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The Bee Gees: "Their Greatest Hits: The Record"
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, their production and songwriting work in the 80s, and 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. The second disc kicks off with "Stayin' Alive" and includes the hits they recorded for Saturday Night Fever and the 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), 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 recorded 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 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 singles) and led to the Bee Gees moving back to their native England to launch the career chronicled on "Their Greatest Hits: The Record," and brings the set to a strong close.
