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Captain Ed's AOTM - The Ultimate Bee Gees

Ed Seith

Supreme Galactic Overlord
Staff member
Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
    3,882
    15
    6,603
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    Marana, AZ USA
    soundcloud.com
    35
    Since Syn’s AOTM has taken off, a couple of people have asked me, the old timer of the group, to do something similar. I’ll try to space it in between Syn’s entries, so I don’t steal his thunder (haha!). I certainly don’t expect as much engagement as Syn gets, but if my contribution here can help some of you find some new old music you haven’t heard, all the better.

    This inaugural entry is a compilation album by one of the defining groups of the 70s. We’re talking about “The Ultimate Bee Gees.”

    Now, most of you probably just think of the Bee Gees as “that disco group from Saturday Night Fever,” and maybe the funniest five minutes of “The Office” on TV. Recently, I sat down to watch the HBO documentary on the band, and what I found out about them was fascinating and inspiring and made them a lot more interesting. They actually had a decent run in the late 60s and early 70s, well before the disco era, and were primarily considered to fit the “singer-songwriter” genre, and a lot of the earlier tunes give that away, in an almost “Spinal Tap” kind of way – I actually think the early Tap classic “Cups and Cakes” was a riff on the Bee Gees first hit, “Spicks and Specks,” which is included on this compilation.

    But then you DO get into the disco era, and the sheer VOLUME of hit songs the Brothers Gibb put out in the late 70s as the Bee Gees, and then later (after the “Disco sucks!” movement killed them the way grunge killed hair metal) as prolific songwriters for others. They also may well have been the very first act to use a drum loop. And when I say drum loop, I mean that literally. Two bars of drums were cut from the tape of another song, spliced together end-to end, and hung all around the control room to control feeding the loop into the recorder to bounce it down to its own master tracks on repeat. That became the smash hit “Stayin’ Alive,” and resulted in hundreds of calls coming in to hire the steady hand of session drummer “Bernard Lupé.”

    To get back to disco itself though, disco was created and grown in underground New York City gay bars. Back then, in most places it was a crime to be gay or trans, or anything but a straight man or woman. Discreet gay bars popped up as a way for people “outside the norm” to be open and celebrate who they were in safety, and disco was born out of this – something that is clear and obvious when you look at the Village People, an iconic pure disco vocal group of the era (YMCA, In the Navy, Macho Man). The Bee Gees took disco mainstream, making it okay for “normal” (read “straight”) people to enjoy the music.

    Standouts, for me, on this double album are plenty: You Should be Dancing, Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin, Nights on Broadway, Tragedy, Night Fever, More than a Woman, If I Can’t Have You, How Deep is Your Love, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Too Much Heaven, Emotion, Islands in the Stream (made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton), Heartbreaker, Guilty (made famous by Barbra Streisand). I *know* that each and every one of you knows some of these songs, but to hear them all in one place is to realize the majesty of the Bee Gees – and they WROTE all of these songs. Estimates are around 1,000 or more completed and recorded Bee Gees songs in existence, though most wound up on the trash heap – their worst songs are probably better than 90% of the pop music released in the last 20 years.



    Do yourself a favor and give THE ULTIMATE BEE GEES a listen, and see if you agree with history that they’re a “disco joke” or do you think they were a blueprint for a songwriting masterclass – or in between? Then leave your thoughts here. I’d love to know what you think!
     

    Aquamandy

    Campfire Attention Holder
  • Feb 22, 2021
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    That's so cool! I love the AOTM's cause thinking outside of my box makes me grow as a musician and is something everyone can participate! 🤩
    Gonna give this a listen and I'll post my review as soon as I can (cause I'm still owing my thoughts on Edward Scissorhands 👀)

    I already know How Deep Is Your Love, I used to sing this when I was a kid but I didn't have a great music perception at the time :ROFLMAO: so revisiting it with another point of view will be nice 😄

    Thanks, Ed! 😍
     
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    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Ed Seith

    Supreme Galactic Overlord
    Staff member
    Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    And by the way, "Stayin' Alive" is about the summer of 1977 in New York City - between the infamous blackout and the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) serial killer still at large, it was a VERY tense time in the city ("Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're stayin alive, stayin alive. Feel the city shaking and everybody quaking, cuz they're stayin alive, stayin alive"). I had no idea it was such a dark song!
     

