When I was growing up in the '80s, the Bee Gees were basically the butt of jokes and nothing more. Disco was as passe' as anything could get. Then years later in HS I heard a song and couldn't get it out of my head. It took me a while to figure out that it was by...the Bee Gees? I couldn't believe it. The song was Late 60's sounding guitar rock/pop very much in the vein of the Beatles. In fact, to be honest, I liked it better than at least the McCartney stuff that the Beatles did. So I bought the yellow BeeGees greatest hits record...which is till this day one of my most played LPs.

I write this because I finally got around to buying some of their early albums. I just picked up a box set of their first three, "1st", "idea' and "Horizontal". I also found an original copy of their next album, Odessa, with the red velvet sleeve. The music on these discs couldn't be further away from disco. The voices, yes, you can point them out as the Bee Gees but they are in a completely different context.

If you like jangly '60s guitar pop, I really highly suggest any of these albums. I can switch from the Zombies' Odyssey and Oracle to any of them and not have to break my mood.

I know a lot of people probably think they didn't do much of anything besides Saturday Night Fever. But prior to that...a decade prior, actually, they really, to me, did something great.

Sorry to burst your discovery bubble but a lot of us who grew up in the seventies and sixties know about bands when they were new. checkout some old Fleetwood Mac they were a hard rock band without the girls. David Bowie was heavy metal rocker, Rod Stewarts old stuff, really rocks, Most performers who last change with the times or experiment with something new. Keep on researching there is some great old stuff

Like Bouttree, a number of us thought that the BeeGees sold out in the Disco Era. Of course, they laughed all the way to the bank.....

What I think Bouttree is trying to say is that there are a lot of good bands and front men who got their start doing great jobs in the rock era.

In addition to the list above, I'd also suggest you check out Peter Frampton back pre-1975. Humble Pie was a great band in its day. Another would be Genesis up to about 1975 or so - all those before Peter Gabriel left. Excellent Prog-rock.

Cheers,

David

I absolutely love, love, love most everything the Bee Gees ever did up to and including the early Saturday Night Fever stuff. But after that not much.

The Double CD 'The Greatest Hits: The Record' is 40 tracks and well worth seeking out. Only a few clinkers on the whole set. A little too much attention is paid to the post SNF period for my tastes, but 90% in top notch.

I keep meaning to pick up Robin Gibbs' 'Robins Reign' which is regarded as an undiscovered cult classic, but I've never seen a copy in my travels.

http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/229

I didn't mean to imply that it was some great discovery..I should have made more of an emphasis on the fact that if you think they're just disco, dig deeper. Given the thoroughness of the box set I picked up, with the many many bonus tracks, mono mix, etc...its obvious that there's a real following for this stuff. It's just overshadowed in pop culture these days by what they did later. And if you're my age or younger, I'd bet chances are maybe 50 50 somebody doesn't know about it. Yes, the older folks on here probably already know all this...but they're not talking about it. So I'm trying to give a shout out so that some of us youngin's, so to speak (at 35 I don't exactly feel young, but not old), can find it. So my discovery bubble is not busted...I'm just hoping more people discover this stuff.

I have quite the collection of early Rod Stewart LPs and Gabriel era Genesis, but I've never given Humble Pie a chance. I have to say that yes, I always only associated Frampton with his talking guitar cheesiness. I'll look into them. I like Bowie but burned out on him. I still listen to Ziggy Stardust, Low, etc, and a few tracks here and there off of the other albums. I've always admired his talent more than I actually listened to it.

Yeah... I like the late 60s and early 70s Bee Gees and up to SNF. After that I had enough of their singing and got in to New Wave and Punk! But their early songs like I Started a Joke, Lonely Days, and How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? is stuff I grew up with. I recently got Nilsson Schmilsson which was about the same time and reminds me much of that time.

Question. In the early 70s I heard a Mac system (MC2300 I seem to remember, don't remember Pre or the other equipment) demo'ed with a BEE GEEs tune. The guy said at the time that paticular tune had the "lowest note ever recorded". I do remember it shook the whole demo room, hard!! Does anyone have any idea what tune I am thinking of?

Yeah... I like the late 60s and early 70s Bee Gees and up to SNF. After that I had enough of their singing and got in to New Wave and Punk! But their early songs like I Started a Joke, Lonely Days, and How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? is stuff I grew up with. I recently got Nilsson Schmilsson which was about the same time and reminds me much of that time.

That's funny because I went from punk (well, 'post punk') and New Wave to '60s music. My Joy Division vinyl collection sits around collecting dust because now I'm spinning The Zombies or The Ronnettes. Ok, last night I was spinning OMD "Architecture and Morality", so it's not all out of my system.

Question. In the early 70s I heard a Mac system (MC2300 I seem to remember, don't remember Pre or the other equipment) demo'ed with a BEE GEEs tune. The guy said at the time that paticular tune had the "lowest note ever recorded". I do remember it shook the whole demo room, hard!! Does anyone have any idea what tune I am thinking of?

Would that be the elusive 'brown note'?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note

I prefer the disco Bee Gees.

Early Bee Gees, with a few exceptions ("Broken Heart") sound like a feminine version of a Beatles cover band.

