The Bee Gees - Bee Gees Greatest
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Free Music Notes for Bee Gees Greatest
Free Music Review: great
Hit: 5 Stars
love the bee gees. had this on vinyl so i just had to get it on cdFree Music Review: Great 70s Compliation
Hit: 4 Stars
Okay so I've started off 2006 with a rush of compilation reviews. My brother-in-law says some of the Bee Gees stuff I pass around is really great, and the obscure stuff I pull out my butt is a real load. However, he, like most seventies babies does agree, Greatest is a tough set to beat.
My cassette of Greatest got lost in my sister's car, but my honey gave me an autographed record version for Christmas! It only highlights Gibb work from 75 to 79, but I have to admit, it is a major chunk of quality material.
Even though we start off with my least favorite tune, Jive Talkin, this no nonsense hit prepares you for the grooving that is to come. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to the track order. It's not chronological to say the least, just bunches of fast or slow. Pick your Gibb!
The dance fest continues with Night Fever. This totally recognizable tune gets old fans back to the times with its whimsical lyrics and foot tapping beat. Shakin' songs like Fever are actually back in style again.
Was Tragedy remade by some Euro kiddie group a few years ago? I don't remember. Another heyday staple, I've always liked Tragedy's progressive beats and mellow lyric combinations.
Ah, we come to the monster that is You Should Be Dancing again. Of course we think Travolta, but let's face it. Even though Dancing's original Children of the World album is thirty years old, this is still a good dance song. Always has been, always will be.
Begrudgingly I mention Staying Alive. Once again I heard someone in a store mention The Bee Gees and modern teens followed up with a little Ah ha ha ha. An immense stable to the Gibbs as well as a perfect time capsule of the times, but not the one and only quintessential Gibby tune its been made out to be.
Oddly enough, sometimes I feel How Deep Is Your Love doesn't get it's do respect, perhaps since it sounds as good today as it did way back when. Fans assume its a newer song, not a powerhouse that has stood the test of time. I'll play this one at my wedding, if my hubby let's me!
Another underappreciated Gibb ballad is Love So Right. Also from Children of The World, even in this small space Right showcases the boys songwriting skills before the Fever soundtrack.
The lofty scale and over the top good feelings of Too Much Heaven is tough to beat. I've always enjoyed Heaven for its touch of spirituality as well as its pretty balladeering.
My sister cannot tell Andy's version of Our Love Don't Throw It All Away apart from the Bee Gees version showcased here. For the untrained ear, it does take several listens. Barry's easy tone is perfect and the twins' ad-libs at the end is top notch.
I love Fanny (Be Tender With My Love) and all its parenthesized glory! The arrangement of Barry, Robin, and Maurice's voices here are so carefully crafted down to every echo. Their skilled style still shows today.
This version of If I Can't Have You by the boys can also be found on the flip side of the Stayin Alive 45. This monster was initially released by Yvonne Elliman for the Fever Soundtrack, but the Brothers recording found its way here. It might not be as sing-a-long-able with Barry, Robin, and Maurice, but it is still catchy, considering it's essentially three British men screaming about love.
Some songs from Children of the World deserve a place on Greatest more than others. You Stepped Into My Life isn't a bad song, but when compared to more timeless Gibb tunes before and after, today it can seem like a skipper. Barry's shrills might be too shrill, but if you read the lyrics to this one it is a pretty little poem.
Love Me's croaking lovelorn lyrics are expertly handled by Robin, and I'm glad to see this track receive its due here. Not the lone crying song here, but perhaps the most depressing, and that's ok.
Although You Should Be Dancing's dance routines are now more famous, Gibb fans of old will remember how much More Than a Woman effected the world. Everyone was going to dance studios and trying to learn the cha cha because of this suave Gibb tune's dance-ability. My sister included!
In contrast, Barry's country track Rest Your Love on Me is a little know gem that somehow made its way onto Greatest. The duet version by Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John is slightly inferior to Barry's rendition, even if his country sweets seem out of place here. A very tight and pleasant breather.
Nights On Broadway takes its rightful place here beside all the other Bee Gee monsters. If it weren't for the discovery of falsetto on this Main Course hit imagine how different The Bee Gees would have been. How different you or I would be!
I have such a love hate relationship with Spirits (Having Flown). Parts of the song can be downright silly, but other parts are magnificently structured tropical gems. Put on your Hawaiian shirts for this one.
Also from the Spirits album, Love You Inside Out fills the kinky slot here. Even if the boys made an album of all their naughty songs, Love You Inside Out's lyrics and history would be tough to beat. A feel good keeper.
Even in the 75 to 79 range, there might be one or two songs that deserve a spot here more so than Wind of Change, but the few I can think of have all also become slightly dated. Change's big statement for the Main Course album might have become less powerful in the subsequent decades, but it is still a nice shrill song for you to attempt to sing, groove, and get down with. Who is with me?!
Of all the tunes to end Greatest, Children of the World is not the one I would pick. Once you get into the song it's not bad, but the opening ooos and ahhhs are a bit dated....okay very dated. Once you get over the chuckles, however, the lyrics are quite nice. If we could take out all the sex and drugs, that little bit of seventies peace and love would be nice for today, don't you think?
Although some tunes presented on Greatest may not have stood the test of time, this album is essential for hey day Gibb fans both young and old. I highly recommend this one to accompany you in the car, but be prepared to make copies for your disco friends!
