Their Greatest Hits: The Record

As any '60s pop aficionado worth his/her salt can tell you, the oft-overlooked Bee Gees were musical visionaries on a par with the Beatles, but until the 2001 arrival of this two-disc anthology, their legacy has been ill-treated. Short of buying the box set, previous hits collections made you choose between the brothers Gibb's early pop-rock period and their subsequent reincarnation as R&B/disco gods. THE RECORD, which devotes a generously proportioned disc to each of these eras, shows that the Bee Gees' work in both was equally impressive.
From the quirky, death-obsessed, but endlessly melodic invention of such '60s gems as "New York Mining Disaster 1941", "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", and "I Started a Joke", to the delicious falsetto-enlivened faux Philly Soul of "Too Much Heaven" and "Fanny", to infectious dance classics "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", the band stands tall. Their limitless melodic imagination, distinctive three-part harmonies, and consistency of vision mark them as one of the greatest pop outfits of the 20th century, and THEIR GREATEST HITS is far and away the definitive Bee Gees collection.|

Their Greatest Hits: The Record stands as the best Bee Gees hits package available, assembling both vital European and American hits from their early-'60s period all the way through to 2001. Disc one includes their major '60s and early-'70s hits, up to "You Should Be Dancing." Included are their major American hits, such as "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "Massachusetts," "To Love Somebody," "Lonely Days," "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," "Jive Talkin'," "Nights on Broadway," and "Words," as well as major European hits, such as "World" and the gorgeous "Don't Forget to Remember." Also included on disc one is the former B-side "If I Can't Have You" (popularized, of course, by Yvonne Elliman). Disc two continues the formula, beginning with the cultural phenomenon that was "Stayin' Alive" and continuing with "How Deep Is Your Love," "Night Fever," "Too Much Heaven," "Tragedy," and "Love You Inside and Out." Disc two also includes Barry Gibb's hit duet with Barbra Streisand, "Guilty," as well as major European hits such as "You Win Again" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and later American hits such as "One," "Alone," and their superb 2001 single "This Is Where I Came In." As a bonus treat, the album includes four newly recorded versions of Bee Gees songs which became hits for other artists. These include "Emotion," which was popularized by Samantha Sang and later Destiny's Child; "Heartbreaker," which was a comeback smash for Dionne Warwick; the chart-topping "Islands in the Stream," which was a hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton; and "Immortality," a European hit for Celine Dion. A wonderful, stellar collection through and through from one of the rock era's biggest, brightest, most influential, and most exciting acts. As a final note, the European version of this collection includes two songs which were annoyingly left off the American version: "Jumbo" and "My World." ~ Jose F. Promis