Amazing Collection -- But Now Outdated

The Bee Gees started the second phase of their extraordinary careers with 1975s stellar "Jive Talkin'" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1975) a song that heralded the beginning of their rule as disco masters. They continued their ascent with the equally danceable "You Should Be Dancing" (#1 for 1 week in 1976) and peaked a few years later with their trio of #1 hits from "Saturday Night Fever" - "How Deep Is Your Love" (#1 for 3 weeks in 1977), "Stayin' Alive" (#1 for 4 weeks in 1978), and "Night Fever" (#1 for 8 weeks in 1978). The brothers managed to stay on top of the music world with their next CD, "Spirits Having Flown," which yielded 3 more #1 hits - "Too Much Heaven" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1979), "Tragedy" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1979), and "Love You Inside Out" (#1 for 1 week in 1979).



"Greatest" was released in 1979, on the heels of this phenomenal late 70s success. In addition to these great #1 songs, the set includes their two other Top 10s from the period - "Nights on Broadway" (#7 in 1975) and "Love So Right" (#3 in 1976). One of my favorite songs here is "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" which only went to #12 in 1976 but is a beautiful ballad worthy of greater attention. The Bee Gees were so huge at the time that they even managed to score a hit on the country chart: "Rest Your Love on Me," the b-side of "Too Much Heaven," peaked at #39 in 1979.



I also really enjoy the non-hits, some of which were singles for others. "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away," for example, peaked at #9 in 1978 for their brother, Andy Gibb. In addition, two other songs from "Saturday Night Fever" are included: "If I Can't Have You" (#1 for 1 week in 1978 for Yvonne Elliman) and "More Than a Woman" (#32 in 1978 for Tavares). I particularly like "If I Can't Have You": their version adds some fantastic urgency to the lyrics - a really great song. Finally, some top-notch album cuts are here: "Love Me," "You Stepped Into My Life," and "Children of the World" (from 1976's "Children of the World"); "Spirits (Having Flown)" (from 1979's "Spirits Having Flown"); "Wind of Change (from 1975's "Main Course"). I'm really surprised that "Love Me" was never released as a single, as it sounds like a sure-fire hit.



I really love "Greatest," and the Bee Gees have been enjoying a critical and popular rediscovery in recent years; they were even inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. This collection, however, has gone out of print and been replaced by the subsequent "The Bee Gees - Their Greatest Hits: The Record," a 2-disc set with 40 songs. That collection comprises hits from their entire career, from "New York Mining Disaster" (#14 in 1967) to "Alone" (#28 in 1997). However, "Greatest" is much more focused on their disco era success and thus sounds very cohesive.

It's Surely Greatest

Bee Gees finished off with the disco era with their album Spirits Having Flown. After writing the song Don't Throw It All Away (Our Love) for Andy Gibb, their younger brother, they released this double LP. All the songs in this album are picked from Main Course (Night on Broadway, Jive Talkin', Fanny (Be Tender With My Love), Wind of Change), Children of the World (Children of the World, Love Me, Love So Right, You Should be Dancing, You Stepped Into My Life), Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack (Stayin' Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Night Fever, More Than a Woman), and Spirits Having Flown (Tragedy, Too Much Heaven, Love You Inside Out, and Spirits (Having Flown)). With some songs from the singles A and B sides: Stayin' Alive (If I Can't Have You),and Too Much Heaven (Rest Your Love on Me).
Don't Throw It All Away was recorded during this LP since it was never released elsewhere before other the Andy Gibb's CD.

Well - actually the best stuff from their greatest period

"Bee Gees Greatest" covers the work of the Brothers Gibb during their most successful period of their careers, 1975-1979. This was the period when the Bee Gees adopted their trademark sound and became associated with the forefront of the "Disco" movement. This greatest hits collection contains 20 songs encompassing four albums: "Main Course", "Children of the World", "Saturday Night Fever", and "Spirits Having Flown". There are also 2 "B" side singles and one 'unreleased' song that are a part of the 20 songs. The nice thing is that this CD basically contains every song you would expect from a Greatest Hits collection by the Bee Gees with really the only weak point being that the work from their early period is missing. This collection was released in 1979. It is worth noting that the Bee Gees had put out several Greatest Hits albums already covering the early work and that there is a Boxed Set entitled "Tales From the Brothers Gibb".

