Gibb Songs : 1971

After the reunion, Barry, Robin, and Maurice needed time to find ways to work together again. Only a few songs got the classic B R & M Gibb credit. Barry more often wrote alone or with Robin. Maurice continued a semi-solo career, writing and producing with Billy Lawrie and making a few solo recordings for Bee Gees releases.

As the Bee Gees though they fell back into their old roles. Barry and Robin handle all lead vocals except those few Maurice solo songs. Barry plays guitar, and Robin from now on plays nothing. Maurice builds the Bee Gees sound, playing piano, bass, and guitar himself and working with the sidemen on the arrangements. It was not the same; nothing ever is. Most noticeably Robin had lost something.

This new post-Beatles age was that of the singer-songwriter, but the singing and writing Gibb brothers did not fall naturally into that category. They had hit singles but did not get the credibility of artists who were known for their albums. The Bee Gees’ embrace of musically inclusive pop offended some with notions of authenticity and preferences for genre styles. Another issue was the Gibb brothers’ abstract and indirect lyrics that deliberately avoided telling specific personal stories. The Bee Gees continued to be much more interested in the sheer sound of a record and the feeling it conveyed as music.

Geoff Bridgeford was made an official member of the Bee Gees in March following a short American tour. Publicity photos began to show four Bee Gees. Geoff did not sing or co-write as he had occasionally done in previous bands.

Alan Kendall joined the Bee Gees backup band in January 1971 as lead guitarist. He has appeared on more Bee Gees recordings than anyone else besides the Gibb brothers themselves, all the way up to their last album.

Alan’s first recordings were with a Lancashire band called Kris Ryan and the Questions, who released four singles and an EP in the UK on Mercury in 1964-1965. Alan as always played lead guitar. His next known appearances were with Glass Menagerie, who released five singles in the UK in 1968-1969 on Pye and Polydor. In 1970 he joined a band called Toe Fat, who had released one album Toe Fat already with their original lineup of Cliff Bennett (lead vocal, piano), Ken Hensley (guitar, keyboards, vocal), John Glasscock (bass), and Lee Kerslake (drums). Alan replaced Hensley on lead guitar, and at about the same time John Glasscock’s brother Brian replaced Kerslake on drums. This second version of Toe Fat recorded the followup album Toe Fat Two (UK: Regal Zonophone, December 1970; US: Rare Earth, January 1971). Of the eight songs, Alan wrote four with Cliff Bennett and three by himself.

Toe Fat were managed by The Robert Stigwood Organisation, which suddenly dropped them in the middle of December 1970, right after they had returned from a US tour opening for Derek and the Dominoes, and right before Toe Fat Two was issued in the UK. This coincides with RSO going public and may have been a move to strengthen the offering by dropping less well-known acts. At least the band members were offered other work: Alan Kendall went to the Bee Gees, and Brian Glasscock says he played one session with them too. With the band nonexistent by release date, Toe Fat Two did not sell well and is considered a rarity now. Both Toe Fat albums however were reissued on a single CD in 1997. Much of this information is from the CD liner notes by Robert M Corich.

On the technical side, by late in 1970 the Bee Gees were now using two-inch 16-track master tape. This allowed increased separation of each instrument and voice, which inevitably made possible even more re-working of the recordings. More refined stereo mixes could now be made too. Trafalgar was chosen for remastering in 1996 for the MFSL series of audiophile CDs, and the high quality of the original recording was shown to good advantage.

songs

FREEDOM
Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie, Leslie Harvey
album cut by Billy Lawrie, 1973

IRRESPONSIBLE, UNRELIABLE, INDISPENSABLE BLUES
[ LUMBERJACK ]
Barry Gibb
no record

WALKING BACK TO WATERLOO
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Bee Gees, 1971

HE GIVES US ALL HIS LOVE
[ A WORD OF LOVE ]
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
no record

SOMEBODY STOP THE MUSIC
[ TODAY I SAW THE SUN ]
Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Bee Gees, 1971

WATERLOO
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
Robin Gibb Publishing notes as 1971. no record. (‘Walking Back to Waterloo’?)

