The Bee Gees' albums... how many? (part 3)

Once more into the trench....

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ROBIN GIBB SOLO

[?] MY OWN WORK (1969)
Ah, here's one that most fans probably haven't heard about; the only mention I've ever seen was on Joseph Brennan's Gibb Songs site, where information is scattered. In a nutshell, this was apparently an album Robin was working on not long before "Robin's Reign", and in a 1969 interview, he revealed the 11-song tracklist. The entire thing was scrapped (none of it appeared on "Robin's Reign"), and most of the songs have yet to even make it to a bootleg. Perhaps this never got past a rough plan, and the material wasn't actually recorded??

[1] ROBIN'S REIGN (1970)
This came out instead. As Robin was no longer a member of the Bee Gees, this was the direct competition to Barry and Maurice's "Cucumber Castle" LP.

[?] SING SLOWLY SISTERS (1970)
After the relative success of "Robin's Reign" (and the official disintegration of the Bee Gees), Robin recorded this lushly orchestrated, downbeat album - another entry into the lost 'solo trilogy' of 1970. A tracklist was allegedly decided upon, but like the other brothers' recordings from this time period, this was scrapped when the group decided to reform for "2 Years On."

[2] HOW OLD ARE YOU? (1983)
[3] SECRET AGENT (1984)
[4] WALLS HAVE EYES (1985)
Three released solo albums. Sort of. While "Secret Agent" was indeed Robin alone, "How Old Are You" is much closer to being a Robin and Maurice LP (to the point of Maurice even providing lead vocals in places), and "Walls Have Eyes" includes both Maurice and Barry.

[5] MAGNET (2003)
Robin's solo projects went totally quiet during the remainder of the Bee Gees' time as a threesome; this emerged after the group's final disintegration. Unfortunately, instead of a strict pop album, Robin decided to make this one hip-hop. Robin, a middle-aged white Englishman, sings songs about getting freaky in the shower and sipping Cris. Why, God, why??

[?] LIVE (2005)
Another entry into the Bee Gees' live album canon.... as painful as it is. Even above "Magnet," this is truly the weakest Gibb-related release ever, displaying both Robin's complete massacre of Bee Gees tunes (including those written by and tailored for Barry), and an absolutely unprofessional mix that renders this disc bootleg quality.

[6] MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CAROLS (2006)
But that's forgiven, because this album is absolutely fantastic! :-) Strangely, the complete album was only released in Germany; some countries removed Robin's composition "Mother of Love", while only Germany included the very out-of-place tracks "Christmas Eve or Halloween" (a Bee Gees recording from 1968) and "Ellan Vannin".

[7?] 50 ST. CATHERINE'S DRIVE (2010?)
Whether this will be released is still unknown. A finished version of the album was filed with the US copyright office in 2008, though Robin is said to have revised the tracklist since then. Something to look forward to in the future I suppose.

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MAURICE GIBB SOLO

[?] (UNTITLED SYNTHESIZER ALBUM) (1969?)
A collaboration with Ringo Starr. According to the Gibbs' official biography, for a couple years, Maurice and Ringo were planning an avant garde album of bizarre Moog tracks. The only known title from this project is "Modulating Maurice," which featured Maurice saying random phrases over Ringo's instrumental backing. (Despite popular belief, this track has never been bootlegged; this song title was given to an unrelated Bee Gees instrumental.) I actually seem to remember hearing that the tapes for this album no longer exist, but don't take my word on that.

[?] SING A RUDE SONG (1969)
This one is a toughie, as it's not *technically* a Maurice album. While he was pushed as one of the stars of this London musical, he is only audible on three songs, though he is featured on the cover (shades of "Saturday Night Fever"), and produced the entire album. If this can be counted, this would actually be Maurice's only released work to date.

[?] THE LONER (1970)
Maurice's entry into the unreleased 1970 trilogy. In a perfect world, this fantastic album will emerge on a long-overdue compilation of Maurice's recordings (why one wasn't released after his passing, I don't know), but again, time will tell. Sadly, bootleg versions are poor quality; but the original Japanese boot (which thankfully is presented without the extreme sound reduction used on the later edition) is still essential listening.

[??] STRINGS AND THINGS (1981)
An album of synthesizer-based instrumentals, which doesn't seem to have ever been finished, as only a few song titles and one actual track (which may or may not be the title track) have emerged. Judging from that one song alone, this could have been an impressive disc.

