Gibb Songs : 1982

After the Living Eyes experience, the production teams began to work on separate projects.

The next big production by Barry, Albhy, and Karl was at first going to be an album with three different female singers, doing solo songs and songs together. Clive Davis intervened and asked Barry to write solely for Dionne Warwick, who was on his Arista label. Best known for her hit recordings of songs by Hal David and Burt Bacharach between 1963 and 1970, Dionne Warwick was still a popular ‘adult contemporary’ singer at this time. The brothers wrote most of the songs for it together, but only Barry worked on recording it, with Albhy and Karl.

About two years later Dionne Warwick recorded an album with Barry Manilow that included ‘Run to Me’ and the otherwise unreleased ‘Broken Bottles’. They were not used on her 1985 album Finder of Lost Love but they are on the expanded CD version released in 2014.

During the second half of the year Robin started working on a solo album, his first since 1970, with Maurice providing full support. At about this time Robert Stigwood asked the Bee Gees as a group to supply new songs for a sequel to Saturday Night Fever. The soundtrack would fulfill their last contractual obligation to RSO. Meanwhile Barry took on another album project, this time for country singer Kenny Rogers. All three of these jobs were underway at once during the late months of 1982. The Robin album was completed by December.

songs

OCEANS AND RIVERS
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright February 1982. no record

MISUNDERSTOOD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982; A side by Dionne Warwick, November 1982

BROKEN BOTTLES
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright February 1982. album cut by Dionne Warwick, 2014

HEARTBREAKER
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
A side by Dionne Warwick, September 1982; album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

YOU ARE MY LOVE
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING (BUT YOU)
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, Maurice Gibb
B side by Dionne Warwick, September 1982; album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

JUST ONE MORE NIGHT
[ ONE MORE NIGHT ]
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

NEVER GET OVER YOU
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
US copyright February 1982. no record

STAY ALONE
Barry Gibb, George Bitzer
US copyright February 1982. B side by Barry Gibb, October 1984; album cut by Barry Gibb, 1984

MY WORLD (IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS)
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright March 1982. no record

HUMAN BEING
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Barry Gibb
US copyright March 1982. no record

TAKE THE SHORT WAY HOME
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
US copyright April 1982. album cut by Dionne Warwick, 1982

EYES THAT SEE IN THE DARK
Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright August 1982. album cut by Kenny Rogers, 1983

LIFE GOES ON
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright October 1982. Staying Alive soundtrack, 1983

ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Robin Gibb, 1983; A side by Robin Gibb, January 1984

HOW OLD ARE YOU
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Robin Gibb, 1983; A side by Robin Gibb, October 1983

JULIET
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
A side by Robin Gibb, June 1983; album cut by Robin Gibb, 1983

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
album cut by Robin Gibb, 1983; B side by Robin Gibb, October 1983 and January 1984

HEARTS ON FIRE
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
B side by Robin Gibb, June 1983; album cut by Robin Gibb, 1983

SOMEONE BELONGING TO SOMEONE
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright January 1983. Staying Alive soundtrack, 1983

I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
[ TOO MUCH ]
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright January 1983. Staying Alive soundtrack, 1983

THIS WOMAN
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
US copyright January 1983. album cut by Kenny Rogers, 1983

YOU AND I
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
US copyright January 1983. album cut by Kenny Rogers, 1983

MIDSUMMER NIGHTS
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
US copyright January 1983. album cut by Kenny Rogers, 1983

recording sessions

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Albhy Galuten — piano, synthesizer
possibly others — drums
engineer: ?
producer: ?
about February 1982, Miami Beach

Demos for the Dionne Warwick album Heartbreaker. These were not intended for release. Demos of the songs that appeared on Heartbreaker were released in 2006 on The Heartbreaker Demos on iTunes.

Barry and Albhy Galuten repeated their strategy for the Barbra Streisand album, recording all of the songs as good quality demos and then recording them again for release.

The order of recording is unknown except that they fall into two groups. The songs were sent to the US copyright office on two cassettes, and they are listed below in the order they appeared there. The songs by B R & M Gibb are together on the first one.