DON’T BLAME ME
Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie
Abigail Music notes as 1971. no record

GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER
Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie
Abigail Music notes as 1971. no record

THE WORD
Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie
Abigail Music notes as 1971. no record. (‘Have You Heard the Word’ by Kipner and Groves?)

recording sessions

Lulu — vocal
Billy Lawrie — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal, guitar
Leslie Harvey — guitar
Jack Bruce — bass
John Bonham — drums
orchestra arranged by Gerry Shury
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
January 1971, Nova Sound Studio, London

EVERYBODY CLAP
Maurice Gibb, Lawrie (1971)
11 January 1971
stereo 2:23, lead vocal Lulu
A side, May 1971

An all-star lineup for the only known song Lulu and Maurice did together. Lulu of course sings lead, and the main backing vocal is Billy wailing away. The personnel listed above are as named by Lulu to the press at the time, except that she said Maurice played piano, and there is no piano. The guitar intro sounds very similar to that of ‘Country Woman’, so presumably Maurice plays one of the two guitars. Leslie Harvey (Stone the Crows) played on Maurice’s solo songs in 1970, and John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) was a friend of Maurice and the family. Jack Bruce (Cream) was an RSO artist, but otherwise is not known to have been in Maurice’s circle. The arranger is not stated on the disk but was probably Gerry Shury.

Billy Lawrie — vocal
Leslie Harvey — guitar
Johnny Coleman — piano
Jimmy McCulloch as ‘Jimmy McAnonymous’— guitar
Maurice Gibb — bass
Maggie Bell as ‘Mags Maglint’— vocal
Lulu — vocal
engineer: ?
producer: Billy Lawrie
undated, London

FREEDOM
Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie, Leslie Harvey (undated)
undated
stereo 4:04, lead vocal Billy Lawrie
Ship Imagination, 1973

The date of this recording is mysterious. Except for Jimmy McCulloch, the credits strongly suggest it was recorded around the same time as ‘Everybody Clap’. Maggie Bell from Stone the Crows was rumored to be singing on ‘Everybody Clap’. This might even be the song ‘Ballet of Freedom’ that Maurice and Billy recorded in July 1970. Anyway it was released on Billy’ first album Ship Imagination in 1973.

Bev Harrell — vocal
Maurice Gibb — piano, bass
Lulu — vocal
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
orchestra arranged by Gerry Shury
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
January 1971, Nova Sound Studio, London

BACK TO THE PEOPLE
Maurice Gibb, Lawrie (1970)
undated January 1971
stereo 2:59, lead vocal Bev Harrell
A side, May 1971

TRAVELLING EASY
Jack Winsley, Bob Saker (1971)
undated January 1971
stereo, lead vocal Bev Harrell
B side, May 1971

Bev Harrell was an Australian singer who had a hit with ‘What Am I Doing Here with You?’ in 1967 and was voted ‘Australia’s top female vocalist’ in 1968. She had not met the Bee Gees however, and got the song through the publisher. Maurice produced it and plays on it, with Lulu on backing vocals. Probably Geoff Bridgeford plays drums and Gerry Shury arranged, but there is no credit.

The song may have been another candidate for Lulu. It features a very short verse that builds to a loud chorus. It’s nicely sung by Billy on an unreleased version from 1970, and Bev handles it well. Maurice’s piano intro is right out of ‘Sincere Relation’ (1970).

Richard Harris — vocal
Maurice Gibb — ?
others unknown
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
January 1971, Nova Sound Studio, London

HALF OF EVERY DREAM
B Martin, Phil Coulter
undated 1971
stereo 3:06, lead vocal Richard Harris
B side, June 1972

Maurice said that he worked on an album with actor and singer Richard Harris, and Bev Harrell supports this, recalling that the two were working on it at the time she recorded ‘Back to the People’. According to legend, the entire project was ruined when they spilled a bottle of whisky on the tape reel. The only title Maurice mentioned was a new version of ‘The Loner’. Bob Saker (see just below) recalls hearing another song for this project, but not its title.

The song ‘Half of Every Dream’ was released as a B side in June 1972, with Maurice credited as arranger and producer. This is the only known release from the Richard Harris sessions. Phil Coulter was the producer and arranger of the A side ‘Turning Back the Pages’ and he was co-writer of both sides. He recalled in 2006 that he was not involved in recording ‘Half of Every Dream’, but that Richard had recorded it with Maurice on some previous occasion.

Bob Saker — vocal
others unknown
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
January 1971, London

commercial for Ultrabrite
Maurice Gibb (1971)
undated 1971
mono, lead vocal Bob Saker
commercial

Maurice made some money in 1971 writing advertising jingles. Since commercial work was looked down upon, his efforts were never publicized, making it hard to track down how many he did. Three are known, this one for toothpaste and two more for candies (below). Someone else may have written the words.

The Ultrabrite ad was sung by session singer Bob Saker, whom Maurice would work with occasionally over the next few years. Bob wrote the the B side of Bev Harrell’s single with his musical partner Jack Winsley. The two formed Winsak Productions this year to further their careers as writers and producers.