[?] A BREED APART (1984)
One of Maurice's film scores. This soundtrack LP, available as a bootleg, was originally set for release in 1984 alongside the film. However, the film was delayed until 1986, and failed to make a splash upon release. The proposed soundtrack was scrapped.

[??] THE SUPERNATURALS (1985)
Though this was a finished work (another film score, to be precise), I'm putting it in the 'two question marks' category, as a release may have never actually been planned. Though Maurice's score appeared in some copies of the film (and Maurice actually has an on-screen cameo), the common version replaces his score with that of another composer. Thus, while it's possible that a soundtrack LP by Maurice could have been considered very early on, it most likely never went beyond the consideration phase. The reason it's even worth including here is that bootleggers actually took it upon themselves to release a CD of Maurice's score, obviously recorded directly from the film, in a deceptively legitimate-looking cover.

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ANDY GIBB
While Andy was not technically a Bee Gee, as he did not appear on any of their released material, he is still a Brother Gibb, and as such, his work is often included alongside that of the other three in discographies.

[?] (UNTITLED ALBUM) (1975)
While his older brothers were enjoying the start of their disco heyday, Andy was in Australia, trying to launch a career. He did manage to release one single there ("Words and Music"), which could have possibly been the title track of this album. Unfortunately, though this seems to have been completed, nothing else has emerged of this project.

[1] FLOWING RIVERS (1977)
[2] SHADOW DANCING (1978)
[3] AFTER DARK (1980)
Andy's brief output, cut short by his alarming use of drugs. By 1980, his ability to perform had deteriorated in such a way that Barry had to step in, with the result that "After Dark" is really an uncredited collaboration between the two - even including Barry on vocals (doing his best Andy impression) when Andy's cocaine-worn abilities were not sufficient.

[?] IT'S MY NEIGHBORHOOD (aka MAN ON FIRE) (1988)
Throughout the Eighties, Andy announced several times that he was planning a comeback album. This seems to be the most successful attempt, as it was actually given a title (which sources are unsure about - Gibb Songs calls it "It's My Neighborhood", while the official biography of the Bee Gees claims that that title was later changed to "Man On Fire.") A handful of songs are known to exist, and it seemed that Andy might've been onto something here, finally... until his death of heart disease before its completion.

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Well, that's everything... let's see what we have.

BEE GEES
* 22 officially released studio albums
* 2 unauthorized (but still commercially available) studio albums
* 1 unreleased (but complete) official studio album
* 1 unreleased album not intended for public ears
* 2 officially released live albums
* 1 unauthorized (but still commercially available) live album
* 3 soundtracks with notable Bee Gees involvement
* 1 soundtrack with little Bee Gees involvement, but several older Gibb compositions (some of which aren't performed by the group themselves)
* 1 soundtrack with a couple new Bee Gees tracks, as well as other new Gibb compositions performed by different artists

BARRY
* 4 officially released demo albums
* 1 sort-of officially released demo album
* 2 officially released full-fledged studio albums (I'll put "Hawks" in here too)
* 1 unreleased (but complete) official studio album
* 1 unreleased album that was technically revised and released

ROBIN
* 6 officially released studio album
* 1 officially released live album
* 1 possibly forthcoming studio album
* 1 unreleased (but complete) official solo album
* 1 unreleased solo album that may not actually exist

MAURICE
* 1 officially released stage cast album, with other artists
* 2 unreleased (but complete) official solo albums (I'm putting "A Breed Apart" in here)
* 1 unreleased and probably unfinished solo album
* 1 unreleased and probably unfinished collaboration with Ringo Starr
* 1 unreleased soundtrack probably not planned for release

ANDY
* 3 officially released albums
* 1 unreleased (but complete) official solo album
* 1 unreleased and unfinished solo album

It wouldn't really be fair to tally these up, as it's impossible to say what should be included in the tally. One thing to remember, however, is that despite the general distinction between group and solo albums, the group actually tends to lump solo works (sometimes, but not always, including Andy's) together with group recordings - solo tracks have appeared on official Bee Gees compilations, for example, and the upcoming "Mythology" box even includes a disc of Andy material. So it's fair to say that most of not all of the above albums can be considered 'Bee Gees albums', even if they're not strictly such.

Total, the four brothers at least stamped their headlining names on an astounding *64* albums, but again, this is a very, very broad look at their wide body of recordings.

