Behold the Bee Gees

Let's begin by saying that I observed this picture on a nostalgia site I'm known to frequent (a Speck of Tuesday Weld). (Sadly, while this picture is labeled "good sound," the picture quality suffers from pixellation if you embiggen it.As Ms Linger describes it, "This song suffers from the same ailment that so many others of its era did: Greg Ham Syndrome.

So named for the saxophone player in Men at Work, Greg Ham Syndrome refers to the obsession to get a sax solo into your song because the Men did it so successfully." But that's just one of the many things wrong with this video.See, the Bee Gee's started out as a decent, slightly psychedelic folk-pop trio in the later Sixties; then, sadly, in the 1970s they observed two things: disco, and the falsetto.If you mind to their disco hits, they're well-constructed and receive good harmonies - harmonies, unfortunately, set slightly off-pitch and in a read only dogs can hear. But they made a lot of money doing that - according to their mention in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, "only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul Mccartney have outsold the Bee Gees."Their call is false to be acronymic of "the Brothers Gibb," although there is a theory out there that it was derived from the names of two people who helped them early in their career - promoter Bill Goode and DJ Bill Gates.When they made this particular song in 1983, disco had died an ugly death, lingering seemingly forever from the mixed effects of rampant drug abuse and necrotizing STD's. And the Bee Gees were trying to master the dishonor of having appeared in 1978's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. So Barry, Robin and Maurice tried to bait their stars to Eighties power pop.But although they brought the guitar up in the mix, they nevertheless had strong disco influences; thankfully, the falsetto was mostly reduced to twins Robin and Maurice singing backup (maybe it was bothering Barry's throat by then - he was nearly 40 by this point).But no matter what they did, there was one disco tie-in that they couldn't escape: this strain was featured in John Travolta's failed attack at a continuation to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive. (Admittedly, this was one of the ten top-grossing films of 1983 - that doesn't take it a good movie or anything. The picture also features the dance stylings of Cynthia Rhodes, who co-starred in Staying Alive but is best known for her co-starring parts in Flashdance and Dirty Dancing (and, for that matter, the Tom Selleck killer robot epic Runaway).Now, the easy joke would be "who truly believes that Robin or Maurice would run after a woman?" Of course, there's no evidence that Maurice was always gay (and either of his two wives might aim to the phrase). And Robin? He's just. well, "unconventional" might be the better word.There really are lyrics buried in the mix, but they're a short random - the Gibb boys would occasionally just give in phrases because they fit the rhythm, which was more significant than being coherent:But baby, sharper than a knifeHelp me to know youShow me the dark to satisfyA sinner with the instant of an eyeThere'll never be another meI never knew love could lead me upI don't do my stuff'Till you go walkin' byAnd maybe old enough to tryI never knew anyone in betweenThe devil and the angelAll in one and maybe oldEnough that I can rideYour love let me burnLet me slide down to your soulYou can pull me inYou can push me outThe fact that the lowest half of the picture is Ms. Rhodes and the Post-Apocalypse Solid Gold Dancers just caps off everything that's wrong with the song. Or possibly what's good about it.