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal, bass, piano, guitar, organ
Alan Kendall — guitar
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
orchestra arranged by Bill Shepherd
engineer: Bryan Stott
producer: Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees
January and February 1971, IBC Studios, London

WE LOST THE ROAD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
28 January 1971
stereo 3:27, lead vocal Barry Gibb
unreleased
stereo 3:27, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
To Whom It May Concern, 1972

WHEN DO I
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1970)
28 January 1971
stereo 3:58, lead vocal Robin Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1970)
28 January 1971
stereo (early state) 3:58, lead vocal Barry Gibb
some copies of The Record, 2001
stereo 3:58, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
A side, May 1971; Trafalgar, 1971

IF I WERE THE SKY
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
28 January 1971
stereo 2:33, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

BRING OUT THE THOUGHTS IN ME
probably Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
28 January 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

ELLAN VANNIN
Eliza Craven Green (1854), J Townsend or F H Townend
28 January 1971
stereo 1:38, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
unreleased

Six songs are all on a reel dated January 28. It is hard to believe they started so many songs in one day, but three were not new. ‘When Do I’ was a re-make of a song from December, they wrote ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ the same day as ‘Lonely Days’, and ‘Ellan Vannin’ is an old Manx song, which they sang here in beautiful three-part harmony to an organ backing track (plus orchestra).

An error in the tape library in 2001 resulted in the release of an early state of ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ on the first UK batch of the CD set The Record. It provides a fascinating insight into their recording process. The basic rhythm track of guitar, bass, and drums is the same as on the finished version, and so is Bill Shepherd’s orchestral backing. But the vocal and piano tracks are different and not as good, as the Bee Gees themselves knew, since they replaced them. The most obvious difference is that Barry sings all of the lead vocal, and does not do the famous sigh going into the chorus.

Similarly, a version of ‘We Lost the Road’ is known that has Barry singing all of the vocal, and with the lyrics of verse 3 before verse 2. It is likely that many other songs had alternate vocal tracks that were replaced, most of which are totally gone now unless they survived on acetates or rough mix tapes. ‘We Lost the Road’ was dropped from the Trafalgar album, but appeared on the next one To Whom It May Concern in 1972.

The three songs chosen for release are relatively bland, and the wonderfully odd ‘If I Were the Sky’ was passed over. Barry and Robin were working together again, but the classic quirky Robin was not being heard.

YOU LEAVE ME HANGING ON
unknown
4 February 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased. (‘You Keep Me Hanging On’?)

TELEGRAPH TO THE PINE TREES
unknown
4 February 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

YOU ? ME DOWN
unknown
4 February 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
(title not fully legible) unreleased

MR GOOD MEMORIES MAN
unknown
4 February 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

LONG CHAIN ON
unknown
4 February 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased. (‘He Had a Long Chain On’?)

A four-track reel dated February 4 is called ‘demo session’, but two of the titles seem to be old songs, ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ by the Supremes and ‘Long Chain On’ by Peter, Paul and Mary. They may be all non-originals, but the Gibb brothers have written songs to old titles before, so until this reel is heard, nothing else can be said. One of the titles is not fully legible.

Maurice Gibb — vocal, guitar, piano, bass, organ, drums
engineer: Bryan Stott
producer: Maurice Gibb
February 1971, IBC Studios, London

TRAFALGAR
Maurice Gibb (1971)
15 February, 7 April 1971
stereo 3:53, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

Maurice recorded the title song to Trafalgar completely by himself. The touches of lead guitar and simple drumming seem well within Maurice’s ability, but something was added to it on April 7 when Alan Kendall and Geoff Bridgeford were around.

DEEP IN THE DARK OF DAY
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
23 March 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

DEAREST
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
23 March 1971
stereo 3:52, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

I’M ONLY ME
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
23 March 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
demo. unreleased

SOMETHING
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
23 March 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
demo. unreleased

AMOROUS ARISTOCRACY
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
23 March 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
demo. unreleased

The Bee Gees resumed work on the Trafalgar album after almost two months of touring. The first day’s work yielded only one song for the album, ‘Dearest’, another Barry and Robin number that was so pathetically sad that it comes across as a parody. The rest are unknown. The last three are marked as ‘demo’.

IRRESPONSIBLE, UNRELIABLE, INDISPENSABLE BLUES
Barry Gibb (1971)
29 March 1971
stereo 2:03, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

WALKING BACK TO WATERLOO
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
29 March 1971
stereo 3:51, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

A WORD OF LOVE
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
29 March 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

One good one for the album, ‘Walking Back to Waterloo’, with the now rare credit B R & M Gibb, made excellent use of Robin and Barry’s different vocal styles on the two verses and Maurice on the choruses. Barry also came up with a nice little semi-blues that Maurice and Alan must have enjoyed, but unfortunately it was squeezed out of the album by more ambitious productions. The third song is unknown.