    redlipsofdeceit

    Local Dive Bar Favorite
    Contest Winner!
  • Oct 21, 2020
    510
    1,742
    Brazil
    www.instagram.com
    0
    And by the way, "Stayin' Alive" is about the summer of 1977 in New York City - between the infamous blackout and the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) serial killer still at large, it was a VERY tense time in the city ("Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're stayin alive, stayin alive. Feel the city shaking and everybody quaking, cuz they're stayin alive, stayin alive"). I had no idea it was such a dark song!
    I would never imagine this song had this meaning 🤯
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Anna.VG

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Mar 14, 2021
    137
    484
    Mexico
    www.instagram.com
    0
    Since Syn’s AOTM has taken off, a couple of people have asked me, the old timer of the group, to do something similar. I’ll try to space it in between Syn’s entries, so I don’t steal his thunder (haha!). I certainly don’t expect as much engagement as Syn gets, but if my contribution here can help some of you find some new old music you haven’t heard, all the better.

    This inaugural entry is a compilation album by one of the defining groups of the 70s. We’re talking about “The Ultimate Bee Gees.”

    Now, most of you probably just think of the Bee Gees as “that disco group from Saturday Night Fever,” and maybe the funniest five minutes of “The Office” on TV. Recently, I sat down to watch the HBO documentary on the band, and what I found out about them was fascinating and inspiring and made them a lot more interesting. They actually had a decent run in the late 60s and early 70s, well before the disco era, and were primarily considered to fit the “singer-songwriter” genre, and a lot of the earlier tunes give that away, in an almost “Spinal Tap” kind of way – I actually think the early Tap classic “Cups and Cakes” was a riff on the Bee Gees first hit, “Spicks and Specks,” which is included on this compilation.

    But then you DO get into the disco era, and the sheer VOLUME of hit songs the Brothers Gibb put out in the late 70s as the Bee Gees, and then later (after the “Disco sucks!” movement killed them the way grunge killed hair metal) as prolific songwriters for others. They also may well have been the very first act to use a drum loop. And when I say drum loop, I mean that literally. Two bars of drums were cut from the tape of another song, spliced together end-to end, and hung all around the control room to control feeding the loop into the recorder to bounce it down to its own master tracks on repeat. That became the smash hit “Stayin’ Alive,” and resulted in hundreds of calls coming in to hire the steady hand of session drummer “Bernard Lupé.”

    To get back to disco itself though, disco was created and grown in underground New York City gay bars. Back then, in most places it was a crime to be gay or trans, or anything but a straight man or woman. Discreet gay bars popped up as a way for people “outside the norm” to be open and celebrate who they were in safety, and disco was born out of this – something that is clear and obvious when you look at the Village People, an iconic pure disco vocal group of the era (YMCA, In the Navy, Macho Man). The Bee Gees took disco mainstream, making it okay for “normal” (read “straight”) people to enjoy the music.

    Standouts, for me, on this double album are plenty: You Should be Dancing, Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin, Nights on Broadway, Tragedy, Night Fever, More than a Woman, If I Can’t Have You, How Deep is Your Love, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Too Much Heaven, Emotion, Islands in the Stream (made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton), Heartbreaker, Guilty (made famous by Barbra Streisand). I *know* that each and every one of you knows some of these songs, but to hear them all in one place is to realize the majesty of the Bee Gees – and they WROTE all of these songs. Estimates are around 1,000 or more completed and recorded Bee Gees songs in existence, though most wound up on the trash heap – their worst songs are probably better than 90% of the pop music released in the last 20 years.



    Do yourself a favor and give THE ULTIMATE BEE GEES a listen, and see if you agree with history that they’re a “disco joke” or do you think they were a blueprint for a songwriting masterclass – or in between? Then leave your thoughts here. I’d love to know what you think!
    It’s been years since I last listened to the Bee Gees, my dad was a huge fan when I was younger. I’m going to give it a listen tonight, might leave my thoughts tomorrow 🤪
     

    Gabby Heafy

    Local Dive Bar Favorite
  • Apr 5, 2020
    663
    1,545
    www.instagram.com
    1
    Since Syn’s AOTM has taken off, a couple of people have asked me, the old timer of the group, to do something similar. I’ll try to space it in between Syn’s entries, so I don’t steal his thunder (haha!). I certainly don’t expect as much engagement as Syn gets, but if my contribution here can help some of you find some new old music you haven’t heard, all the better.

    This inaugural entry is a compilation album by one of the defining groups of the 70s. We’re talking about “The Ultimate Bee Gees.”