OCEANS AND RIVERS
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:24, lead vocal Barry Gibb
unreleased

MISUNDERSTOOD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:55, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:43, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

BROKEN BOTTLES
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:00, lead vocal Barry Gibb
unreleased

HEARTBREAKER
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:32, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

YOU ARE MY LOVE
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:49, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

YOURS
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 5:00, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

‘Heartbreaker’ was an exceptionally good song, very successfully blending the two Gibb brothers schools of songwriting. It has the clear verse and chorus structure favored by Robin and Maurice, yet also has the longer spun-out verses Barry now preferred, well balanced, so that it has instant appeal but takes repeated listenings to fully appreciate. The melody is reminiscent of ‘Living Eyes’ but the song has a much stronger forward motion. Maurice said later that he wished they had saved it for themselves.

‘All the Love in the World’, the second single, and ‘Yours’ have some of the same qualities. The others lean more toward Barry’s approach. Barry sings all of these in falsetto except for some natural voice in ‘Misunderstood’.

The unreleased ‘Oceans and Rivers’ and ‘Broken Bottles’ both have very long winding melodies, taking almost two minutes to run once through the verse and chorus. ‘Oceans and Rivers’ however has good hooks at the start of the verse and in the chorus.

These songs are accompanied mainly by two guitars, a drum track, and some keyboard by Albhy, notably piano on ‘Yours’. The assumption here is that Barry played all the guitar parts, rather than Maurice playing a second guitar.

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:26, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING (BUT YOU)
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:19, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

JUST ONE MORE NIGHT
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:51, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006

NEVER GET OVER YOU
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo, lead vocal Barry Gibb
unreleased

STAY ALONE
Barry Gibb, George Bitzer (1982)
undated 1982
stereo, lead vocal Barry Gibb
unreleased

The copyright registrations for the above songs are dated February 22, 1982, as if they or at least the demos were the next week’s work. Barry wrote these with Albhy, except one with George Bitzer.

‘I Can’t See Anything (But You)’ has a very catchy chorus that may come from something Barry and Maurice worked out before Barry and Albhy built a song out of it, or at least that seems the most likely explanation for the credit. On the demos ‘It Makes No Difference’ has prominent synthesizer and ‘Just One More Night’ prominent piano and possibly real drums. ‘Just One More Night’ is a good quiet ballad.

The last song ‘Stay Alone’ seems to have been held off for some future project. It is not on a tape copy of the Warwick demos that has circulated and was probably not intended for her. While it is a very good piano ballad, it does not seem to suit her voice. Barry recorded it himself in 1984. ‘Never Get Over You’ might fall into a similar category.

One additional song for the Warwick album does not really have a demo. Barry sang a demo vocal on the finished instrumental track for ‘Take the Long Way Home’. This song was a late addition to the lineup. Its copyright date is April while all the others were in February.

Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — synthesizer
engineer: ?
producer: ?
about March 1982, Miami Beach

MY WORLD (IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS)
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

HUMAN BEING
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Barry Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:28, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

The US copyright on these songs is March 1982, so they are from the same time as the Dionne Warwick songs, but they are for some other project. This is the second team, Robin and Maurice. Rumor has it these songs were for another Jimmy Ruffin record, but ‘Human Being’ does not sound suitable for him at all. It’s more like an early version of Europop, the synthesizer-laden successor to disco, which happens to be perfectly suited to Robin’s cool voice and Maurice’s keyboard playing. No wonder they would adopt the style for a Robin album later this year.