The next day, March 30, Tin Tin recorded ‘Is That the Way’. The group now consisted of Steve Kipner, Steve Groves, and John Vallins. This song and the album Astral Taxi, recorded in May and June, credit Billy Lawrie as producer (and co-writer on a few songs). Maurice is credited as executive producer, and because of his limited role the recording sessions are not listed here.

SOMEBODY STOP THE MUSIC
Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
undated 1971
stereo 3:31, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

LION IN WINTER
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
undated 1971
stereo 3:59, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

REMEMBERING
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
undated 1971
stereo 4:02, lead vocal Robin Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

An undated reel has three songs that made the album. Barry and Maurice collaborated on ‘Somebody Stop the Music’, a fine piece of work that breaks free from the staleness and sentimentality that Barry and Robin were falling into. By the middle of the first verse the melodic flow has a fresh sound to it, and when it rolls into the ‘Baby Don’t Love You’ song fragment, it is clearly going somewhere new. Because of the separate writing for much of this period, it is possible to identify the distinct Maurice influence on this song. He marks it also with his distinctive bass line and a short closing section along the lines of the one in ‘Railroad’.

Robin joins the session for the other two songs. ‘Lion in Winter’ matches Barry on verses with a ferocious Robin vocal on the choruses. Robin then pays tribute to Roy Orbison on ‘Remembering’, a big verse-chorus number reminiscent of his solo singles.

GOD’S GOOD GRACE
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
6 April 1971
stereo 3:00, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

COUNTRY WOMAN
Maurice Gibb (1971)
6 April 1971
stereo 2:48, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
B side, May 1971

THE GREATEST MAN IN THE WORLD
Barry Gibb (1971)
6 April 1971
stereo 4:18, lead vocal Barry Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

Recording now moved along at an accelerated pace. All three did the unreleased ‘God’s Good Grace’ with Robin singing lead, and then he was done. Maurice, Alan, and Geoff then took on ‘Country Woman’, another almost solo number by Maurice in a more country rock style than the main Bee Gees work of this year, and with a piano-led instrumental break. Lastly Barry rejoined the session for his ballad ‘The Greatest Man in the World’. He was now bringing in songs written solo.

ISRAEL
Barry Gibb (1971)
7 April 1971
stereo 3:54, lead vocal Barry Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

IT’S JUST THE WAY
Maurice Gibb (1971)
7 April 1971
stereo 2:34, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

ENGINES, AEROPLANES
Robin Gibb (1970)
27 February 1970, 7 April 1971
stereo 2:18, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

DON’T WANNA LIVE INSIDE MYSELF
Barry Gibb (1971)
7 April 1971
stereo 5:24, lead vocal Barry Gibb
Trafalgar, 1971

A day later Barry and Maurice started and concluded with two strong numbers written by Barry, the enigmatic ‘Israel’ and the slow, dramatic piano ballad ‘Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself’. Maurice matched this with the short but effective ‘It’s Just the Way’, the only song on the finished album with any sort of instrumental break. Robin’s only work this date was some vocal re-recording onto his 1970 solo track ‘Engines Aeroplanes’, as if it was under consideration. Also noted for April 7 was something done to Maurice’s song ‘Trafalgar’.

This completed recording for Trafalgar. Early comments on the forthcoming album were that it would be two LPs with twenty songs. Which ones this would be is not known and possibly it was never settled.

Maurice Gibb — vocal, guitar, bass, keyboard, mellotron
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
June 1971, IBC Studios, London

YOU KNOW IT’S FOR YOU
Maurice Gibb (1971)
12 June 1971
stereo 2:56, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
To Whom It May Concern, 1972

Maurice recorded two titles away from the Bee Gees one day in June. Tin Tin had recorded their Astral Taxi album over the preceding few weeks (dates from May 5 to June 7 are known), and Maurice was now around the studio for mixing and album compilation (June 8 to 16). The first title he recorded has the same name as the most recent Tin Tin single, and is possibly a run-through of that song and possibly done with Tin Tin.

The second however was a new solo song, its dreamy feel highlighted by Maurice’s mellotron. Geoff probably plays drums. It was the start of the next Bee Gees album (after the leftover ‘We Lost the Road’).

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal, bass, piano, guitar, organ
Alan Kendall — guitar
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
orchestra arranged by Bill Shepherd
engineer: ?
producer: Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees
August 1971, IBC Studios, London

AND FOR YOU
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
19 August 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

This unknown track is the only Bee Gees song recorded in the long stretch between April and October. It falls in the few weeks they had off between a tour of Australia and a five-week tour of North America.

