singing along to it and it went from there.

 

I've always felt like this song sounded like another song I know, but I've never been able to figure out which one lol.

Anyone else think this would have made a good song for Barbra Streisand?