Dionne Warwick — vocal
Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Tim Renwick — guitar
Richard Tee — piano
George Bitzer — piano, synthesizer
Albhy Galuten — piano, synthesizer
George Perry — bass
Steve Gadd — drums
Joe Lala — percussion
Gary Brown — sax
The Boneroo Horns
Peter Graves
Brett Murphey
Whit Sidener
Dan Bonsanti
Neal Bonsanti
Ken Faulk
George Terry — guitar (‘Heartbreaker’)
Dennis Bryon — percussion
Daniel Ben Zebulon — percussion
Anita Lopez — percussion
strings arranged by Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten; concertmaster Gene Orloff
horns arranged by Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten
engineer: Karl Richardson; Dale Peterson, Neal Kent, Sam Taylor-Porter (Middle Ear);
Andy Hoffman, Nicky Kalliongis (Mediasound)
producer: Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson, Albhy Galuten
about April and May 1982, Middle Ear, Miami Beach; Media Sound, New York

The album for Dionne Warwick. The order of recording is unknown. The instrumental tracks and Dionne’s vocals were recorded at Middle Ear, and the string sweetening at Media Sound in New York.

Barry listened to Dionne Warwick records and shaped the songs to fit her voice. At first she thought ‘Heartbreaker’ was not right for her, but in the end she turns in a great vocal on it. There are no duets, but Barry is clearly present as backup singer, especially on ‘Just One More Night’ where he sings a few lines alone.

HEARTBREAKER
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:16, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
A side, September 1982; Heartbreaker, 1982

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:26, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982

YOURS
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:58, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982; A side, February 1983

TAKE THE SHORT WAY HOME
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo (demo) 4:07, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Heartbreaker Demos, 2006
stereo 3:47, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982; A side, February 1983

MISUNDERSTOOD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:07, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982

ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:25, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982; A side, November 1982

I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING (BUT YOU)
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:24, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
B side, September 1982; Heartbreaker, 1982

JUST ONE MORE NIGHT
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:51, lead vocal Dionne Warwick, Barry Gibb
Heartbreaker, 1982

YOU ARE MY LOVE
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:50, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982

OUR DAY WILL COME
Bob Hilliard, Mort Garson (1962)
undated 1982
stereo 3:47, lead vocal Dionne Warwick
Heartbreaker, 1982

The instrumental tracks were laid down first using the demos as guides, but to what degree is puzzling. They did not simply dub all the instruments onto the demos. ‘Heartbreaker’ is exactly in time with the demo, so precisely that Steve Gadd must have been drumming along with it as if he was doing an overdub. ‘Just One Night’ synchs to the demo only from the start of drumming up to the instrumental break. The quiet first verse does not match, and the concluding portion is in time but off by a few seconds. Any attempt to synch ‘Yours’ immediately founders because the silences after ‘when I was...’ are longer on the completed tracks. The best one can say is that the demos were in some sense a guide.

Steve Gadd and Chocolate Perry laid down rhythm tracks, and then keyboards and guitars were added to that. Albhy Galuten, George Bitzer, and Richard Tee handle the piano and synthesizer parts. The only guitarist besides Barry’s rhythm guitar is Tim Renwick, who had been on all the Andy Gibb albums. The strings are pure sweetening added afterwards in New York. The credit to Dennis Bryon for percussion may be for the use of ‘Bernard Lupe’ on one or more of the tracks.

The last song, ‘Our Day Will Come’, was recorded in 1963 by Ruby and the Romantics. A young Dionne Warwick had recorded the publisher’s demo for it in 1962, and she had always wanted to release it. Barry and the production team granted her wish.

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Maurice Gibb — guitar, bass, synthesizer
engineer: ?
producer: ?
about August 1982, Miami Beach

EYES THAT SEE IN THE DARK
Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:00, lead vocal Barry Gibb
The Eyes That See in the Dark Demos, 2006

This would be the first demo for an album by Kenny Rogers, but they did not know it yet at this early date (copyright August 6). Barry met Kenny later in the year and it was then that Kenny asked about some songs. Maurice plays second guitar, bass, and a bit of synthesizer.