Jimmy Stevens — vocal, piano, harpsichord
Alan Kendall — guitar
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
Maurice Gibb — bass
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
October 1971, London

TEARS (BEHIND MY EYES)
Jimmy Stevens (1971)
12 October 1971
stereo, lead vocal Jimmy Stevens
unreleased

THE BAND
Jimmy Stevens (1971)
undated
stereo, lead vocal Jimmy Stevens
unreleased

Liverpool musician Jimmy Stevens was signed to RSO in 1971, and given to Moby Productions— Maurice and Billy. This session was a tryout, not for release. Jimmy recorded ‘Tears (Behind My Eyes)’ again in 1972 for the album. The unreleased ‘The Band’ has two electric guitars on it, the second possibly tracked by Maurice.

Jimmy had been in an unrecorded Liverpool beat group called the Beathovens, and later he made a solo single in 1966 on Fontana, ‘I Love You’ / ‘Wharf 130’, both sides written by himself although the A side was based on Brahms’ Lullaby. The RSO project would be his only album.

commercial for Cadbury’s
Maurice Gibb (1971)
13 October 1971
mono, lead vocal unknown
commercial

commercial for Spangles
Maurice Gibb (1971)
13 October 1971
mono, lead vocal unknown
commercial

Two more advertising jingles by Maurice. Spangles was a sugar candy made by Mars Ltd in Britain.

A spokeperson for Cadbury’s in 2001 was unable to confirm use of ads written by Maurice, but the agency may have kept his identity anonymous.

These are dated the day after Jimmy Stevens’s session and the same day as a Bee Gees session. Maurice kept busy!

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal, bass, piano, guitar, organ
Alan Kendall — guitar
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
orchestra arranged by Bill Shepherd
engineer: Mike Claydon, Damon Lyon-Shaw, Richard Manwaring, Andy Knight
producer: Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees
October 1971, IBC Studios, London

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
13 October 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

GOODBYE BLUE SKY
any of Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
13 October 1971
stereo, lead vocal unknown
unreleased

MY WORLD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb (1971)
13 October 1971
stereo 4:20, lead vocal Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
A side, January 1972

The Bee Gees found a couple of days in October to record a new single and put away songs for a new album. The first three included two songs never released and the A side ‘My World’, another formulaic Barry and Robin number that runs on for four verses and many repeats of the chorus. It kicks off with an unusually casual instrumental intro (like that of the unreleased ‘God’s Good Grace’).

ALIVE
Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1971)
21 October 1971
stereo 4:03, lead vocal Barry Gibb
To Whom It May Concern, 1972

ON TIME
Maurice Gibb (1971)
21 October 1971
stereo 3:00, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
B side, January 1972

A week later they recorded two very good and very different songs that were released. Robin had the day off, and Barry’s recording work was limited to vocal on one song. Barry commented in the Tales from the Brothers Gibb box set that he does not even recall writing ‘Alive’. Was it mainly Maurice’s song? As mastered for the LP, the inherent dynamic range in the vocal and piano has unfortunately been compressed almost out of existence, but it still comes across as a expressive ballad. Note Maurice’s descending bass guitar toward the end (almost lost in the mix).

The swamp rocker ‘On Time’ was one of Maurice’s favorites. This is the first of three recordings he made of it— see 1972 and 1984. Maurice and Alan share a few tracks of acoustic and electric guitars, accompanied by Geoff on drums and a string arrangement by Bill Shepherd that should not fit in but does. This little Maurice classic would be thrown away as a non-album B side.

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
engineer: ?
producer: Barry Gibb
about October 1971, London

KING KATHY
Barry Gibb (1970)
undated 1971
stereo 3:43, lead vocal Barry Gibb
fan club disk, 1971

SUMMER ENDS
Barry Gibb (1970)
undated 1971
stereo 4:46, lead vocal Barry Gibb
fan club disk, 1971

I CAN BRING LOVE
Barry Gibb (1971)
undated 1971
stereo 2:35, lead vocal Barry Gibb
fan club disk, 1971

Around October Barry recorded three unreleased songs for a special Barry Gibb Fan Club Christmas disk that is now a rare collector’s item. In contrast to his usual polish, here Barry just sings and plays in a casual manner that must have delighted the fan club members. Even a false start to ‘King Kathy’ was left in. The simplicity of the performance is most effective in the slow-paced ‘Summer Ends’, where it sets a wonderfully quiet mood. This and ‘King Kathy’ were never released by Barry or the Bee Gees. A later recording of ‘I Can Bring Love’ was on the next Bee Gees album, but here it has an extra verse.

Maurice Gibb — vocal, guitar, bass, mellotron
Alan Kendall — guitar
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
Gerry Shury &mdash piano
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
November and December 1971, IBC Studios, London

ANYMORE
Maurice Gibb (1971)
8 November 1971
stereo, lead vocal possibly Maurice Gibb
unreleased

SATURDAY MORNING, SATURDAY NIGHT
Maurice Gibb (1971)
8 November 1971
stereo, lead vocal possibly Maurice Gibb
unreleased

Maurice made a few more solo recordings late in 1971, none of which was released. Nothing is known of these two.