The problem with communicating in print that unless your some writing expert its hard for to express. I wasn't putting you down.:no: Keep having fun with the old stuff. I love the old stuff but I also love the new stuff. I'm lucky to have teenagers. There is a lot of great music 1980 - 2008. I hate when people say todays music is crap. I don't think Frampton counts if we are talking about bands evolving. He was great with Humble Pie but he was a hired hand (guitar player) 17yrs old at the time. Every band has members who started with other bands,sometimes a much different sound. How about Hendrix he began as a hired guitar player for a soul/blues band. I can't remember the band but he became famous also. Hendrix was fired for playing to loud.:music: Huh go figure.:yes:

That's funny because I went from punk (well, 'post punk') and New Wave to '60s music. My Joy Division vinyl collection sits around collecting dust because now I'm spinning The Zombies or The Ronnettes. Ok, last night I was spinning OMD "Architecture and Morality", so it's not all out of my system.

I speaking chronologically. Zombies and OMD good stuf too!

I prefer the disco Bee Gees.

Early Bee Gees, with a few exceptions ("Broken Heart") sound like a feminine version of a Beatles cover band.

lol... there was an interview a while back, forget who was interviewing who... but the woman said about the Bee Gees, "what a wonderful thing, three white men, singing like three black women."

For the longest time there was a Samantha Sang song that I thought was the Bee Gees.

I grew up listening to the early Bee Gees due to an eleven year older brother (I'm 42) and I love 'em. Some of their predisco songs are among my favorites. I have to say that most of my contemporaries were aware of the Bee Gees only as a disco act.

The Flying Burrito Brothers cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" is amazing. That's a great pop tune no matter who sings it, be it the brothers Gibb or Gram Parsons.

The Bee Gees were unfortunately the lightning rod for everything about disco that became a parody (e.g., "Disco Duck).

Early Bee Gees, with a few exceptions ("Broken Heart") sound like a feminine version of a Beatles cover band.


There went my coffee...

I prefer the disco Bee Gees.

Early Bee Gees, with a few exceptions ("Broken Heart") sound like a feminine version of a Beatles cover band.

Well, I can't deny that! Perhaps a castrated Beatles. The weird thing is, I like the Bee Gees but to be honest, the Beatles always annoyed me. I like some songs, like "A day in the life" I think is brilliant, but much of it I just can't stand, especially the early stuff. I think it's because I just can't stand Paul McCartney.

Would that be the elusive 'brown note'?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note

Considering the state of my hangover, it almost was!

Question. In the early 70s I heard a Mac system (MC2300 I seem to remember, don't remember Pre or the other equipment) demo'ed with a BEE GEEs tune. The guy said at the time that paticular tune had the "lowest note ever recorded". I do remember it shook the whole demo room, hard!! Does anyone have any idea what tune I am thinking of?

It had to be "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" from the Bee Gees 1st album. There are some very low pipe organ notes on that recording.

The Bee Gees were unfortunately the lightning rod for everything about disco that became a parody (e.g., "Disco Duck).

Along with the Village People.

The Flying Burrito Brothers cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" is amazing. That's a great pop tune no matter who sings it, be it the brothers Gibb or Gram Parsons.

.

I like Eric Burdon (Animals) version of that song.

Ken, dusted off your polyester disco outfit lately?

My cousin was a Bee Gees fanatic due to Saturday Night Fever. She procured most of their old stuff and played it all the time. Yes, the difference in sound is shocking to say the least. Its pleasant to hear, kind of like that band Bread. Good for rainy Sunday afternoons.

And hey, SNF is fun to hear now that I have ditched my disdainful stance so prevalent in youth. And to be quite honest, its actually a pretty good movie.

But I drew the line at Andy Gibb. But he had Victoria Principal, so he garners some grudging respect from me.

Ken, dusted off your polyester disco outfit lately?

Earth shoes too.

It had to be "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" from the Bee Gees 1st album. There are some very low pipe organ notes on that recording.

You guys amaze me. No matter how obscure the question, sooner or later, someone will have the answer! Thanks to "nitrous". I've been trying to find that for years and years. :thmbsp:

I've owned the Best of the Bee Gees for quite some time. Being a member from the the high school class of 1978, I still remember well the "Saturday Night Fever" Bee Gees, and got burnt out on them real quick. I find the early Bee Gees to be refreshing, with my favorites from the above mentioned CD being "To Love Somebody", "I Started a Joke", and "I Can't See Nobody". There is no mistaking them vocally. That's all I got to say about that.

I was playing "Main Course" (1975) yesterday when I cranked up the TT after very long hiatus and was reminded of how much I liked them before SNF. They didn't get elected to the R&R HOF for nothing.

I still have their 1st album that I bought way back when! One of my favorites on that one is New York Mining Disaster. I stopped listenening to them when they got into the disco stuff.

They just came out with a 3-CD (!) box-set special edition of Odessa. I'm tempted ...

They just came out with a 3-CD (!) box-set special edition of Odessa. I'm tempted ...

The box set I have is the special editions of the first three albums...they're very well done, with a host of bonus tracks. On idea they even have some jingles they did for coke, which is maybe digging a little TOO deep for my taste. I'll have to pick up Odessa, I only have the vinyl. But it's original crushed velvet!

The reissues on DC in mono and stereo are real treats.

If you're into that kind of stuff...