Bee Gees (1974) Down the Road - LOSt 70s GEMS

 Seguing in from the prior track, Throw a Penny, we get an awesome heavy mix of funky blues guitar similar to the scratchy, buzz guitar styling of David Bowie's Fame a year later. The combination of several guitars and piano gives the song a Kool and the Gang big group sound similar to the chugging funk of later track Heavy Breathing with it's strain of horns. The Bee Gees embraced funk and Blue Eyed Soul with enough pop, rock and country influences to produce a number of sounds not just Disco, while Heavy Breathing with it's rampant beat would be a clear sing of Proto-Disco, Down the Road mixes this unrelenting funky blues verses with an astral chorus of 'Down the Road' where the harmonies soar incandescently like a choir similar to Throw a Penny but more impressive. All the while the verse rhythm returns with a clavinet buried deep underneath the disco styled blues guitar phrases.

Barry Gibb's husky, country vocal works well with the soul material while the high falsetto choruses and heavy horns of the second verses give a strong Soul music influence. Then their is a Glam Rock style solo where minor keyed, downbeat guitar lines are played in harmony, not to mention the descending, nasally Moog lines used as a counterpoint in the chorus after the stunning harmonies. These descending analog synth lines with their sweet, fuzz sound create a new urban sound that worked in giving a Disco sound.

Mr Natural was where the Bee Gees talents in early 70s pop balladry combined with their new band's talent at extremely frenetic funk rock. The classic Bee Gees formula of mixing sweet melody lines in vocal harmonies and synthesizer parts mixed with downbeat funk rhythms.