Norman Hitchcock — vocal
Alan Kendall — guitar
Maurice Gibb — bass, vocal
Billy Lawrie — vocal
Geoff Bridgeford — drums
orchestral arrangement by Gerry Shury
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie
November 1971, IBC Studios, London

JUST ANOTHER MINUTE
Norman Hitchcock (1971)
12 November 1971
stereo 2:43, lead vocal Norman Hitchcock
A side, 1972

ONE WHEEL MY WAGON
Norman Hitchcock (1971)
12 November 1971
stereo 2:32, lead vocal Norman Hitchcock
B side, 1972

Norman Hitchcock worked at RSO in the publishing department. He proposed his own song ‘Just Another Minute’ for Lulu. Maurice thought it was not right for her but offered to produce Norman recording it himself. Norman recalls Maurice, Billy, Alan, and Gerry Shury being involved in recording it.

Maurice Gibb — vocal, guitar, piano, bass
others unknown
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
November and December 1971, IBC Studios, London

A MAN IN THE WILDERNESS
probably Maurice Gibb, Billy Lawrie (1970)
13 November 1971
stereo, lead vocal possibly Maurice Gibb
unreleased

This was a song Maurice had recorded eleven months earlier with a Billy Lawrie lead vocal.

NOT MY GIRL
probably Maurice Gibb, possibly others (1971)
3 December 1971
stereo, lead vocal possibly Maurice Gibb
unreleased

The recording artist for this tape reel is stated as ‘Maurice, Gerry, Geoff, Alan’, presumably Gerry Shury on piano. The song is unknown.

BEIN’ HOME
probably Maurice Gibb (1971)
undated
stereo 3:22, lead vocal Maurice Gibb
unreleased

This song, known from an acetate, is undocumented, but it sounds as if it may well be another recording by ‘Maurice, Gerry, Geoff, Alan’. Maurice growls a vocal through the first half accompanied by a scratchy rhythm guitar, then it rolls on into a long guitar solo and then a drum solo, and then it stops.

selected record releases

Bee Gees Best
Germany: Polydor, 1971.

A 1 LONELY DAYS (1970)
A 2 BURY ME DOWN BY THE RIVER (1970)
A 3 NEW YORK MINING DISASTER 1941 (1967)
A 4 SAVED BY THE BELL (1969)
A 5 SPICKS AND SPECKS (1966)
A 6 WORLD (1967)

B 1 I O I O (1970)
B 2 MORNING OF MY LIFE (1966)
B 3 I’LL KISS YOUR MEMORY (1970)
B 4 AUGUST OCTOBER (1970)
B 5 PORTRAIT OF LOUISE (1970)
B 6 WORDS (1968)

C 1 DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER (1969)
C 2 CRAISE FINTON KIRK ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS (1967)
C 3 RAILROAD (1970)
C 4 EVERY CHRISTIAN LION HEARTED MAN WILL SHOW YOU (1967)
C 5 DAYDREAM (1966)
C 6 TO LOVE SOMEBODY (1967)

D 1 MASSACHUSETTS (1967)
D 2 MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1970)
D 3 ONE MILLION YEARS (1969)
D 4 KITTY CAN (1968)
D 5 RED CHAIR FADE AWAY (1967)
D 6 I CAN’T SEE NOBODY (1967)

Best of Bee Gees, volume 2
France, Italy, Norway, Germany: Polydor, 1971.

A 1 LET THERE BE LOVE (1968)
A 2 I O I O (1970)
A 3 DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER (1969)
A 4 SAVED BY THE BELL (1969)
A 5 LAMPLIGHT (1969)
A 6 ONE MILLION YEARS (1969)

B 1 AUGUST OCTOBER (1970)
B 2 SWEETHEART (1970)
B 3 RAILROAD (1970)
B 4 I’LL KISS YOUR MEMORY (1970)
B 5 LONELY DAYS (1970)
B 6 TOMORROW TOMORROW (1969)

Around the start of 1971, Polydor companies in Europe marked the Bee Gees’ reunion with new compilations that brought Best of Bee Gees up to date. These are shown here because for a few years they were the only album appearances of some of the solo singles. No such albums were released in the US or UK.

Polydor Germany issued a two-LP set called Bee Gees Best that covered the whole period from ‘Spicks and Specks’ to ‘Lonely Days’, and there are even two songs from Inception / Nostalgia (marked here as 1966). Of the singles since 1967 they missed ‘Jumbo’ (as usual), ‘I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You’ (surprisingly), ‘First of May’, and ‘Tomorrow Tomorrow’, and the American hit ‘I Started a Joke’. Some unexpected choices fill out the rest of the album.