Maurice Gibb — probably keyboard, synthesizer
engineer: ?
producer: Maurice Gibb
about August 1982, Miami Beach

SPIRIT OF THE SNOW
Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo, instrumental
unreleased

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal
others
engineer: Karl Richardson, Steve Klein
producer: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Karl Richardson, Albhy Galuten
about October 1982, Middle Ear, Miami Beach

LIFE GOES ON
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:23, lead vocal Barry Gibb
Staying Alive, 1983

RSO publicly announced on September 30 that John Travolta would star in a sequel to Saturday Night Fever to be directed by Sylvester Stallone and with new music by the Bee Gees. ‘Life Goes On’, copyright October 12, followed promptly after the announcement. Chances are that it was not completed until late in the year when two more songs were recorded, but at least the beginnings of it were done early in October. See below for more details.

Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal, bass, synthesizer, piano, guitar, programming
Alan Kendall — guitar
George Bitzer — piano, synthesizer
Dennis Bryon — drums, programming, vocal
The Boneroo Horns
Peter Graves
Ken Faulk
Brett Murphey
Melton Mustafa
Russ Freeland
Neal Bonsanti
Dan Bonsanti
Whit Sidener
arranged by Maurice Gibb, Peter Graves (horns)
engineer: Samii Taylor; Dale Peterson
producer: Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Dennis Bryon
about October and November 1982, Middle Ear, Miami Beach

Before the Bee Gees got to work on Staying Alive, Robin and Maurice recorded another album, presumably in October and November, since the complete recordings got to the US copyright office by December 16.

How Old Are You is billed as a Robin Gibb album, but Maurice does as much work on it as Robin. Robin sings all the lead vocals and probably wrote all the lyrics. Maurice sings backing vocals, plays several instruments, arranges the band, and leads the production team of himself, Robin, and Dennis Bryon. With Dennis on drums and Alan Kendall on guitar, that makes four of the six late 1970s Bee Gees. Dennis said years later that much of the work was done by the time he was invited to join, so he may not be present on all the songs.

The instrumental tracks make heavy use of electronic sound, but they never sound cluttered. Maurice as producer liked a clear sound with good separation. The drumming is all or almost all electronic, played with drumsticks or programmed in by Dennis Bryon or Maurice, accompanied by bass played by Maurice on bass guitar or synthesizer. On top of this there is some conventional guitar and electronic piano by Maurice and Alan, and quite a lot of synthesizer by Maurice and George Bitzer. The sound of the Boneroo Horns blends into the synthesizer. The idea of vocal laid over electronic beat goes right back to Robin’s Reign. Maurice’s piano or synthesizer often accents the beat.

Robin sings all of the songs relatively high in his range, although certainly lower than Barry’s falsetto. Maurice is clearly heard here and there, and he and Dennis join Robin for a Bee Gees vocal sound on ‘In and Out of Love’. Robin could have provided more variety in the vocals, but he does give the album a consistent sound.

Recording order is not known. The ten songs are listed below in the order they appeared on the tape used for the US copyright registration, which may mean nothing. The eleventh song ‘Love Is Just a Calling Card’ is not on the tape.

ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:12, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983; A side, August 1983

IN AND OUT OF LOVE
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:52, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983

DON’T STOP THE NIGHT
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:30, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983

DANGER
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:41, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983

HOW OLD ARE YOU
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:09, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983; A side, October 1983
stereo (extended mix) 5:01, lead vocal Robin Gibb
12-inch single, 1983

JULIET
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:45, lead vocal Robin Gibb
single, June 1983; How Old Are You?, 1983

HE CAN’T LOVE YOU
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:06, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983

KATHY’S GONE
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:36, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:51, lead vocal Robin Gibb
How Old Are You?, 1983; B side, August 1983 and October 1983

HEARTS ON FIRE
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 3:52, lead vocal Robin Gibb
B side, June 1983; How Old Are You?, 1983

LOVE IS JUST A CALLING CARD
Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:15, lead vocal Robin Gibb
unreleased

It’s always interesting to hear what comes out when Barry’s somewhat dominant force is subtracted from the Bee Gees creative team. Not surprisingly, the songs all have the clear verse-chorus structure Robin preferred, and not the long winding melodies heard on Heartbreaker.