Incidentally, as a note for collectors, very few of these (despite the wealth of unreleased projects) are totally unavailable - much of the rare material is available in bootleg form somewhere. These are the items you shouldn't hold your breath for, because you won't find 'em:

• BEE GEES - third Australian album [in its entirety - "If I Needed Someone" and "Another Tear Falls" have never emerged into the collector's circuit]
  
• BARRY - "Guilty Pleasures Demos" [entire tracks - the bootleg CD contains the truncated versions!]
• ROBIN - "My Own Work"
• ROBIN - "50 St. Catherine's Drive" [what exists of it now, at least]
• MAURICE - untitled synthesizer album with Ringo
• MAURICE - "Strings and Things"
• ANDY - untitled Australian album
• ANDY - "It's My Neighborhood" (or "Man On Fire")

The Bee Gees' albums... how many? (part 2)

Okay, homework's done with, so where were we? Ah, that's right, I stopped after "Staying Alive". Alright, so it's the early Eighties, and the Bee Gees aren't making any music together....

...Well, actually, they are. Though it obviously won't count towards our number of group albums, Robin's solo album "Walls Have Eyes" was really a joint project between all three brothers, and indeed, his brothers are clearly heard on tracks like 'Toys'. But, nevermind that, because the boys officially reformed shortly after.

[17] E.S.P. (1987)
[18] ONE (1989)
[19] HIGH CIVILISATION (1991)
Three more studio albums added to their catalog. This era is notable, as it marked the loss of brother Andy - something discussed forthright on the "One" album.

[??] THE BUNBURY TAILS (1992)
And we hit a snag here. The Bunburys were a cartoon helmed by Bee Gees compatriot David English, with some input from Barry. I don't believe that I've actually seen this credited as a Bee Gees album anywhere, though a number of the tracks on this soundtrack were either performed by the group or written by the group for other artists. (Sadly, this obscure album is the only official home of No Hat Moon's performance of Barry's stunning "Seasons".) So, our choice is either to toss it in the "Melody" pile, since four of the Gibbs' six contributions are by other artists; or to put it in the "Staying Alive" pile, since the songs were all written for this soundtrack. I'll choose the latter. (Now, don't make me explain those piles, because I'll just end up confusing myself. Just slap this alongside the other various artists LP's mentioned and let's move on before someone's brain aches...)

[20] SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING (1993)
[21] STILL WATERS (1997)
Two more studio albums. Incidentally, 1995 was meant to include the release of "Love Songs," a compilation for which the group recorded a handful of new tracks; this never emerged (and no, this wasn't the recent compilation of that title), and the new tracks appeared elsewhere.

[?] ONE NIGHT ONLY (1998)
Again, as with "Here At Last", this is a live album. But man, I almost feel bad having to relegate it to "miscellaneous" status, because it's so damn important - it marked a major tour in the Bee Gees' careers, and was accompanied by a video. But, I suppose it just all comes down to being the truncated soundtrack to a video, shorn of six songs in order to fit on a single disc.

[22] THIS IS WHERE I CAME IN (2001)
One last studio album for the trio... at this point, the boys were recording tracks separately ("White Album" style I suppose), and their growing conflicts would continue to boil, even beyond Maurice's death in 2003.

However, as of late 2009, Robin and Barry have reformed (as the Bee Gees), so there's always the possibility of a 23rd album.........

[?] AUSTRALIAN TOUR 1989 (2009)
Thought I should throw this last minute addition onto the pile. This commercially released two-disc set of the "One For All" tour was released without the brothers' permission, due to some copyright loophole in Australia that allows the unauthorized release of live recordings 20 years after recording takes place. This still seems fairly unknown by fans, but time will tell if the brothers give it any official notice.

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Alright, that covers the Bee Gees as a group.... now things get really ugly.

BARRY GIBB SOLO

[?] THE KID'S NO GOOD (1970)
See, here's why the solo projects get so ugly - because many of them were never released (or necessarily finished), so it's impossible to determine which should count and which shouldn't, since they obviously didn't inspire a release, no matter their state of completion. (More on that later.) This particular album, recorded during the Bee Gees' 1970 split, was finished. This was Barry's entry into a trio of solo albums that would be worked on, and scrapped, during that time period.

[1] GUILTY DEMOS (1979 / 2006)
[2] HEARTBREAKER DEMOS (1982 / 2006)
[3] EYES THAT SEE IN THE DARK DEMOS (1983 / 2006)
And then here's another issue. Alright, so, during the Bee Gees' post-Fever lull, Barry enjoyed writing entire albums for artists; and for each, he would record a private version of the entire album as a guideline for the respective artist. All of these were released on iTunes a couple years ago. So, after years of bootleg copies, they have entered the realm of released recordings - the only confusion lies in how to number them. Either they should be numbered according to recording chronology in relation to Barry's other albums, or they should be numbered based on their 2006 release. I'll leave that decision up to readers.

