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How about some love for Maurice Gibb?

#81
I had an ex-girlfriend who moved to Miami late 90's or early 2000's who was in the ahem...non drinking club and she used to see Maurice at that same club in Miami and told me about it. She wanted to meet him but didn't know how to start a conversation so I told her to ask him if he still played Rickenbacker basses, she said he looked surprised, smiled and said yes, I've been playing them for years, how did you know? I don't think she mentioned me:laugh:. Anonymity only applies to living persons incidentally.
 
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#82
WI Short Scaler said:
I'm not a fan of the disco era tunes anymore but a couple of the ones on Sat Night Fever are still in my regular 70's playlist. And we routinely drop Stayin Alive in our playlist at gigs if the crowd is hip for it.

Like any famous artist, be it U2 or Garth Brooks, that I don't really like, if they worked hard for their success and put out material alot of people liked then I can still respect them. The music business is not known for being a "secure" career choice so if you put in the hard work you deserve the success you get.
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I've always liked Jive Talkin', I can still remember the first time i heard it on the radio.

He's still playing a Ric here and this is at least 1975.

 
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#83
I saw the doc and the studio shots showed the P arrived during the Main Course period. Later studio shots show a Guild, either B301 or B302. The 79 tour was P bass, the later tours he stuck to guitar and keys.

I have to say I prefer the Beatle/Moody Blues/psych flavored years up to the Trafalgar album. I have a soft spot for the title track of "Odessa" in particular. The songwriting and playing was excellent in all periods, but the mix of falsetto Barry with bleating Robin still sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

One listen to Al Green doing "How Do You Mend a Broken Heart" was enough to convince me they could really write great songs. After learning they wrote "To Love Somebody" for Otis Redding, it's no wonder that people like Nina Simone and Roberta Flack sang great versions.
 
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#84
I guess I will be watching the documentary alone, my wife laughed at me when I suggested it. I am not asamed to be a long time BeeGees fan even if some of the later stuff is not my usual thing. So many great songs with impeccable production standards.

My one chance to meet the BeeGees was one of the few times I ever got star struck much to the amusement for the artist and the band I was working with at the time.
 
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#87
bobyoung53 said:
I had an ex-girlfriend who moved to Miami late 90's or early 2000's who was in the ahem...non drinking club and she used to see Maurice at that same club in Miami and told me about it. She wanted to meet him but didn't know how to start a conversation so I told her to ask him if he still played Rickenbacker basses, she said he looked surprised, smiled and said yes, I've been playing them for years, how did you know? I don't think she mentioned me:laugh:. Anonymity only applies to living persons incidentally.
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Great story, @bobyoung53!
...I wonder what her follow up questions were? :roflmao:
Little doubt he sussed her out in no time.

bobyoung53 said:
I've always liked Jive Talkin', I can still remember the first time i heard it on the radio.

He's still playing a Ric here and this is at least 1975.

Click to expand...

Nice! As far as I’m aware his first was a Fireglo 4001s that he later had painted white (VERY classy looking bass,) so it’s cool to see him here with a 4001.

bassbrad said:
I guess I will be watching the documentary alone, my wife laughed at me when I suggested it. I am not asamed to be a long time BeeGees fan even if some of the later stuff is not my usual thing. So many great songs with impeccable production standards.

My one chance to meet the BeeGees was one of the few times I ever got star struck much to the amusement for the artist and the band I was working with at the time.
Click to expand...
@bassbrad -
Good for you. I don’t own any Bee Gees albums, but have mad respect for these guys and their many contributions to music.
And yes, their freakin’ vocals are off the charts!
 
#88
nixdad said:
Great story, @bobyoung53!
...I wonder what her follow up questions were? :roflmao:
Little doubt he sussed her out in no time.


Nice! As far as I’m aware his first was a Fireglo 4001s that he later had painted white (VERY classy looking bass,) so it’s cool to see him here with a 4001.
Click to expand...


There was a guy in the Rickenbacker Forum (Rickresource), Andy Winter(s)?, who was originally from England who bought Maurice's original refinished 4001 years ago, this was 15 years ago when I knew of him, he was in the process of having it restored, not sure whatever happened to it or to him.
 
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#89
bobyoung53 said:
There was a guy in the Rickenbacker Forum (Rickresource), Andy Winter(s)?, who was originally from England who bought Maurice's original refinished 4001 years ago, this was 15 years ago when I knew of him, he was in the process of having it restored, not sure whatever happened to it or to him.
Click to expand...
I caught that a few days ago on the Rickresource website. So cool, and glad the bass found a good home.

Now if I could only find Brian Wilson's white P-bass...
 
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#90
It's so hard to deal with Maurice and Robin gone . . . .

Here's one of their later tracks, from the 90's, from their dance music catalog, 'One', here from a Vegas show.



Of course, it's #37 of Reasons Why You Need a Five-String, this one murmuring along in B, with low B's everywhere. Rare among this style for them, Barry sings it in his normal voice instead of that falsetto, which strangely has become grating to me in my old age. Masterfully played by their band, the brothers' harmony floating over the top of a subtly powerful groove, of course on a song they wrote, these guys were a powerhouse. And listen to their bare vocals as they tag the end a capella. That blend ! !

One of my favorites, and a great practice song for getting used to 'that extra string' !
 
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#92
Maurice was a monster, waaaay underappriciated.
Understood by many in the business to be the best musician of the brothers Gibb. He was also sort of the David Crosby of the BeeGees, providing that part of their vocal harmonies that you only noticed when it was missing.
Word was he was also a really,really nice guy.
For those too young to be familiar with anything other than the disco era stuff, your really missing the boat. The Brit-pop they produced in the 60s and early 70s was as good as it gets. " To love somebody " is one of my all time favorites.
2 thumbs-up for Maurice! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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#95
This is one of his finest moments. Not only did he play bass, but he composed many of the instrumental riffs for these songs. Including the horns.

This clips is notable because the Bee Gees made them mix the song fully into the film for the film. They previewed the scene, and it had too much crowd noise. I think the director made the right choice to mix the song louder for this. It became a part of history.

Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing - YouTube
 
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#96
ElectroVibe said:
This is one of his finest moments. Not only did he play bass, but he composed many of the instrumental riffs for these songs. Including the horns.

This clips is notable because the Bee Gees made them mix the song fully into the film for the film. They previewed the scene, and it had too much crowd noise. I think the director made the right choice to mix the song louder for this. It became a part of history.
Click to expand...

Actually this was the clip I was thinking of.

Saturday Night Fever (Bee Gees, You Should be Dancing) John Travolta HD 1080 with Lyrics - YouTube
 
#97
My wife and I watched the doc a couple nights ago, and she had no idea they have a pre-Saturday Night Fever career. I urged her to listen to some of the older stuff. So many great songs from that era.

That being said, Maurice's bass lines were amazing. I had to learn "Staying Alive" for a sub gig years ago, and it's a tricky one.
 
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