The music we listen to as teenagers seems to form a lifelong connection with us, probably because it’s such a tumultuous and confusing time and also because it is the time where we transition into adults and are filled with anticipation and hope. I hit puberty in the early 1970s and one of the groups I formed an affinity with was the Bee Gees.
This morning as I listened to Barry Gibb’s new album Greenfields, memories of that time came flooding back. I smiled thinking about dance lessons at school in 1978 trying to learn the steps to Night Fever. Laughing with friends at Barry Gibb’s almost impossible to believe falsetto in Staying Alive while secretly loving the song. In 1979, Tragedy became the unofficial anthem to my life as I realised I wasn’t like ‘other’ boys and longed to find a boyfriend.
Greenfields is a collaboration between Gibb and a number of famous artists doing remakes of some of the Bee Gees earlier works. I was hesitant to play them because these tracks are so iconic, and the brothers’ sound was unique and distinctive.
Thankfully, what Gibb and his friends have produced is a beautiful and fitting tribute to the Bee Gees’ legacy.
Gibb’s vocals provide the bedrock and the connection to the past in each song, but it is the guest artists who bring a fresh and potent dynamic to them.
This is especially true in To Love Somebody, my favourite. This gorgeous song is soulful and melodic. Jay Buchanan brings a raw and deeply emotional edge which reaches a soaring and ecstatic climax.
Collaborations with Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton John fill the record with a hint of country music without overpowering the tracks. Each one pays homage to the Gibb brothers, but there is enough of a difference for them to feel ‘new.’ The orchestration is superb, and each artist is the perfect fit.
Here’s a big thank you to Barry Gibb for bringing this album to us. He has reworked his family’s music in a beautifully sublime way that enhances the legacy.
