HBO's Bee Gees Documentary Shows Group's Rich History

Photo: HBO

by Philip Price
I came to really discover the Bee Gees my junior year of high school after buying their Number Ones compilation (a new release at the time) and listening to it repeatedly on my discounted Wal-Mart version of the Walkman or Discman (I feel like I had to buy a new one every other month and new headphones every other week at that time), but even under what weren't the most optimal of audio circumstances the power of the harmonies of the Brothers Gibb was undeniable. I've carried on my perception of the Bee Gees from that day forward, thinking of them not as a band that changed with and adapted to the times, but more as the first white boys to legitimately understand how to make R&B, funk and soul music all wrapped up in one. So, needless to say I was pleased to flesh out more of their rich history thanks to Frank Marshall's lovely “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which can be seen on HBO and streaming on HBO Max. 

The in-depth look at the songwriting process is a real highlight, though I wish Marshall might have extended his interviews with other bands made up of brothers to all of the members rather than only Noel Gallagher and Nick Jonas. This might have allowed for a better sense of just how vastly different the experience of sharing so many experiences together both as family members and co-workers can be from one perspective to the next; lending a better sense of what the differences in present interviews with Robin and Maurice might have yielded given Barry now has the single longest length of time on which to reflect. That said, Barry's final interview moment here is one for the heartbreaking books - a somber if not fitting encapsulation of how fast life moves and how much we miss what will count most later on down the line.

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