New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On May 8, Capitol/UMe/Universal
Music will release five remastered LPs from the storied catalog of the Bee Gees, one of music's most legendary and acclaimed groups. Each LP has been pressed onto both black vinyl and limited-edition coloured vinyl. The five LPs are, in chronological order, 1969's Best Of
Bee Gees (on black and berry vinyl), 1975's Main Course (on black and whitewater vinyl), 1976's Children Of The World (on black and sunshine yellow vinyl), 1977's double live album Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live (2LPs on black and tangerine vinyl), and 1979's Spirits Having Flown (on black and blood red vinyl). All five albums have been remastered from the original analog LP master tapes at the iconic Capitol Studios by
Kevin Bartley and Ian Sefchick.
The Bee Gees' first greatest hits compilation, Best Of Bee Gees, was released in June 1969, and it features a prime selection of the early hit singles that established the group's broad musical palette. The twelve gems comprising Best Of are among the most popular songs of the then-burgeoning group's canon, including the desperately pleading "I Gotta Get A Message To You", Sir Barry's classic balladry vocal on "
Words", the harmoniously soulful classic "To Love Somebody", the pure pop perfection of "Massachusetts", Robin's signature vocal on "I Started A Joke", and the skillful buildup of "Spicks and Specks", the latter song being the Bee Gees' first-ever No. 1 record in their homeland of Australia.
June 1975's Main Course, one of the most significant albums in the
Bee Gees catalog, marked a new direction for the group, and in turn created the model for their output throughout the rest of the 1970s by featuring a fresh, R&B-meets-pop sound. Recorded in Miami, Florida, and produced by the legendary Arif Mardin, the album's infectious No. 1 hit, "Jive Talkin'", carries a rhythm inspired by the sound the group's car made on the 163rd Street Causeway Bridge as they drove to and from the recording sessions being held at the fabled Criteria Studios. With Main Course, Mardin and the Gibb brothers continued to explore the use of synthesizers instead of strings in their arrangements. It's also the first album where Barry Gibb's hallmark falsetto is most prominent, showcasing the impressive depth of his vocal range. The album's other hit singles include the dramatic "Nights On Broadway" and the always touching "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)".
The first single from the Bee Gees' next album,
September 1976's Children Of The World, "
You Should Be Dancing", went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and Canada, and was also a Top 10 smash in numerous other territories. Children Of The World, which attained certified multi-platinum status in the U.S., was also recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios, albeit this time produced by the Bee Gees, Karl Richardson, and Albhy Galuten. The album's other key singles include the uplifting ballad "Love So Right", the provocatively seductive "Boogie Child", and the harmony-and-synth-driven title track.
Released in May 1977, Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live, the group's first live album, was recorded at The Forum in Los Angeles in December 1976. The majority of this palpable 2LP set was made up of songs that had been big hit singles for the Bee Gees, along with tracks from their aforementioned recent hit albums, Main Course and Children Of The World. Highlighting the group's magical harmonic vocal blend onstage, Here At Last contains definitive live versions of "
You Should Be Dancing", "Jive Talkin'", "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "New York Mining Disaster 1941", "
Run To Me", and many more.
Spirits Having Flown, the 15th
Bee Gees album, was released in January 1979, and was the group's first album following the massive success of 1977's multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The first three tracks released from Spirits Having Flown — "
Tragedy", "
Too Much Heaven", and "Love You Inside Out" — all shot to No. 1 in the U.S., giving the
Bee Gees an unbroken run of six U.S. chart-toppers in a one-year period. In addition, the
Bee Gees donated the copyright of "
Too Much Heaven" to
Music For UNICEF, a charity they founded along with their longtime Manager Robert Stigwood and Sir
David Frost. Spirits was a No. 1 album for the
Bee Gees in the U.K. and topped the charts around the world. The album was recorded at the group's favoured Criteria Studios in Miami, where
Chicago was simultaneously recording their own hit album, October 1978's Hot Streets. The two groups wound up collaborating on Chicago's "Little Miss Loving", while Chicago's lauded horn section guested on select Spirits Having Flown tracks.
The
Bee Gees — brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time — have long earned their stature as one of the world's most popular and bestselling groups ever. Having recorded 22 studio albums and for numerous soundtracks, including November 1977's monumentally successful Saturday Night Fever, the
Bee Gees infused popular culture with dozens of worldwide hit singles that featured their singular and highly influential three-part harmonies. They achieved nine Number Ones and 23 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including "
How Deep Is Your Love", "Night Fever", and "Stayin' Alive" from Saturday Night Fever, in addition to hitting charts around the world with many other classics, including "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart", "I Started A Joke", "Lonely Days", "
Words", and "
You Win Again".
Among the honours bestowed upon the
Bee Gees are eight GRAMMY Awards®, including The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award and Legend Award; five American
Music Awards; a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music; and a Legend Award from the World
Music Awards. The
Bee Gees have also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, BMI Icons, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Dance
Music Hall of Fame. All three brothers were honoured with a CBE as Commanders of the British
Empire in 2002, and Barry was knighted 'Sir Barry Gibb' in 2018.
BEE GEES: BEST OF BEE GEES [1LP black vinyl and coloured berry vinyl]
Side 1
Holiday
I've Gotta Get A Message To You
I Can't See Nobody
Words
I Started A Joke
Spicks And Specks
Side 2
First Of May
World
Massachusetts
To Love Somebody
Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You
New York Mining Disaster 1941
BEE GEES: MAIN COURSE [1LP black vinyl and coloured whitewater vinyl]
Side 1
Nights On Broadway
Jive Talkin'
Wind Of Change
Songbird
Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)
Side 2
All This Making Love
Country Lanes
Come On Over
Edge Of The Universe
Baby As You Turn Away
BEE GEES: CHILDREN OF THE WORLD [1LP black vinyl and coloured sunshine yellow vinyl]
Side 1
You Should Be Dancing
You Stepped Into My Life
Love So Right
Lovers
Can't Keep A Good Man Down
Side 2
Boogie Child
Love Me
Subway
The Way It Was
Children Of The World
BEE GEES: HERE AT LAST…BEE GEES…LIVE [2LP black vinyl and coloured tangerine vinyl]
LP1
Side 1
I've Gotta Get A Message To You
Love So Right
Edge Of The Universe
Come On Over
Can't Keep A Good Man Down
Side 2
New York Mining Disaster 1941
Medley: Run To Me / World
Medley: Holiday / I Can't See Nobody / I Started A Joke / Massachusetts
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
To Love Somebody
LP2
Side 3
You Should Be Dancing
Boogie Child
Down The Road
Words
Side 4
Wind Of Change
Nights On Broadway
Jive Talkin'
Lonely Days
BEE GEES: SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN [1LP black vinyl and coloured blood red vinyl]
Side 1
Tragedy
Too Much Heaven
Love You Inside Out
Reaching Out
Spirits (Having Flown)
Side 2
Search, Find
Stop (Think Again)
Living Together
I'm Satisfied
Until