    Now, most of you probably just think of the Bee Gees as “that disco group from Saturday Night Fever,” and maybe the funniest five minutes of “The Office” on TV. Recently, I sat down to watch the HBO documentary on the band, and what I found out about them was fascinating and inspiring and made them a lot more interesting. They actually had a decent run in the late 60s and early 70s, well before the disco era, and were primarily considered to fit the “singer-songwriter” genre, and a lot of the earlier tunes give that away, in an almost “Spinal Tap” kind of way – I actually think the early Tap classic “Cups and Cakes” was a riff on the Bee Gees first hit, “Spicks and Specks,” which is included on this compilation.

    But then you DO get into the disco era, and the sheer VOLUME of hit songs the Brothers Gibb put out in the late 70s as the Bee Gees, and then later (after the “Disco sucks!” movement killed them the way grunge killed hair metal) as prolific songwriters for others. They also may well have been the very first act to use a drum loop. And when I say drum loop, I mean that literally. Two bars of drums were cut from the tape of another song, spliced together end-to end, and hung all around the control room to control feeding the loop into the recorder to bounce it down to its own master tracks on repeat. That became the smash hit “Stayin’ Alive,” and resulted in hundreds of calls coming in to hire the steady hand of session drummer “Bernard Lupé.”

    To get back to disco itself though, disco was created and grown in underground New York City gay bars. Back then, in most places it was a crime to be gay or trans, or anything but a straight man or woman. Discreet gay bars popped up as a way for people “outside the norm” to be open and celebrate who they were in safety, and disco was born out of this – something that is clear and obvious when you look at the Village People, an iconic pure disco vocal group of the era (YMCA, In the Navy, Macho Man). The Bee Gees took disco mainstream, making it okay for “normal” (read “straight”) people to enjoy the music.

    Standouts, for me, on this double album are plenty: You Should be Dancing, Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin, Nights on Broadway, Tragedy, Night Fever, More than a Woman, If I Can’t Have You, How Deep is Your Love, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Too Much Heaven, Emotion, Islands in the Stream (made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton), Heartbreaker, Guilty (made famous by Barbra Streisand). I *know* that each and every one of you knows some of these songs, but to hear them all in one place is to realize the majesty of the Bee Gees – and they WROTE all of these songs. Estimates are around 1,000 or more completed and recorded Bee Gees songs in existence, though most wound up on the trash heap – their worst songs are probably better than 90% of the pop music released in the last 20 years.



    Do yourself a favor and give THE ULTIMATE BEE GEES a listen, and see if you agree with history that they’re a “disco joke” or do you think they were a blueprint for a songwriting masterclass – or in between? Then leave your thoughts here. I’d love to know what you think!
    yeah!! :love: i'll going to listen it! Thank you Ed for this recomendation!! loved it ❤️ ❤️ 🙌
     

    Forgetabull

    Local Dive Bar Favorite
  • Nov 11, 2019
    181
    1
    531
    Brisbane, Australia
    6
    So as part of the deep dive for this, pay attention to some of the lyrics. Given that there's so much funk and disco with this, it's easy to sort of just go with the popy-ness (tm) of it's sound, however, unlike a most pop (esp now a days), you'll find more meaningful stuff there. Stayin' Alive is a good example of this.
     

    redlipsofdeceit

    Local Dive Bar Favorite
    Contest Winner!
  • Oct 21, 2020
    510
    1,742
    Brazil
    www.instagram.com
    0
    I mentioned before that I grew up in a household where the Bee Gees used to be played a lot, so I'm very familiar with their songs. My mom loves them, and my late aunt also loved them and would put their records on all the time. So, listening to them brings me back very fond memories. And I couldn't help but dance and sing while listening to this album. The Gibb brothers were genius; it's sad that only Barry is still alive. 😔
    It's hard for me to choose my fav songs, because there are so many of them and all feel so nostalgic! It's impossible, tho, not to mention Stayin' Alive and Night Fever, obviously; but I also absolutely LOVE Jive Talkin', This Is Where I Came In, How Deep Is Your Love, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, More Than A Woman, Lonely Days, Massachussetts and I Started A Joke.
    From all of those songs I mentioned, the ones with the lyrics that resonate the most with me are How Can You Mend A Broken Heart and I Started A Joke.
    Regarding what Ed said about the "Disco Sucks" movement, that killed the disco, I got to know about it this week, while I was watching RuPaul's Drag Race and they had a "Disco-Mentary"! Apparently, a DJ gathered a lot of people and asked them to bring their disco albums, then set all the albums on fire. If you ask me: what a fucking douche!
    I think it's important that people know more about disco history, because, when we mention disco, what instantly comes to people's mind is afro hair, bell-bottom pants and club lights, but disco is so much more than that. It was a statement. And the gay and drag community contributed immensely for it!
    Also, I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow to relax, and it's watching this DVD my mom bought for us many years ago. It was recorded a couple years before Maurice died. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he was already sick when it was filmed.
    20210616_001936.jpg