Free Music Review: BE WARNED: This is heavy handed "remastering".
Hit: 4 Stars
While I definitely would rate the collection of songs here as 5 stars, as it covers the disco era of the Bee Gees very nicely (except for the absence of "Emotion" and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"), I, personally, was disappointed in the remastering on the majority of the songs on this double CD. I know this is a matter of taste, and I am not such a music purist as to discount all remastering efforts (as some of my friends are) on all music from the past.
However, having listened to this same music profusely in the 70's, the songs are ingrained into my both my heart and my mind. And, unfortunately, I found the remastering on the majority of the dance hits on this CD to be heavy-handed enough to significantly change the original recordings, and, not always for the better. Particularly, the first five tracks of the first CD, "Jive Talkin'", "Night Fever" (which at least they labeled a "remix"), "Tragedy", "You Should Be Dancing", and "Stayin' Alive" have a significant increase in the percussion portions of the songs (the underlying "dance beat"), that the vocals tend to get lost in the mix. (Interestingly, the 12" Promo version of "Stayin' Alive" on the first CD has a better quality of remastering than the track number 5 version.)
I think they did a better job on some of the ballads on the CD, most notably "How Deep Is Your Love", and "Love So Right". The remastering effort is much more transparent, and the listener is left with an updated, quality version of the music that is completely true to the original recording.
Both versions of "Night Fever" on this CD are labeled as "remixes", though the first one (Future Funk Squad Remix) comes closer to the original song. And, the packaging is very poor, as it is almost impossible to remove the CD's from the cardboard case without handling the underside of the CD's.
As I mentioned earlier, whether one likes or dislikes a "remastered" version of a favorite song is a matter of taste. I am personally disatisfied enough with this set to look for an alternative CD or CD's to complete my Bee Gee's library. My final rating is closer to 3 and one-half stars than 4. I hope that those who are interested in purchasing this set will at least attempt to seek a way to listen to some of the tracks on these CD's before they buy them, perhaps through a music service on the web or by borrowing them from a friend, especially if the buyer loves and remembers well the original versions of these songs!
Free Music Review: Really Stayin' Alive
Hit: 4 Stars
The music of the 1970's remains as distinctive and classic for the past several years. With great acts like The Police and Genesis who've recently reunited as well, it seems like classic music from the past has a noble re-introduction with reunions everywhere. That is also said through the music of the Bee Gees. Although it is very sad that it has been over four years since the heartbreaking death of Maurice Gibb, the brothers distinctive sound has been reintroduced to a whole new generation for die hard fans, and for those who seem to really be more into Paris Hilton, and those overexposed rap artists. Now, a returning hits records has still shown the Gibb brothers music is still as lively as ever.
The 2007 re-release of the Bee Gees double album Greatest, spans the group through the history of their second era of hits, the 1970's. The collection includes some great tracks that are just delightful to, as well as a few extra remixed versions of classic Bee Gees songs. The album has been remastered very well, and is the first time the album has seen the light of day in several years, since the Bee Gees catalog was recently moved from Universal, to Warner Brothers last year. The album includes some really great tracks including th soulful How Deep Is your Love, Jive Talkin', the often overlooked Nights On Broadway, and the classic #1 dance smash Stayin' Alive from Saturday Night Fever. Although, there are a lot of tracks that've been remixed here well, I honestly wish the album could've included I've Started A Joke, and a few other great classic songs.
All in all, while there have been so many Bee Gees greatest hits albums released the past several years from 2004's Number Ones, to 2005's Love Songs, Greatest stays true to the core as being a definitive hits album for new fans of The Bee Gees, and a reminder for longtime fans what classic guilty pleasures still sound like today. I absolutely recommend this as a great addition to your music library. It still shows classics are always Stayin' Alive.
Album Cover: B+
Songs: B 1/2+
Price: B
Remastered: B+
Overall: B 1/2+
Free Music Review: Get that white polyester suit out of the closet.
Hit: 4 Stars
It's hard to not rate this double CD with a fifth star, as it contains some of the most sublimely perfect dance pop of the seventies. As it is, "Greatest" covers a mere five years of a career that went through four distinct phases, and this was basically phase three. Starting with Main Course and going to Spirits Having Flown, it misses out on their 80's comeback and the Beatlesque years in the 60's and early 70's.
But when you listen to these songs, they earmark a period of music. The landmark Saturday Night Fever album and the Bee Gees' three number one hits from that record breaking period are all here and have aged better than most of us who wore "Disco Sux" shirts back in the day would have ever predicted. The Miami-sound that producer Arif Mardin coaxed them into actually predates that album, with the number one "Jive Talking" and top ten "You Should Be Dancing'" being irresistible even before the white suits and gold chains.
Those white suits overshadow the brilliant vocals that the group had developed at this stage. Barry Gibb's falsetto had developed into an instrument unto itself, yet Robin and Maurice had their own leads along with extraordinary harmonizing abilities. "Children Of The World" probably best displays that interplay the brothers shared.
Originally that was the last track on the double album, but the remastered CD drops some bonus cuts. For me, the only real plus is the B-Side "Warm Ride," the rest are 12-inch remixes. Only the re-mix of "Staying Alive" on disc one is from the disco era, the others are new to this CD and superfluous. "He's A Liar" or the live Top 30 "Edge of The Universe" would have been a better pick. Maybe the upcoming 50th anniversary re-issues will have more for us. Still, "Greatest" is prime stuff.