Lots of love and hat tipped to ALL the Bee Gees.
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How about some love for Maurice Gibb?
- Thread starter Clayman
- Start date
Im mostly into metal as well, and i love the pre disco bee gees. Esp "I Started A joke" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
How much did Maurice Gibb play on the Seventies records? Somthing tells me they used studio musicians alot.
Me too!
+1 one of the very few "disco bands" that I could stand to hear more than one song from.
+1 I saw them live in the early 70s, pre-disco. They had a 5-piece rock band behind them, and a 10-piece orchestra, strings, woodwinds and horns. The only one of the three who played anything was Barry. He had an acoustic guitar, and I played just enough at the time to see that it was tuned to a chord, and he barred up and down the neck. Rob and Maurice just sang. No idea who it was on bass. But what a great show! I've always been a sucker for vocal harmony bands, and they had that down!
He's a huge influence on my bass playing. His tone is more than just a Ric with flatwounds, he has a distinct way of choosing notes and adding vibrato. There are a lot of ignored/forgotten gems (b-sides, album cuts, etc.) from their pre-disco days with very nice bass playing, not just the hits...
And "Jive Talkin'" has a Moog in unison with the bass guitar (except for that one low D note) and is a fun bass line to play.
And "Jive Talkin'" has a Moog in unison with the bass guitar (except for that one low D note) and is a fun bass line to play.
Is this a joke?
That 70's Bee Gee's disco was awful. They were a fruity 60's pop band that jumped on the disco bandwagon in the 70's and sucked beyond belief. Maybe the bass player was good (??) but I remember the songs, vocals and production being about as screwed as it got.
They sold a lot of albums and had success with disco ... but so did the pimps and coke dealers. If you want something good from that period/genre check out Isley Brothers, Earth Wind And Fire, Tower Of Power or any or the REAL stuff from back then ... I can't see citing 70's BeeGees for musical content. It just blows.
That 70's Bee Gee's disco was awful. They were a fruity 60's pop band that jumped on the disco bandwagon in the 70's and sucked beyond belief. Maybe the bass player was good (??) but I remember the songs, vocals and production being about as screwed as it got.
They sold a lot of albums and had success with disco ... but so did the pimps and coke dealers. If you want something good from that period/genre check out Isley Brothers, Earth Wind And Fire, Tower Of Power or any or the REAL stuff from back then ... I can't see citing 70's BeeGees for musical content. It just blows.
If that's all you're familiar with of their catalog you're missing out. They had a LOT of hits in the 60s, long before Travolta came along. Back then Maurice played Rickenbacker basses and had a cool McCartney-esque style.
Shame they got rich doing Dance music. I wore out "Odessa" long before they got to "Stayin' Alive"
You take this thread (and yourself) too seriously dude. I don't think I started a pimp and coke dealer appreciation thread here. You didn't dig the disco era, great, we get it. My point was that I appreciated the bass playing on the Bee Gees stuff and wanted to throw that out there. I'm well aware of the other bands you mentioned and I think they receive their due on a regular bases around here.
I think the music get unfairly dismissed at times by folks who don't listen to the playing because it is so closely associated with the movie Saturday Night Fever and a time that's easy to make fun of.
+1.
As I posted earlier, I used to have a "Disco Sucks" sticker on my bass case. I never liked disco, but you gotta tip your hat to the Bee Gees, even for their disco material. They entertained, and they were hugely successful at it.
I would never dis any well-meaning musician or band. As long as they are not advocating violence, stupid behavior, misogynism, etc. then they deserve my (and your) professional respect, even if I (or you) can't stand their music.
Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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Hmmm ...
grown men who sing higher than Michael Jackson ...
Sorry I still got no love for the Bee Gees ...
I once played "Staying Alive" in a show I participated in, and when I transcribed the bassline it stroke me how simple and genius it actually was. I'm usually too lazy to transcribe basslines note-for-note, but this time I did it because I couldn't get the the right feel and the groove going with an improvised bass line that I normally would have played.
Hats off for Maurice!
Hats off for Maurice!
I didn't like some of their stuff. But there were several songs that I really liked, like NIGHTS ON BROADWAY. There was one later song from the 90's I really dig which wasn't disco at all, I think it is called "This is where I came in". I remember they also did participate in the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts club Band" film and soundtrack, but the basslines were played by the great Wilbur Bascomb then.
If he really played those lines, than i'm impressed with his playing and deserves respect.
I don't get all the haters but every tread here has at least one
I don't get all the haters but every tread here has at least one
Yeah, ok.
I should be broad-minded, inclusive, positive, diverse, generous, appreciative ... true, true.
But you see it's just so hard when the music ... BLOWS!
I should be broad-minded, inclusive, positive, diverse, generous, appreciative ... true, true.
But you see it's just so hard when the music ... BLOWS!
So you're not serious?
Aw shucks! I thought y'all were saying the Bee Gees were cool - lol.
You rascals really had me going. I should have known.
Aw shucks! I thought y'all were saying the Bee Gees were cool - lol.
You rascals really had me going. I should have known.
Well that's just an incorrect broad generalization. Sure, like just about any band, they released some stinkers, but they also released some excellent material, especially in their pre-disco era. Maurice had a recognizably distinct tone and style. Sometimes a nice fat overdriven tuba-like bass tone and even through a wah wah pedal on rare occasion.
These are all fabulous clips indeed! Thanks so much for posting these! What I always found interesting in the very early days of The Bee Gees' music, was just how frequently it was Robin and not Barry who was the lead vocalist. I've always been a huge fan of Robin Gibb. His solo stuff is excellent, too. But, alas, I digress.
Maurice was a truly gifted multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. I'm glad to see that we're paying him some respect here. I think his bass playing is excellent, especially as shown in the clips already posted here. Very boomy and elastic.
He always seemed to be the most humorous of the brothers, too. Many an interview clip of The Bothers Gibb would be punctuated here and there by a hilarious quip from Maurice. His banter in some of the more recent live performance specials is great.
His synth work (and programming) on his brother Robin's solo work in the 80's is cool, too. Certainly not to everyone's taste these days, but I certainly like it.
Maurice's voice was always the most difficult to discern in the harmony arrangements of the group, in my opinion. However, you can definitely hear him sing lead on a couple of songs on their last studio effort, "This Is Where I Came In". He also sings lead on one of the songs in that borderline-though-not-really acceptable "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
A great talent, that Maurice Gibb, and sadly missed.
