Other Mixes By Rob Conroy
CD
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Single Artist
CD
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
Cassette
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Single Artist
Do you know what it's like on the outside? (2 CDs)
| Side A | ||
| Artist | Song | |
| Bee Gees | Spicks and Specks | |
| Bee Gees | New York Mining Disaster 1941 [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | I Can't See Nobody [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | In My Own Time [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Please Read Me [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | To Love Somebody [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Holiday [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | And the Sun Will Shine [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Massachusetts [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Horizontal [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Lemons Never Forget [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | The Earnest of Being George [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | World [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | With the Sun in My Eyes [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Words | |
| Bee Gees | Sinking Ships | |
| Bee Gees | Really and Sincerely [alternate version] | |
| Bee Gees | Swan Song [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Down to Earth [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Jumbo | |
| Bee Gees | Indian Gin and Whisky Dry [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Come Some Christmas Eve or Halloween | |
| Bee Gees | Let There Be Love [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | Idea [mono] | |
| Bee Gees | I Started a Joke [mono] | |
| Side B | ||
| Artist | Song | Buy |
| Bee Gees | I've Gotta Get a Message to You [mono single version] | |
| Bee Gees | First of May | |
| Bee Gees | Lamplight | |
| Bee Gees | Odessa (City on the Black Sea) | |
| Bee Gees | You'll Never See My Face Again | |
| Bee Gees | Black Diamond | |
| Bee Gees | Melody Fair | |
| Bee Gees | Never Say Never Again | |
| Bee Gees | Morning of My Life | |
| Bee Gees | Man for All Seasons | |
| Bee Gees | How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? | |
| Bee Gees | Run to Me | |
| Bee Gees | Jive Talkin' | |
| Bee Gees | Nights on Broadway | |
| Bee Gees | Fanny (Be Tender with My Love) | |
| Bee Gees | You Should Be Dancing | |
| Bee Gees | How Deep is Your Love | |
| Samantha Sang | Emotion | |
| Bee Gees | (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away | |
Comment:
One of my borderline "guilty pleasure" mixes from 2001, expanded to a double-disc set (clearly inspired by KathrynandRupert's recent Gibb mix) and using the recent remasters of the first three albums. In this case, however, the only guilt that I feel about loving this material stems from what most people PERCEIVE the Bee Gees to be... i.e., overwhelmingly hairy/blowdried Brits (who were raised in Australia) with dubious teeth, white jumpsuits, Miami beach houses, falsetto harmonies, and stolen disco beats. Although they WERE all of those for a particular portion of their career (and, in fairness, I included a few songs from that period, as I think it's unfairly loathed by most music snobs), early in their career they were wonderfully melancholy baroque popsters. Although it's hard to know what the "real" Bee Gees sound like, as they seem to be forever copping someone else's vibe (reading the re-vamped liner notes for those first three albums on the Rhino reissues from '06 repeatedly stresses their desire to make "commercial" music, not to push artistic boundaries), they were at least copping the Fab Four, Hollies and Zombies--all fine sources--and forging a distinctively (yet pleasingly) lachrymose sound from it. Last tracks cut: "Lonely Days," "Kilburn Towers," "I Close My Eyes," "Day Time Girl," "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" and "Kitty Can." FYI, had I been able to change the format in my prior mix, I would have updated it there and wouldn't have taken up space on the board....Feedback:
I prefer Al Green's version of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, but I would definitely put the Brothers Gibb on my guilty pleasures list as well. The early stuff is really nice (except I'm not big on I started a joke), and the pop ballads and even the disco is quality pop, Sgt. Pepper aside.
I love the Bee Gees. And I don't really see a "guilty pleasure" aspect to them - they were brilliant pop craftsmen, as evidenced by every tune here. I wouldn't listen to their disco period much these days - but even those songs sound pretty good 30 years later. Disco music was just mid-late 70s pop music - truth be told, the best of it is still better than most modern pop music. At the time, I rejected it because my tastes lie elsewhere. Nowadays, if I hear a big ole' disco hit, I don't mind cranking it up.Also, I don't have much of an issue with someone copping someone else's sound if they do it well and bring something to the table, which I think the Bee Gees did. The Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, and everyone else copped someone else's sound at one point.
