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The Bee Gees: "Their Greatest Hits: The Record" |
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Most people probably feel that they need no introduction to
the Bee Gees, as most are familiar with their 70s disco-era
hits. However, the three Gibb brothers have been recording
hit singles since the mid-60s (and performed together for
years before that) and have carried on after most have
forgotten them. This two CD collection of 40 songs covers
their entire career, from their start as romantic
balladeers, through their breakup and reunion, to their 70s
hits, to their production and songwriting work in the 80s,
ending with their latest reinvention as Adult Contemporary
elder statesmen. All but the most dedicated of fans will
find something new in this set, made up mostly of singles
but featuring a few new recordings. Their Greatest
Hits: The Record is now their definitive greatest
hits collection, overshadowing many that concentrated on
only part of their career, and an out-of-print sprawling
box set.
The set starts with their first international hit from 1967
"New York Mining Disaster 1941," and the first half of the
first disc includes many of their hits from the late 1960s
such as "Words" and "To Love Somebody." Also included is
"Saved by the Bell," actually from Robin Gibb's solo album
(but not credited as a solo track on this collection) which
was recorded during their 1969 breakup. The brothers
followed most of the pop music trends during this period,
including some mild psychedelia and a double LP concept
album Odessa represented here by "First of
May."
A few ballads from the late 1970s start the second half of
the first disc, but it quickly turns to their R&B/disco
reinvention they started with American producer Arif
Mardin. "Nights on Broadway" features the first appearance
of their falsetto voices,
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and "Jive Talkin'" and "You
Should be Dancing" were later included on the
Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Also
included is their B-side version of "If I Can't Have You,"
the Yvonne Ellison hit from that soundtrack.
The second disc kicks off with "Stayin' Alive" and includes
the hits they recorded for Saturday Night
Fever and its follow-up album Spirits Having
Flown. Following that success, the brothers faced
an anti-disco backlash (and the embarrassment of the flop
of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band
film, thankfully omitted), and concentrated on writing and
producing songs for others. "Guilty," Barry Gibb's duet
with Barbra Streisand, is included in its original version,
but the highlight here is four new recordings by the Bee
Gees of songs they wrote for others. "Emotion" (originally
by Samantha Sang and recently covered by Destiny's Child)
and "Heartbreaker" (written for Dionne Warwick) sound much
the same as the originals. The Kenny Rogers and Dolly
Parton duet "Islands in the Stream" gets the biggest
overhaul, with Robin taking solo lead vocals; it also
produces cringes and/or laughter when he starts including
lyrics from the chorus of Praz's "Ghetto Superstar," a rap
song based on "Islands." A fourth remake, of Celine Dion's
"Immortality," appears toward the end of the disc and is
pretty much unremarkable.
After a selection of their recent singles, including the
new "This is Where I Came In" (a welcome return to the
simpler production of their early days), the album closes
with their 1966 classic "Spicks and Specks." This song
was a hit in Australia (after 11 unsuccessful tries) and
led to the Bee Gees moving back to their native UK to
launch the career chronicled on Their Greatest Hits:
The Record, and brings the set to a strong close.
By Donald Harvill, CanEHdian.com
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