Two of them seem like deliberate shots at singles. ‘Juliet’ is loaded with everything one could ask in a pop single in 1982: the ‘2001’ intro, the electronic drumbeat, the stutter on ‘J-J-J-J-Juliet’, the little bit with Maurice singing ‘close your eyes’ followed by Robin’s raving vocal, and the wordless vocal outro. ‘How Old Are You’ likewise has the rhythm guitar beat, bang-away drumming, a powerful horn and synthesizer blend, Maurice calling out ‘how old are you’, and the risqué lyrics (Robin at 32 dreaming of a 17 year old?). The Barry productions were more sophisticated but lacked this pop-roots dynamic.

Among other highlights are the harmonies in ‘In and Out of Love’, the classic Maurice piano and Robin storytelling on ‘Kathy’s Gone’, and the dramatic Robin vocal on ‘Hearts on Fire’. The second single ‘Another Lonely Night in New York’ is weakened by a melodic resemblance (in part) to Foreigner’s 1981 hit ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’.

There is one known extra song, ‘Love is Just a Calling Card’, known from a recording, not a copyright. An early state of ‘Kathy’s Gone’ has circulated with Robin scat-singing partly variant lyrics. These songs were not worked out ahead of time as demos but were created the old way, with Robin working out the lyrics while the instrumental tracks were being recorded.

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar
Robin Gibb — vocal
Maurice Gibb — vocal
George Terry — guitar
Tim Renwick — guitar
possibly George Bitzer — piano, synthesizer
possibly Harold Cowart — bass
possibly Steve Gadd — drums
David Sanborn — sax
The Boneroo Horns
engineer: Karl Richardson, Steve Klein
producer: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Karl Richardson, Albhy Galuten
about November or December 1982, Middle Ear, Miami Beach

SOMEONE BELONGING TO SOMEONE
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:24, lead vocal Barry Gibb
A side, June 1983, Staying Alive, 1983

I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (1982)
undated 1982
stereo 4:27, lead vocal Barry Gibb
Staying Alive, 1983
stereo 4:34, instrumental
B side, June 1983

‘Someone Belonging to Someone’ and the instrumental version of ‘I Love You Too Much’ would become the second single off the Staying Alive soundtrack. Robin and Maurice are not clearly present on either of these songs but presumably added some harmony vocal mixed into Barry’s own vocal tracks.

The musicians are not credited on the sleeve, but the single credits David Sanborn for the sax solo. Years later Albhy Galuten could recall only that the musicians were some of the usual session players they liked to use, so a likely list is shown above. George Terry confirmed in 2013 that he plays lead guitar on ‘Someone Belonging to Someone’, and Tim Renwick also confirms playing guitar.

Filming started on January 3. It is hard to believe Barry did not follow up ‘Life Goes On’ (October) right away and get all the songs for the film done by January, but evidence suggests he did not. The copyright registrations for ‘Someone Belonging to Someone’ and ‘I Love You Too Much’ are dated January 5, and if the other two or three songs were ready, why were they not registered then instead of in March?

The brothers like their Christmas break, so most likely the two songs plus ‘Life Goes On’ were finished by the middle of December. They were therefore recorded either right after Robin’s How Old Are You album, or else while Robin and Maurice were still working on it (which would explain their absence from the tracks).

‘Someone Belonging to Someone’ is a good soft ballad with a long Barry melody, while ‘I Love You Too Much’ is a dance number with a catchy chorus and a slow sensuous beat. Barry sings lead and backing vocals for both songs in natural voice ranging from breathy to deep full voice. His lowest lines in ‘I Love You Too Much’ have been mistaken for Maurice.

At the same time, Barry was working away on songs for Kenny Rogers, at least three of which were probably written late in 1982. Of those two are by Barry and Albhy, again suggesting that they were working while Robin and Maurice were busy. The simultaneous work on Staying Alive and Kenny’s album continues in 1983.

selected record releases

Flower
US: Montage, April 1982

HERE INSIDE

Andy Gibb on backing vocals. This was Flower’s fourth and last album and the second one to be untitled, with just ‘Flower’ on the cover.

