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 The BeeGees are Real Country (Page 2)
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Ron Sodos Member From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA |
posted 20 December 2006 10:34 AM
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Anybody that compares Merle to the Beegees! Wow that is about as off base as anything I have ever heard! I think The Beegees going country is about as laughable as Van Zandt. Sorry guys I always thought and still do Beegees -> bubblgum garbage....  [This message was edited by Ron Sodos on 20 December 2006 at 11:26 AM.] |
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Roger Rettig Member From: NAPLES, FL |
posted 20 December 2006 01:14 PM
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No apology needed - it's your loss... |
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Rick McDuffie Member From: Smithfield, North Carolina, USA |
posted 20 December 2006 06:39 PM
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Hey, Ron... I don't mind you objecting to the comparison, but your response sounds like a personal challenge, and that's unnecessary. If you don't think the comparison is fair, then support your position with a cogent argument to the contrary. My point was that both songs are about a prisoner facing execution, which is a very "country" kind of scenario. The prison experience is something that Haggard knew firsthand and wrote about on many occasions, but he doesn't have an exclusive right to that territory. I think that this is the kind of song that Barry G. was talking about when he stated that he'd always been a country artist, so it's a relevant point. There are a few more favorable comparisons that could be made between Hag and the Bee Gees. Rick [This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 20 December 2006 at 06:41 PM.] |
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Ron Sodos Member From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA |
posted 20 December 2006 08:02 PM
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Well sorry to offend. Really, I never mean to jump on anyones opinion. Music is all about taste anyway so I am the first to apologize here. However I can't fathom the comparison between the two. Haggard came up through the ranks of the forlorn folk and was a representative of a struggling people. His music was the music of those people he represented. The Beegees to me represent international gross affluence to the max. When the music came out originally that is what I felt then and still do. I guess the music has some pretty melodies and nice vocals etc. But to put them in the same conversation as Haggard, "Give Me a Break"! |
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David L. Donald Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand |
posted 20 December 2006 08:45 PM
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Rick, Thanks I was thinking of Massachusetts (The Lights Went Out). Just listened to an excerp. If you had replaced the smarmy strings with pedal steel it would have been pretty countryish. Musta been late! Barry can sing most anything,
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Dave Mudgett Member From: Central Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 21 December 2006 12:29 AM
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Obviously, being a "country artist" means a lot of different things to different people. But I'm putting myself back to the era where one might argue some (faint, IMO) "musical stylistic" similarities - late 60s - and then compare to what was going on in country music at the time. Big difference, IMO. I'm with Ron S. on this - I just don't see how one seriously compares Haggard, Jennings, Owens, and so on, with Gibb. It strikes me as a comparison of plain-spoken, rural, and a bit rough-and-tumble versus flowery, urbane, and genteel. I think the cultural aspect matters in popular music. This has nothing to do with the quality of music, IMO. The Bee Gees were always quality artists, I don't argue against that. The only aspect I didn't like was the late-70s disco, and that stuff just stuck in my craw. Can't help it. |
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Rick McDuffie Member From: Smithfield, North Carolina, USA |
posted 21 December 2006 07:56 AM
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Fair enough, guys. I never meant to say that the music SOUNDED the same. I'm talking about the writing, and specifically about the early stuff from the 60's. I don't know how old you guys are, but I hear two different "schools" here- one of us guys who remember New York Mining Disasater, 1941, Massachusetts, I Started A Joke, Words, To Love Somebody, etc... and another group of guys who can't get past "Staying Alive". I agree that the disco part, while very successful for them commercially, was the low point of their career artistically. But I would remind you that, when the disco craze hit, a lot of bands from the 60's just didn't survive- and those who did were able to do it because they adapted. Not that they couldn't have survived, but the Stones even put out some disco tunes (I Miss You, for example). Not their best work, either, if you ask me. I think the fact that the Bee Gees were better at it than others, and had massive commercial success (and perhaps overexposure) resulted in a groundswell of resentment against them. If you were to ask Barry about his influences, I'll bet he'd list several American country artists... just as the Beatles did. It's a stretch to say that the two styles aren't related, or can't be compared. |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 21 December 2006 08:21 AM
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Very cogent post. Thank you, Rick. |
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Dave Mudgett Member From: Central Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 21 December 2006 09:12 AM
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quote: Absolutely. But I never heard Lennon or McCartney argue "I am a country artist, always have been a country artist". That is where I take issue. Of course, he has a right to view himself any way he wants to - but the rest of us have a right to decide if we think that is an "authentic" view. On the disco thing - most of the players involved were very high caliber. That is never where I took issue with it. If people like it - fine. But a lot of people see red with this. I don't think one can surgically separate popular music styles from their cultural aspects. I think you're right about overexposure. |
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