[4] NOW VOYAGER (1984)
The first Barry album to actually reach the market - well, Barry by himself, as he featured heavily on the artists' final versions of his demo recordings. This was accompanied by a short film showcasing the album's music.

[5] EATEN ALIVE DEMOS (1985 / 2006)
One more demo album, this time for Diana Ross. Unlike the others, this was never bootlegged; and the iTunes version is lacking the title track, the rights for which lay in the hands of its co-author, Michael Jackson.

[?] MOONLIGHT MADNESS (1986)
An unreleased album. I'm less apt to count this one, because much of the material would be recycled a couple years later on a similar LP. (Incidentally, this album is also sometimes referred to as "My Eternal Love.")

[6] HAWKS (1988)
And this is what became of "Moonlight Madness." That scrapped album was revamped as this movie soundtrack, all of which is performed by Barry, save "Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross (which was also a Gibb composition).

Well, that's all of Barry's solo albums, really.... except this little bit of confusion:

[?] GUILTY PLEASURES DEMOS (2005)
For the sequel to his 1979 project with Barbra Streisand, Barry wrote another album's worth of songs, and recorded an album's worth of demos (save "Don't Throw It All Away" and "Letting Go", which were previously released). So we can at least toss this in the 'unreleased' pile... or can we? Well, yes and no. Barry DID release these tracks, but not in any concrete form; their only appearance was in the 'Radio' stream on Barry's site, and there, they were intentionally faded in and out so that fans only heard two-minute-or-so chunks of them. Unless we see a full release someday (which may not occur, as Barry's iTunes days seem to be over), I won't count this.

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Off to bed I go... as soon as I can, I'll wrap this up. Robin's releases are fairly straightforward, Andy's have some interesting points, and as for Maurice... well, we'll see when I get there. His discography is a bit of a disaster.

The Bee Gees albums.... how many?? (part 1)

Next year, the Bee Gees will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. (Some of you are going "Holy shit, Stayin' Alive came out 50 years ago?") Since their foundation in 1960 (which doesn't seem right, as I believe they started recording demos in 1958 - but this isn't my place to judge), they've recorded.... well, a lot of albums, both as a group and as solo artists.

But it's time to look back and think... just how many albums did these three talented brothers churn out, anyway? The Bee Gees' discography is complicated, because no one has a set opinion on what exactly constitutes their catalog. Does Andy's music count? Does "Saturday Night Fever" count, even though it's not strictly a Bee Gees album? What about the unreleased albums? The Australian albums? The unauthorized third Australian album? But wait, weren't there FOUR Australian albums?

Alright, let's sort this out. Albums with numbers are certainly counted; albums with one question should be counted, but most likely aren't officially counted by the Bee Gees; albums with two question marks are more confusing.

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THE BEE GEES AS A GROUP

[1] THE BEE GEES SING AND PLAY 14 BARRY GIBB SONGS (1965 - Australia only)
The first album, plain and simple, even though it was technically comprised mainly of previously released singles.

[2] SPICKS AND SPECKS (1966 - Australia only)
The second album. Also known as "Monday's Rain."

[??] (THIRD AUSTRALIAN ALBUM?) (1966)
An entire album exists of outtakes from around the time of the "Spicks and Specks" album sessions. Much of this material (save two tracks, which haven't even been bootlegged) appeared on the 'Inception/Nostalgia' collection. However, given the fact that some of these tracks are merely sloppy in-studio piss takes of other artists' songs, it's unlikely that this was intended for release, despite rumors otherwise. Why this even exists as a record is unknown.

[3] BEE GEES' FIRST (1967)
Whoa, wait... it certainly isn't! Well, it was the Bee Gees' first international album, and since they were unknown outside of Australia at this point, no one else would have been aware in the slightest that they had two local albums there. Calling this "Bee Gees' Third" would've been silly.

[?] TURN AROUND, LOOK AT US (1967 - Australia only)
This one's tough, as the Bee Gees seem to ignore it completely, especially since they didn't authorize it to begin with. After the boys had moved back to England, their Australian label released *this* as their third album, despite it containing absolutely no new material - just more as-yet-uncompiled singles and some repeats from "Sing and Play". The status of this rare LP depends on who you ask, really.

[4] HORIZONTAL (1968)
The Bee Gees' second international album.

[5] IDEA (1968)
The Bee Gees' third international album.