Several Polydor companies in Europe issued a one-LP Best of Bee Gees volume 2 as a supplement to the standard Best of Bee Gees. Only two non-singles had to be added to reach the regulation twelve songs. In France, this LP was reissued in 1973 as the second disk of a two-LP set, the first disk being the standard Best of Bee Gees. Each Polydor company must have created its own album master, because they are different in the use of mono mixes for some songs. The Italian release for example has seven songs in mono, including ‘Saved by the Bell’ as on the single with the repeat edited in, the mono ‘August October’ with the fadeout, and the B side ‘Lamplight’. This collection should not be confused with another one of the same name that was released in 1973 in the US and UK, and later on CD worldwide.

CD: Neither of these collections is on CD, but all of the songs are on various CD releases.

This song from 1969 finally reached the public on Lou Reizner’s self-titled album, which also includes a version of ‘Morning of My Life’. Lou is better known as a record producer.

Melody
UK: Polydor, May 1971; US: Atco, May 1971

A 1 Bee Gees : MORNING OF MY LIFE
A 2 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : MORNING OF MY LIFE (reprise)
A 3 Bee Gees : MELODY FAIR (1969)
A 4 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : MELODY FAIR (reprise)
A 5 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : SPICKS AND SPECKS
A 6 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : ROMANCE THEME IN F
A 7 Bee Gees : GIVE YOUR BEST (1969)

B 1 Bee Gees : TO LOVE SOMEBODY (1967)
B 2 The Richard Hewson Orchestra with Barry Hewson : WORKING ON IT NIGHT AND DAY
B 3 Bee Gees : FIRST OF MAY (1969)
B 4 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : FIRST OF MAY (reprise)
B 5 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : SEASIDE BANJO
B 6 The Richard Hewson Orchestra : TEACHERS CHASE
B 7 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young : TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

This soundtrack album was important to Bee Gees fans because for a few years it was the only place to get the 1970 re-make of the very good song ‘Morning of My Life’, which was the main title to the film. The album also contains also four previously released Bee Gees songs. The soundtrack of the film itself had mono mixes of the songs which differ slightly.

Since 1973 this version of ‘Morning of My Life’ has been available on Best of Bee Gees volume 2, and later on other collections, making the soundtrack album fairly superfluous. The film itself took on new life in the video age, especially in Japan, where the soundtrack album has been issued a few times on CD.

The film starred Mark Lester and Jack Wild, who had both been in Oliver!, and newcomer Tracy Hyde as Melody. The plot revolves around two ten-year old school children in love. It was filmed from May to August 1970, and was to be scored to seven Bee Gees songs, of which five appear in the finished film. The use of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s ‘Teach Your Children’ near the end of the film seems intrusive, as if no appropriate Bee Gees song could be found. The film was not a success in Britain (where it was titled S W A L K) or in the United States but it was a smash in Japan, where the soundtrack album was number 1 for a time in 1971.

CD: ‘In the Morning’ on Best of Bee Gees volume 2, and Tales from the Brothers Gibb. The soundtrack album has been issued on CD in Japan.

The first new Bee Gees release in six months had a countryish sound on both sides, a Barry and Robin ballad backed by a rockier Maurice song that was not on the forthcoming album. This would become the Bee Gees’ first number 1 single in the US. It did not even chart in the UK or Germany.

CD: ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ on Trafalgar. Both on Tales from the Brothers Gibb.

Maurice produced and played on ‘Everybody Clap’. In Holland the B side was a cover of the Bee Gees’ ‘Melody Fair’ from her current album.

Ronnie Burns, who recorded several Gibb songs in 1966 and 1967, visited England in 1971 and got together with his old friend Barry Gibb, who suggested this song from 1969, the same one Barry had proposed as his own solo single in late 1970. The single was released only in Australia. It later appeared on Ronnie’s album We’ve Only Just Begun in 1972.

‘One Bad Thing’ was released in the UK by a group called New Horizon. The vocals were doubled by Maurice’s friend Bob Saker, who also wrote the B side, and Tony Burrows, who produced the disk.

Popular Italian-American singer Jerry Vale released the first version of Barry’s 1970 song ‘Moonlight’, which became a big jukebox favorite. It was also on his album I Don’t Know How to Love Her.

Bee Gees : Trafalgar
UK: Polydor, November 1971; US: Atco, September 1971.