Great harmonies always score big with me. In that respect you can put them up with The Beatles, Byrds, and Beach Boys.
Great collection here Rob. I always loved these guys and never saw them as a guilty pleasure type of band. Even their so called disco period had lots of great pop songs as Sean points out. Maybe it was growing up in Philly but I never understood the anti-disco thing back then.
i can't really get behind these guys, rob - it's a personal association thing i have with them, but my hat's off to you, as usual, for your infectious passion
Didn't understand the comment about music snobs. Would a music snob ever be at AOTM? ;-)
I don't listen to them much, but I can appreciate the thorough work here. BTW, Rupert rocks.
I don't listen to them much, but I can appreciate the thorough work here. BTW, Rupert rocks.
"How Can You Mend ...." was a big favorite way back when and I've always liked "... Mining Disaster ..." and I have to admit that the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack pretty much defined my social life in High School but I really need to dig deeper into their cataloge. Throw this on the evergrowing pile.
The Bee Gees are a pleasure, no guilt here. I do draw the line at the disco era, the anti disco thing is too strongly embedded in my pysche. I don't feel I am less of a person for this stance. I would have found room for Lonely Days but that's just Hemizen indoctrination.
I've got Massachusetts on vinyl somewhere and that's it re the Bros Gibb fer me. That said I keep meaning to add their early albums to my collection. Praps this mix would suffice though.
Bee Gees owe you a note of thanks for championing them when it is still fashionable to slag them, and for educating the public who seems to remember only their disco heyday (me, for example). What's the issue with disco, anyway? As with any genre, some of it's great! (The disco I like is a poppy extension of funk... ashes to ashes, funk to funky, as I'm fond of quoting.)
Excellent, as always. That Samantha Sang song has been on my mind lately after hearing a snippet on the radio, but the title is "Emotion" and I feel somewhat sad that I know that. But what about Andy?
Your original mix was a true joy, and it's nice to see the expanded version. I picked up the debut reissue, but haven't been able to pick up the rest. I think the hit/miss ratio is a bit below the bands they're aiming for, though still plenty of unfairly overlooked gem. ("Every Christian Lion Hearted Man" remains an unheralded psychedelic classic.) I don't find much to be guilty about, at least until the later days (though I think "Nights on Broadway" is a legitimately terrific song).
Incidentally, I don't think it's an abuse of AOTM to post a revised version of a preexisting mix, particularly where, as here, you've doubled the mix length.
Incidentally, I don't think it's an abuse of AOTM to post a revised version of a preexisting mix, particularly where, as here, you've doubled the mix length.
I really enjoyed your notes here Rob, which pretty much sum up the Bee Gees 'problem'. 'Massachusetts' wonderful but I need to investigate further really.
a great collection, Rob. "Massachusetts" is one of my favorites here. though I've recently added most of the Bee Gees pre-disco albums to my collection, I still haven't explored them fully. but when I first started listening to pop radio when I was 10 or 11, their song "Living Eyes" was on the charts and it immediately became my first-ever favorite. [I recorded it on a hand-held cassette player held up to the stereo speaker.] and as everyone would probably suppose, I like disco--but there is definately good disco and bad disco, as Swank Queen says. I say Bee Gees are good disco. I did think it was odd though that, when the brothers Gibb had a hand in producing others' music in the early '80s [Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, etc.], they made them all sound just like the Bee Gees.
Very good, I would say excellent but you left off Kilburn Towers which is probably my favourite of theirs. I agonized over doing a double CD myself despite concentrating only on their 60's output. Very pleased to see You Should Be Dancing included, possibly their finest 70's moment.