Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…
My favorite part of doing these Decades posts is discovering new material by artists with whom I’m only superficially familiar. That was the case with Aerosmith yesterday, and it’s definitely the case with the Bee Gees today.
My knowledge of the Bee Gees pretty much begins and ends with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which frankly is more than enough for me to consider them legends. But this is one of the top-selling bands, worldwide, of all time, with 22 studio albums and a slew of compilations, live albums and soundtrack work.
The album in the spotlight today is Main Course, the 1975 release that pushed the band in a new direction musically with extraordinary results. Yes, this is the album where the Bee Gees went disco.
I would have guessed that happened relatively early in the band’s career, but no, Main Course is their 13th album, released a decade into their recording career. That has me very curious to hear those early albums.
As for this one, it absolutely slaps. This is where ‘Jive Talkin” made its first appearance, before getting a much higher profile on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It’s also home to singles ‘Nights on Broadway’ and ‘Fanny (Be Tender with My Love),’ both new to me and both excellent.
But the non-singles are just as great. ‘Wind of Change’ would fit right in on Saturday Night Fever. I love the Elton John-esque ‘Songbird’ and the mid-tempo ballads ‘Edge of the Universe,’ ‘Baby As You Turn Away’ and ‘Come On Over.’ Just solid songwriting across the board.
Main Course was the Bee Gees’ first gold album and it started a run of commercial success that lasted until their last studio release in 2001. I’m adding all of those releases, as well as the dozen that preceded this one, to my wish list of future deep dives.
Seems like you don’t want the love
Of this man at all
And it’s sure been a lonely time
Right up to the time I met you
So if you take a love like mine
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to hurt me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t desert me
So you say to yourself, boy
You’re out of your brain
Do you think I’m gonna stand here
All night in the rain?
And it’s the start of a love affair
The moment when I first met you
And if you want I’ll take you there
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to break me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t forsake me
With my love
Our love will seal it together
Oh, with our love
You made a promise
You’ll always love me forever
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to break me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t forsake me
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to break me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t forsake me
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to hurt me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t desert me
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to break me
Fanny, be tender with my love
‘Cause it’s all that I’ve got
And my love won’t desert me
Be tender with my love
You know how easy it is to hurt me
Fanny, be tender with my love
Meet Me In Montauk 
I knew that the BeeGees had hits going back into the 60s, but had always understood that Saturday Night Fever had been a sea change and a comeback for the band. I didn’t realize that this album had been a hit, let alone their best selling record to that point, or that the foray into disco began here.
I would enjoy the deep dive into the BeeGees discography.
Count me in! Other than their SNF songs and Barry Gibb’s work with Barbra Streisand on Guilty, I am completely ignorant f anything else about their career/s.
If I may have a slightly different take? I don’t think that “Main Course” is disco, with perhaps the exception of “Wind of Change”. The hits, “Jive Talkin'”, “Nights On Broadway” and “Fanny” are, to my ears, pure rhythm and blues of the time. “Fanny” exudes the R and B/Philadelphia sound beautifully, with outstanding vocals in the modulation at the end. “Nights On Broadway” a long-time favorite of mine is pure 70’s R&B. The Bee Gees would explore disco more thoroughly with the next release “Children of the World” and then certainly with “Saturday Night Fever”, but to my ears, “Main Course” is the sound of a band hitting their stride with the world in front of them.