A 1 HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
A 2 ISRAEL
A 3 THE GREATEST MAN IN THE WORLD
A 4 IT’S JUST THE WAY
A 5 REMEMBERING
A 6 SOMEBODY STOP THE MUSIC

B 1 TRAFALGAR
B 2 DON’T WANNA LIVE INSIDE MYSELF
B 3 WHEN DO I
B 4 DEAREST
B 5 LION IN WINTER
B 6 WALKING BACK TO WATERLOO

The first new Bee Gees album in about a year sounded great, courtesy the 16-track recording and the group’s mastery of pop music. The formulaic single ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ suggested the theme of the album but not the more subtle and musically accomplished work on it, especially the songs by Barry and Maurice. Robin was not up to form compared to his innovative work just a year earlier. Release of the album was delayed quite a while after the single, to coincide with Bee Gees tours.

A rule seems to be in effect here that the vocals are done only by the writer or writers of the song. The only exception is the backing vocal by Maurice on ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’, and he would later speak of the song as if he had co-written it.

The sleeve design is all based on the Battle of Trafalgar. Both sides of the outer cover are details of a painting of the battle by Pocock, and the inner sleeve photo recreates the death of Admiral Nelson, played by Barry, surrounded by Robin, Maurice, their father Hugh Gibb, Geoff Bridgeford, and a blond man in the shadows (who looks almost like Colin Petersen!). Maurice said later that the song ‘Trafalgar’ was actually about a man feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square, and so perhaps from there the man walked ‘back to Waterloo’ station.

An album with very long 28-minute sides was sent to Atlantic, and a copy of the same is in the RSO tape library. It is similar to the album as released. After opening with the single, it sequences seven songs in a row by Barry or Maurice, followed by five Barry wrote with Robin, ending with the one they all wrote together. The two extra songs are ‘Country Woman’ and ‘We Lost the Road’, both of which would be released but not on this album (they were respectively a B side and a cut on the next Bee Gees album).

HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
ISRAEL
THE GREATEST MAN IN THE WORLD
IT’S JUST THE WAY
DON’T WANNA LIVE INSIDE MYSELF
COUNTRY WOMAN
SOMEBODY STOP THE MUSIC

TRAFALGAR
WE LOST THE ROAD
DEAREST
WHEN DO I
LION IN WINTER
REMEMBERING
WALKING BACK TO WATERLOO

The LP sleeve art and other publicity material gives another running order. One of the factors in sequencing these songs was that ‘Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself’ and ‘Walking Back to Waterloo’ both have long endings that would be very suitable as the end of an album. While this lineup distributes the Barry and Robin lead vocals more evenly than the 14-song version or the final version, it has some problems with musical flow. The end of side 1 and start of side 2 are not strong, and side 1 has most of the slower songs.

HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
TRAFALGAR
THE GREATEST MAN IN THE WORLD
REMEMBERING
WHEN DO I
DEAREST

IT’S JUST THE WAY
WALKING BACK TO WATERLOO
SOMEBODY STOP THE MUSIC
ISRAEL
LION IN WINTER
DON’T WANNA LIVE INSIDE MYSELF

German heartthrob Peter Maffay recorded three Gibb songs for his second album. The German lyrics by Michael Kunze had little relation to the English originals, but still, these were the only recordings of the melodies of ‘If I Were the Sky’ and Barry’s 1970 song ‘Mando Bay’. The German titles are ‘You Are Like a Song’ (‘When Do I’) and ‘I Am Your Friend’ (‘If I Were the Sky’).

Peter also reportedly recorded English language vocals to all the tracks for release in South Africa, then still under embargo by some artists for its apartheid racial policies. There the album was called It’s You I Want to Live With.

The only release of Barry’s 1970 song ‘Peace in My Mind’ was this German version sung beautifully by Katja Ebstein. The German title is ‘Peace in Me’.

Tin Tin : Astral Taxi
UK: Polydor, December 1971; US: Atco, December 1971.

A 1 ASTRAL TAXI
A 2 SHIPS ON THE STARBOARD
A 3 OUR DESTINY
A 4 TOMORROW TODAY
A 5 JENNY B

B 1 I TOOK A HOLIDAY
B 2 TAG AROUND
B 3 SET SAIL FOR ENGLAND
B 4 THE CAVALRY’S COMING
B 5 BENNY THE WONDER DOG
B 6 IS THAT THE WAY

Tin Tin’s second and last album was produced by Billy Lawrie. Maurice was executive producer.

Atlantic chose two of the better songs for a second single off the album. The very long ‘Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself’ was edited down to 3:50 by removing the last verse and chorus. Considering that ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’ was a number 1, it was surprising that this did not even make the top fifty.

A limited edition disk for the Barry Gibb Fan Club, not released to the public. These recordings were never released, and the song ‘King Kathy’ was never released in any form. It was sent out to members around the end of 1971.

This item is a 7-inch disk that plays at 33rpm. Lyntone most commonly produced thin flexible disks for advertising promotions, but this is a normal hard disk. The EP has no title as such but says ‘Barry Gibb Fan Club’ on the label.