    Ed, this #AOTM rec was brilliant, and I thank you so much for doing it! And, pleaseee, make this a regular thing! I'd really appreciate more recs from you! You're the best! ❤
     
    Last edited:

    Ed Seith

    Supreme Galactic Overlord
    Staff member
    Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
    3,882
    15
    6,603
    54
    Marana, AZ USA
    soundcloud.com
    35
    I mentioned before that I grew up in a household where the Bee Gees used to be played a lot, so I'm very familiar with their songs. My mom loves them, and my late aunt also loved them and would put their records on all the time. So, listening to them brings me back very fond memories. And I couldn't help but dance and sing while listening to this album. The Gibb brothers were genius; it's sad that only Barry is still alive. 😔
    It's hard for me to choose my fav songs, because there are so many of them and all feel so nostalgic! It's impossible, tho, not to mention Stayin' Alive and Night Fever, obviously; but I also absolutely LOVE Jive Talkin', This Is Where I Came In, How Deep Is Your Love, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, More Than A Woman, Lonely Days, Massachussetts and I Started A Joke.
    From all of those songs I mentioned, the ones with the lyrics that resonate the most with me are How Can You Mend A Broken Heart and I Started A Joke.
    Regarding what Ed said about the "Disco Sucks" movement, that killed the disco, I got to know about it this week, while I was watching RuPaul's Drag Race and they had a "Disco-Mentary"! Apparently, a DJ gathered a lot of people and asked them to bring their disco albums, then set all the albums on fire. If you ask me: what a fucking douche!
    I think it's important that people know more about disco history, because, when we mention disco, what instantly comes to people's mind is afro hair, bell-bottom pants and club lights, but disco is so much more than that. It was a statement. And the gay and drag community contributed immensely for it!
    Also, I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow to relax, and it's watching this DVD my mom bought for us many years ago. It was recorded a couple years before Maurice died. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he was already sick when it was filmed.

    Ed, this #AOTM rec was brilliant, and I thank you so much for doing it! And, pleaseee, make this a regular thing! I'd really appreciate more recs from you! You're the best! ❤

    I **LOVE** this response! Thanks so much!! Great thoughts!
     
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    ari.mac

    Hot Topic Tourer
    Contest Winner!
  • Jul 16, 2020
    862
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    2,944
    Italy
    1
    Just finished listening to all of The Ultimate Bee Gees!! I realized I knew more songs than I thought, just didn't know those song were from them. As the Cap suggested I paid attention to the lyrics too and I have to say that they were really great songwriters 🤯
    I really had the chance to listen to their classics from another point of viewview and it made me appreciate their work a lot.
    My favourites were "Stayin' Alive" (Duh🤷‍♀️), "jive talkin", " Night Fever", "more than a woman" (I found the line " We can take forever just a minute at a time" soooo good and true not only for love buf for life in general, live in the here and now, one minute at a time. That's how it resonated with me) , " Boogie Child" , "To love somebody", " I started a joke", "How can you mend a broken heart", "Heartbreaker".

    Thank you Ed for making me expand my music knowledge some more!! 💜 I'll watch that documentary you mentioned as soon as I can, it seems really interesting especially now that I've heard more of them!!
     

    Ed Seith

    Supreme Galactic Overlord
    Staff member
    Legend+
  • Nov 11, 2019
    3,882
    15
    6,603
    54
    Marana, AZ USA
    soundcloud.com
    35
    Just finished listening to all of The Ultimate Bee Gees!! I realized I knew more songs than I thought, just didn't know those song were from them. As the Cap suggested I paid attention to the lyrics too and I have to say that they were really great songwriters 🤯
    I really had the chance to listen to their classics from another point of viewview and it made me appreciate their work a lot.
    My favourites were "Stayin' Alive" (Duh🤷‍♀️), "jive talkin", " Night Fever", "more than a woman" (I found the line " We can take forever just a minute at a time" soooo good and true not only for love buf for life in general, live in the here and now, one minute at a time. That's how it resonated with me) , " Boogie Child" , "To love somebody", " I started a joke", "How can you mend a broken heart", "Heartbreaker".

    Thank you Ed for making me expand my music knowledge some more!! 💜 I'll watch that documentary you mentioned as soon as I can, it seems really interesting especially now that I've heard more of them!!
    "We can take forever just a minute at a time" is SUCH a great lyric! THANKS ARI!
     
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