Leo Sayer : World Radio
US: Warner Bros, May 1982; UK: Chrysalis, May 1982

HEART (STOP BEATING IN TIME)

Leo Sayer : single
US: Warner Bros, June 1982; UK: Chrysalis, June 1982

A HEART (STOP BEATING IN TIME)
B END OF THE GAME

First release of ‘Heart (Stop Beating in Time)’ from 1981. Top forty in Britain.

Dionne Warwick : single
US: Arista, September 1982; UK: Arista, September 1982

A HEARTBREAKER
B I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING (BUT YOU)

First single off the Dionne Warwick album. Number 10 in America, and number 2 in Britain.

Dionne Warwick : Heartbreaker
US: Arista, October 1982; UK: Arista, October 1982

A 1 HEARTBREAKER
A 2 IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE
A 3 YOURS
A 4 TAKE THE SHORT WAY HOME
A 5 MISUNDERSTOOD

B 1 ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
B 2 I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING (BUT YOU)
B 3 JUST ONE MORE NIGHT
B 4 YOU ARE MY LOVE
B 5 OUR DAY WILL COME

In some respects Heartbreaker was the follow-up to Guilty. Once again by Barry, Albhy, and Karl made an album for a pop icon. It reached number 25 in Billboard and number 3 in Britain, not bad at all. Dionne Warwick was a fine singer with many hits to her name but by this date she did not regularly go as high on the charts as Barbra Streisand.

Dionne Warwick : single
US: Arista, November 1982

A ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
B YOU ARE MY LOVE

Dionne Warwick : single
UK: Arista, November 1982

A ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD
B IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

Second single off the Dionne Warwick album. Number 10 in Britain, nothing in America.

Bee Gees Greatest volume 1
Germany: RSO, 1982.

A 1 NEW YORK MINING DISASTER 1941 (1967)
A 2 TO LOVE SOMEBODY (1967)
A 3 MASSACHUSETTS (1967)
A 4 WORLD (1967)
A 5 WORDS (1968)
A 6 I’VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU (1968)
A 7 IDEA (1968)

B 1 I STARTED A JOKE (1968)
B 2 MELODY FAIR (1969)
B 3 FIRST OF MAY (1969)
B 4 SAVED BY THE BELL (1969)
B 5 SUN IN MY MORNING (1969)
B 6 THE LORD (1969)
B 7 I O I O (1970)

C 1 MORNING OF MY LIFE (1970)
C 2 LONELY DAYS (1970)
C 3 LAY IT ON ME (1970)
C 4 HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART (1971)
C 5 ISRAEL (1971)
C 6 MY WORLD (1972)
C 7 SEA OF SMILING FACES (1972)

D 1 SAW A NEW MORNING (1973)
D 2 WOULDN’T I BE SOMEONE (1973)
D 3 KING AND COUNTRY (1973)
D 4 GIVE A HAND, TAKE A HAND (1974)
D 5 IT DOESN’T MATTER MUCH TO ME (1974)
D 6 THROW A PENNY (1974)

Released only in West Germany, Bee Gees Greatest volume 1 is important as the first chronological collection of Bee Gees music. Its compiler, German fan Norbert Lippe, was able to include a few well-chosen album tracks and B sides in addition to the obligatory hits. This exact set would never have passed muster in other countries since it omits some international hits such as ‘Don’t Forget to Remember’ and ‘Run to Me’. Still it remains a model for later compilations like the Tales from the Brothers Gibb box and all that followed. The Bee Gees’ career had become so long that songs recorded years apart no longer sat well together.

Presumably the 1979 album Bee Gees Greatest would have been renamed volume 2, or a new chronological compilation would have brought the Bee Gees story up to date. But that was never done.

‘Words’, ‘I’ve Gotta Get A Message to You’, and ‘Sun in My Morning’ are mono mixes. This was the first LP appearance of ‘Sun in My Morning’, ‘King and Country’, and the 1974 recording of ‘It Doesn’t Matter Much to Me’. ‘Wouldn’t I Be Someone’ and ‘King and Country’ are the early fades as on the German single.