Disco de Bee Gees: “Tales From the Brothers Gibb [Box]”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Full title: Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song 1967-1990. A comprehensive box set composed of A-sides from the Bee Gees' singles, non LP sides, and formerly mono-only tunes in stereo for the first time. There's also some material from the 1973 unreleased album A KICK IN THE HEAD IS WORTH EIGHT IN THE PANTS, some solo material from 1970 and the mid-80's, and 4 tracks of recent Warner Brothers material. The Bee Gees: Maurice Gibb (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion); Barry Gibb (vocals, guitar); Robin Gibb (vocals). Additional personnel includes: Alan Kendall, Tim Cansfield (guitar); Vic Martin, Gary Moberley (keyboards); George Perry (bass); Michael Murphy (drums); Phyllis St. James (percussion, backround vocals); Tampa Murphy, Linda Harmon (backround vocals). Producers include: Bee Gees, Robert Stigwood, Arif Mardin, Karl Richardson, Albhy Galuten. Compilation producer: Barry Levinson. Recorded between 1967 and 1990. Includes liner notes by David Wild. Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot. It's difficult to quibble with the song selection on this generous four-disc box. All the phases of the trio's career are covered, and nearly all the highlights of each phase are presented. TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GIBB includes material from the Bee Gees' earliest days, as teenage, pre-Beatles pop purveyors ("Spicks and Specks") as well as their glorious, Beatles-influenced Britpop period ("First of May," "And the Sun Will Shine"). The group's often-overlooked early-to-mid-'70s work is also admirably documented here ("Charade," "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"), and of course, their white-polyester-suited disco kings phase ("Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever"). Admittedly, all but the hardiest fan's attention may wander during the fourth disc, but the group's post-disco material merely finds them practicing their seamless popcraft amid the production values of the day, just as they've always done. Such latter-day tracks as "One" yield a pleasure that is particular to the evanescent but undeniable magic of the Brothers Gibb. This thoughtful collection is recommended to anyone interested in delving deeply into the catalog of this chameleon-like, endlessly inventive group.

The Bee Gees are the one of longest running acts in pop music (only the Rolling Stones have a longer career, and many will make an argument out of this). This box is the ultimate summary of their musical history. With this compilation there is no need, for starters, to look into their extensive record collection to approach their music. And for the old fans who lost the vinyl records, they can rest assured that the very best of their work can be found in this box.

What can be found also, is that the Bee Gees are more, MUCH more than disco music (only CD three deals with the disco era). One can discover, for example, echoes of Dylan in some of the older songs ("Jumbo"), hear their attempts at hard rock ("On time"), marvel at politically motivated anthems ("I've got to get a message to you") or rediscover the classic perfectionism of "Holiday", not to mention the beatlesque beauty of "Lonely Days".

As can be seen throughout this collection, the Bee Gees reinvented themselves many times; they are actually great musicians and excellent song writers. The collection testifies the entire creative process. They went from soft rhythmic ballads to psychedelic tunes; from nearly symphonic rock to disco music, and after reaching their lowest point in the eighties, come back to the public sight with yet another hit ("You win again"). Unfortunately, this compilation didn't come out in time to include the Still Waters album, which once again catapulted them into the pop mainstream.

Having dominated so many musical styles, it's not surprising how so many people acknowledged, explicitly or tacitly, the Bee Gees' influence on their music, from George Michael to Barenaked Ladies to Madonna, and even the hard-rock band Kiss, who used the guitar riff of "On time" in one of their songs. As of lately, even rap musicians have begun to dwell on the Bee Gees' case of treasures.

There are some pieces missing in this biography, mainly the Australian years and, alas, one or two later gems, such as "Paper Maché" and "Give your best". Otherwise I would give it 5 stars. But there are also a few surprises, like an extended version of "Wouldn't I be someone" and the surprisingly good songs from the never issued "A kick in the head..." album.

The Bee Gees - as many other bands - made quite a few mistakes in their career. Many fingers still pointing at them are from people who got tired of dancing their hits on the disco floors. If there was a time when no one wanted to hear of the Bee Gees again, it's time to bring them back to the place they justly deserve: one of the highest in the history of contemporary music. Gustavo Vazquez Lozano

I like The Bee Gees music whether it's "To Love Somebody" or "Night Fever". In my opinion, this box set was done right for many reasons:

1) Four CDs is just perfect, not too short or too long.

2) It shows the many different sides of The Bee Gees whether it's the 1960s "Beatles-flavored" tunes or the 1970s disco.

3) It has virtually all the hits (except "Living Eyes" most notable and maybe some individual work)

4) It has enough rare songs that have not been available before and/or on CD.

5) It is sequence correctly (disc #1 [1967-1970] - "first heydey", disc #2 [1970-1974] - "up and down, peaks and valleys", disc #3 [1975-1979] - "second heydey", disc #4 [1981-1990] - "the 1980s").

6) If you purchase this, then it will save you from buying their previous "greatest hits" albums and most of their studio albums (the only album I recommend is "Main Course").

7) The packaging is great with never before seen photos and comments on every song.

Highly recommended for the Bee Gees fan. For the casual fan, get "Gold" and/or "Greatest".

...but were afraid to ask? Probably a smidge long even for hardcore Bee Gee-philes, this is still an incredible collection. All but the most fanatical will probably wear out disk three quicker than the others (I find myself listening to "Nights on Broadway" and "Tragedy" a few too many times), but all are worth your time. Both the first two disks hit slow periods near the end ("If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else" and "Wouldn't I Be Someone" come to mind), but they pick back up again. Neat items are scattered throughout - "Barker of the UFO", "Another Lonely Night in New York", "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World". The live medley on disk four is a nice idea if poorly executed (um, shouldn't the songs in the medley run together?). If you find yourself obsessing about these boys, by all means, pick this up.