[6] ODESSA (1969)
The Bee Gees' fourth international album, and last with all three brothers for a little while. (Note that this was later split into two separate LP's - "Sound Of Love" and "Marley Purt Drive".)

[?] INCEPTION / NOSTALGIA (1970)
A very bizarre release. This 2-LP set of unique material (all Australian outtakes, some of which originally appeared on the mysterious unreleased 1966 LP) was released on Polydor without the consent of the group... but only in Germany and France. The brothers didn't even know about it until they found it in a Swiss record store after the fact. Even still, it is entirely fresh material... but then, the fact that they didn't consent to it probably bumps it from their catalog.

[7] CUCUMBER CASTLE (1970)
Credited as "The Bee Gees", though it isn't really... Robin Gibb was off on his own at this point, leaving Barry and Maurice to create both this album and an accompanying TV movie featuring its music.

[8] 2 YEARS ON (1970)
The group's 'reunion album', featuring the return of Robin.

[??] MELODY (1971)
A soundtrack album, which features one new Bee Gees track (a remake of "In The Morning" from Inception/Nostalgia), a couple older tracks, and some orchestral covers of Bee Gees tunes. Half of the album is completely unrelated to the group. Not quite the caliber of their contributions to "Saturday Night Fever", because their actual work on this soundtrack is limited to one track. If it wasn't for the Bee Gees' official biography "Tales Of The Brothers Gibb" claiming that people commonly mistake this obscure soundtrack for a Bee Gees' album, it wouldn't even be worth a mention.

[9] TRAFALGAR (1971)
[10] TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN (1972)
[11] LIFE IN A TIN CAN (1973)
Standard releases, nothing of note to mention.

[?] A KICK IN THE HEAD IS WORTH EIGHT IN THE PANTS (1973)
And then we hit this one. This LP, which was actually completed and sequenced into a reasonable track order, was recorded as the follow-up to the dull "Life In A Tin Can", but cancelled when group manager Robert Stigwood decided it was 'not worthy of them.' (Being far superior to "Tin Can" in many fans' eyes, Stigwood may have made a mistake.) It may be safe to say that the group doesn't consider a scrapped album, especially one that they have openly dismissed as poor material (....Christ, guys! It has "Castles In The Air", a wonderful song!!), as part of their catalog. The only thing that may change this is if Rhino finally continues their reissue series, and puts this album out once and for all. Time will tell.

[12] MR. NATURAL (1974)
[13] MAIN COURSE (1975)
[14] CHILDREN OF THE WORLD (1976)
More standard studio albums, nothing of note.

[?] HERE AT LAST... LIVE (1977)
This one's tricky. While it is technically part of their standard stream of releases, the group apparently doesn't consider it one of their primary releases, due to it being a live album. We'll leave this one up in the air.

[?] SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
Okay... let's look at the facts here. a) The four songs that start this album were intended for the Bee Gees' next studio album, and not a movie. b) More of that studio album was recorded, and not used here. c) Much of the material on this soundtrack is not related to the Bee Gees. d) In spite of this, the Bee Gees are on the front cover, and were given top billing for the film's score. In the grand scheme of things, the Bee Gees are probably given an unfair amount of credit for what is just a various artists soundtrack. Hell, two of their songs are just pulled from older albums. But, the cold hard fact is, to the group's chagrin, this is the album most associated with them. I honestly don't know.

[?] SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1978)
Yes, the Bee Gees have disowned both this album and the film, refusing to include Robin's hit version of "Oh! Darling" on any of their authorized compilations. However, the group's contribution to this soundtrack is MUCH larger than that of "Saturday Night Fever," with at least one of the brothers appearing on half (or more) of the songs in the two LP set. It is, like SNF, technically a various artists album however, so it's silly to give the Bee Gees full credit, especially when they really, really don't want credit for this.

[15] SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN (1979)
[16] LIVING EYES (1981)
Nothing confusing here, either - just two more studio albums.

[?] STAYING ALIVE (1983)
The soundtrack to the "Saturday Night Fever" sequel. Like its predecessor, the Bee Gees are often given top billing for this soundtrack, despite half of it being by other artists. (This one's only a single LP, so the Bee Gees' five new songs, plus a drastically edited version of "Stayin' Alive", comprise a full half.) It's actually not even certain that these is true Bee Gees music, as Barry is the only member detectable - at this point, Robin and Maurice were actually off working on their own projects, and may not be on these tracks at all. Who knows? Toss this one in the "various artists" pile with SNF, Melody and Pepper.

Alright, so we're to the Bee Gees' Eighties split... and I need to do homework! :-P More to come...