BEE GEES: HERE AT LAST... LIVE (1977)
1) I've Gotta Get A Message To
You; 2) Love So Right; 3) Edge Of The Universe; 4) Come On Over; 5) Can't Keep
A Good Man Down; 6) New York Mining Disaster 1941; 7) Run To Me / World; 8)
Holiday / I Can't See Nobody / I Started A Joke / Massachusets; 9) How Can You
Mend A Broken Heart; 10) To Love Somebody; 11) You Should Be Dancing; 12)
Boogie Child; 13) Down The Road; 14) Words; 15) Wind Of Change; 16) Nights On
Broadway; 17) Jive Talkin'; 18) Lonely Days.
The Bee Gees never got around to recording a
live album during their «golden» age — and there is nothing wrong with that,
because throughout that age, the Bee Gees were a studio-based band through and
through: even the surviving «live» footage, for the most part, consists of meticulously
choreographed, sterilized, lip-synched TV performances, and the actual live
shows, overall, would have to be rated in accordance with how close, on that
particular night, the Gibbs were able to match the perfection of their studio
productions. The shows sold out fine, to be sure, but something tells me that
the audiences were mainly there to see
the Gibbs than hear them — Barry at
least was impossibly handsome in those early days, enough to make one think
twice about one's preferred sexual orientation... 'scuse me.
By the mid-1970s, things had seriously changed.
The Bee Gees got older and a little worn out (especially Maurice, daily
increasing the sacrifice of his hair in his brothers' favour), but as they went
further and further down the dubious road of R'n'B-ization and then
disco-ization of their sound, it gave them a chance to stretch out a bit and
add some looseness and freedom to the show. An early live take on ʽHeavy
Breathingʼ could be extended to over ten minutes, showcasing the band's
improving instrumental technique (particularly Maurice's bass parts and Alan
Kendall's lead guitar playing) and giving the crowds plenty of room to practice
body language. So it is only natural that, eventually, the possibility of a
live album entered the picture — and, fortunately enough, was realized in the
pre- rather than post-Saturday Night
Fever era, when the «total sterilization» that the Bee Gees had already
achieved in the studio had not yet completely neutralized their live shows.
If anything, Here At Last... is worth taking a peek at just to see how they
manage to integrate the «old shit» with the «new shit». In terms of sheer
quantity, the «old shit» only occupies about a third of the entire running
length, but it is so skilfully scattered throughout the album that there is an
illusion of «democracy». Here they start off the show with Robin's
heartbreaking ʽMessage To Youʼ — and then immediately follow it up with the
plastic confection of ʽLove So Rightʼ off Children
Of The World, as if the two had something in common. Or, after a final sequence
of their stompiest dance hits, close the album on a melancholy / psycho note with
ʽLonely Daysʼ.
The major misstep, which turned into a practice
that they would stubbornly observe up to the very end, is in their jamming most
of the old hits into a rather pathetic «medley», which eats up huge parts of
ʽHolidayʼ, ʽI Can't See Nobodyʼ, ʽRun To Meʼ, and other songs. This is one
clear sign of where their primary allegiance now lies — I mean, sacrifice the
integrity of their baroque pop legacy in order to make room for five extra
minutes of straightforward disco dancing (in the guise of a lengthy coda to
ʽYou Should Be Dancingʼ)? It would have been more sensible to simply leave out
some of these castrated snippets, but apparently they thought that the fans
should be given the chance of hearing every hit single's chorus at least once —
go figure.
One major reason why they still so left so many
oldies in the setlist, I suppose, was to provide Robin with something to do —
since he was practically excluded from singing lead on most of the disco stuff,
and never played any instruments either, his role was reduced to strengthening
the harmonies on the chorus parts and jumping around like an idiot on
everything else. (Fortunately, this is not a problem with the audio record).
But generally, they concentrate on Main
Course and Children Of The World
— and it must be said that at least ʽCan't Keep A Good Man Downʼ, with extra
focus on Kendall's aggressive lead playing, is an improvement here, shedding
some of the studio gloss and getting more in line with the livelier vibe of Main Course.
In short, this double live LP, recorded
December 20, 1976, right in the heartland of newly conquered Bee Gees
territory — The Forum at Los Angeles — has its ups, downs, historical importances,
and dated gimmicks, but most significantly, it still has some entertainment
value: at the very least, of all the officially
released audio and video recordings of the band, it is unquestionably the best
one, still capturing a small bit of the flesh-and-blood Gibb brothers just before
they crossed over completely into Vegas territory.
Check "Here At Last... Live" (MP3) on Amazon
"think twice about one's preferred sexual orientation"
ReplyDeleteI understand perfectly what you mean, especially in times like these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR8sxX0GoFo
As for this album, if it has been released in The Netherlands it didn't sell. Until recently I never had heard of it. It is not even mentioned on Dutch Wikipedia.
"One major reason why they still so left so many oldies in the setlist, I suppose, was to provide Robin with something to do" Ya think? It's hard to believe he was such a big player in the band's sound before they went uptown. Then again, if I had to hear one more song about crying...or weeping...or dying...
ReplyDelete"his role was reduced to strengthening the harmonies on the chorus parts and jumping around like an idiot on everything else." Yeah, that too. Check him out during the choruses, he was getting down back in '70!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7Nr9lTS61O0
" ʽHeavy Breathingʼ could be extended to over ten minutes, showcasing the band's improving instrumental technique (particularly Maurice's bass parts and Alan Kendall's lead guitar playing)" Alan Kendall is becoming the hero of '70s BG music.