My feeling is the strength of the Bee Gees has always been the vocals. Yes they had some catchy beats, but it was the unique harmonies of the Brothers Gibb that made those catchy beats and Disco-esque rhythms work. This collection will represent those strong vocals well - and of course contain those catchy beats.

The singles from "Main Course" are well represented. The album "Main Course" really launched the 2nd phase of the Bee Gees career which is what the "Greatest" collection focuses on. It contains the hits "Jive Talkin", "Nights on Broadway", "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)", and "Wind of Change". The latter two songs "Fanny" and "Wind of Change" often are forgotten songs, but are two of the better songs done by the Bee Gees - both contain some great harmonies. "Fanny" reminds me of a "bridge" between the early work of the Bee Gees and what was still to come in the late 70s. "Wind of Change" has some absolutely terrific harmonies by Barry Gibb.

The album "Children of the World" is often forgotten when looking at the history of the Bee Gees, but "Greatest" represents it very well. "You Stepped Into My Life", "Love So Right", "Love Me", "Children of the World", and "You Should Be Dancing" are included. Yes, "You Should Be Dancing" was on the Saturday Night Fever album and movie to follow, but it was actually a 1976 song by the Bee Gees. Apparently John Travolta used this song to rehearse his dancing in SNF and lobbyed hard to get it included in the movie - thus it was included in the soundtrack.

All of the big hits from "Saturday Night Fever" that were contributed by the Bee Gees are here. These need no explanation here. "Stayin Alive", "How Deep is Your Love", "Night Fever", "More Than a Woman" (Bee Gees version), and "If I Can't Have You" are on here. "If I Can't Have You" was actually sung by Yvonne Ellman on the SNF album, but it also was a B side to "Stayin Alive" (the Bee Gees are the actual authors of this song). Simply put - the Bee Gees version is superior and I am glad they included it on this collection (part of it almost sounds like a precursor to 'Tragedy'). Technically "Jive Talkin" and "You Should Be Dancing" were also on the SNF album.

"Spirits Having Flown" was the monster follow-up to SNF. That album was the last big selling studio album done by the Bee Gees. "Too Much Heaven", "Tragedy", "Love You Inside Out", and "Spirits Having Flown" are represented on here. There is also a B side from "Too Much Heaven" called "Rest Your Love on Me". I find this song most interesting - it has almost a country-western feel to it. It is a nice change of pace.

The unreleased song is "Our Love (Don't Throw it Away)". This technically wasn't an "unreleased song". This song is most remembered on the incredible 1998 album "One Night Only" in which the Bee Gees 'sing' with the recorded track of their late brother Andy Gibb. In that performance I remember feeling the emotion of how they lost their younger brother. This song was actually a song written by the Brothers Gibb for Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" album. The version included here is the Bee Gees recording of it.

As for the layout of the collection, one thing that is also disappointing is that the songs are not in chronological order. I usually prefer a greatest hits collection to follow a sequential format and with today's CD randomization capabilities, I will then let the technology randomly select my songs. Perhaps the Brothers Gibb were looking to mix things up back in the days of LPs, 8 Tracks, and Cassettes which was the norm for this period of time. It is also worth noting that when this collection was released in 1979, it was released as a double LP. This collection is also a double CD and each CD contains 10 songs. The liner notes do a nice job at listing the songs and credits. It also does a nice job at mapping the albums back to the songs. The weak part is that the lyrics aren't included. I also would have liked a writeup about this period of their careers as well - but I do realize this was originally an LP and not a CD and that just wasn't as common back in 1979.

If you are looking to capture the hits of the Brothers Gibb at their peaks, this is the CD to buy. Keep in mind it does cover a limited period and doesn't fully represent the body of work the Bee Gees would do from a recording and a songwriting standpoint.