from STILL WATERS
Written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Released in the spring of 1997, Still Waters was the twenty-first studio album recorded by the legendary Bee Gees. Still Waters became a solid hit for Bee Gees. The album sold over two million copies in the US and reached the top 10 in several European countries with cumulative sales of over one million copies. Dominating the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts of those years, David Foster was approached by the Gibb brothers to work on Still Waters.
The Canadian super-producer worked on two songs, “I Could Not Love You More” and “I Surrender.” The first was a gorgeous ballad recorded in Los Angeles in March 1996. “I Could Not Love You More” sported a grand Foster arrangement that was tailor-made for the adult contemporary market. The song charted in several countries including the UK where it reached #14. A previous review of “I Could Not Love You More” can be found in the archives.
This week, attention turns to the second track that Foster co-produced with Bee Gees, the pop/dance number “I Surrender.” Another great original co-written by Barry Gibb with his late twin brothers Maurice (1949 to 2003) and Robin (1949 to 2012), “I Surrender” was heard as ear-candy by spotlighting those classic vocal harmonies, Barry’s falsetto and the infectious refrain. On that song, Foster kept a good portion of the original demo recorded by the group including the keyboard and guitar parts. Here’s some of an interview by Maurice Gibb where he spoke about their work with Foster on “I Surrender:”
“On ‘I Surrender,’ David Foster said, ‘Why should we spend three weeks trying to make it any better? Why try to beat the demo when it’s there on tape?’ The instrumentation was there; it was just a different arrangement. He [Foster] made some changes here and there.”
Foster was certainly right. The danceable atmospheres of “I Surrender” stand as one of the highlights of Still Waters.
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-Bee-Gees-I-Surrender.mp3|titles=I Surrender|artists=Barry Gibb]
Lead Vocals: Barry Gibb
Vocals: Robin Gibb
Vocals & Keyboards: Maurice Gibb
Guitar: Michael Thompson & Alan Kendall
Programming: Gen Rubin, Doug Rasheed, Chucky Booker
Produced by David Foster, Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Lyrics
From the highest tower,
I will call you home.
It’s the same old story,
love will find its own (oh).
You come to me, conspiracy of the night.
The heart that you want just happens to be mine.
Thieves in the dark, you ought to be locked in chains
but you wind up on my side, and what will be will be.
That you wear a disguise, the epitome of deceit.
The face of a friend invisible on the street.
If you are battling to be mine, I’m victorious in defeat
and I surrender (I surrender), I surrender.
Anybody want me, anyone know my name.
Do it in a lifetime,
you be dust and the soul survives.
Evens up the score (ah).
From the highest tower,
I will call you home.
It’s the same old story,
love will find its own.
And I surrender,
take me for all time.
Love that lasts forever,
and I surrender.
We are elite, prisoners of the night.
We fight to the finish and savour the delights.
It’s your body that got me beat, and I’m crumbling at your feet,
I surrender (I surrender), I surrender.
I will walk through fire to keep you safe and sound (oh no, oh no).
In the final hour, turn my life around (oh no),
and I surrender, take me for all time.
You are the air that I breathe (oh)
I will walk through fire, keep you safe and sound.
In the final hour, turn my life around (oh).
This is my life (life) story (story), I’ve been lost and found (oh no, oh no).
In the final hour (in the final hour), turn my life around (oh no).
And I surrender (surrender),
take me for all time.
I surrender , ah
love as warm as wine
I surrender ah ah…