Best of the Bee Gees
Encyclopedia
Best of Bee Gees is the first compilation album of international hits by the Bee Gees
. Brother Robin Gibb had left the group after the completion of the previous release, Odessa, and the timing was right for a compilation while the remaining brothers worked towards their next original album, Cucumber Castle.
The original 1969 vinyl release included the Bee Gees' 1966 Australian top ten hit "Spicks and Specks", but due to licensing issues with Festival Records in Australia, the group's 1969 hit "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" was substituted on the Polydor CD release.
The album is noted by fans for its bad stereo mix of the song "Words", which increased the vocals so much that the percussion was lost in the background. This is the only album/CD with this mix. All future compilations have the proper stereo mix which is more balanced.
Vince Melouney
, although playing guitar on most of the tracks, is not pictured on the front or back cover as he had departed the group a year earlier.
With the release of Their Greatest Hits: The Record
in 2001, this CD went out of print for several years until Rhino reissued it in November 2008 with the same tracks as the Polydor CD. Three of the thirteen tracks from the combined vinyl/CD Best of Bee Gees do not appear amongst the forty seven tracks on Their Greatest Hits: The Record: "I Can't See Nobody" and "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" had only actually been the B-sides of other hits on Best of Bee Gees, while "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" had charted but had never reached the top 20 in the charts of the UK, USA nor Australia. In October 2010, it was listed at No. 16 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
.
Except where stated all songs written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
. Brother Robin Gibb had left the group after the completion of the previous release, Odessa, and the timing was right for a compilation while the remaining brothers worked towards their next original album, Cucumber Castle.
The original 1969 vinyl release included the Bee Gees' 1966 Australian top ten hit "Spicks and Specks", but due to licensing issues with Festival Records in Australia, the group's 1969 hit "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" was substituted on the Polydor CD release.
The album is noted by fans for its bad stereo mix of the song "Words", which increased the vocals so much that the percussion was lost in the background. This is the only album/CD with this mix. All future compilations have the proper stereo mix which is more balanced.
Vince Melouney
Vince Melouney
Vince Melouney was a founding member of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, playing with the band as lead guitarist from 1963 to 1965, which was followed by a short-lived duo with fellow Aztec Tony Barber, called Vince & Tony's Two.In 1967, after moving to the UK, he was invited to join the Bee Gees...
, although playing guitar on most of the tracks, is not pictured on the front or back cover as he had departed the group a year earlier.
With the release of Their Greatest Hits: The Record
Their Greatest Hits: The Record
Their Greatest Hits: The Record is the career retrospective greatest hits album by the Bee Gees, released on UTV Records and Polydor in November 2001 as HDCD. The album includes 40 tracks spanning over 35 years of music...
in 2001, this CD went out of print for several years until Rhino reissued it in November 2008 with the same tracks as the Polydor CD. Three of the thirteen tracks from the combined vinyl/CD Best of Bee Gees do not appear amongst the forty seven tracks on Their Greatest Hits: The Record: "I Can't See Nobody" and "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" had only actually been the B-sides of other hits on Best of Bee Gees, while "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" had charted but had never reached the top 20 in the charts of the UK, USA nor Australia. In October 2010, it was listed at No. 16 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...
.
Track listing
- "HolidayHoliday (Bee Gees song)"Holiday" is a song by the Bee Gees. The song is haunting, even eerie, having been composed primarily in the minor key with a strong organ presence. Brothers Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb who also wrote the song share lead vocals...
" (Barry & Robin Gibb) - "I've Gotta Get a Message to YouI've Gotta Get a Message to You"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a song recorded by The Bee Gees in 1968, which became their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, and reached number eight on the U.S. pop chart....
" - "I Can't See Nobody" (Barry & Robin Gibb)
- "WordsWords (Bee Gees song)"Words" is a song written and sung by the Bee Gees, released in the beginning of 1968. Barry Gibb said in 1996 on the VH1 Storytellers television show that it was written for their manager Robert Stigwood. It was originally intended for Cliff Richard, but he never got round to recording the track...
" - "I Started a JokeI Started a Joke"I Started a Joke" is a 1968 song by the Bee Gees from their album Idea, which was released in September of that year.Curiously, it was not released as a single in the UK, where buyers who could not afford the album had to content themselves with a Polydor version by Heath...
" - (Original vinyl LP only) "Spicks and SpecksSpicks and Specks (song)"Spicks and Specks" is a song by The Bee Gees .An instrumental version of the song is part of the soundtrack for Melody, which also featured several other Bee Gees songs.-Live performances:...
" (Barry Gibb) / (Original CD only) "Tomorrow, TomorrowTomorrow Tomorrow (Bee Gees song)"Tomorrow Tomorrow" is a song by the Bee Gees and was originally intended for singer Joe Cocker. It is the first Bee Gees single released after Robin Gibb had quit the group which was now down to a trio featuring Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Colin Petersen on drums...
" (Barry & Maurice Gibb) - "First of MayFirst of May (Bee Gees song)"First of May" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees with lead vocals by Barry Gibb, released as a single from their 1969 double album Odessa. The flip side of a single was "Lamplight" on which Robin Gibb sang the lead. Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees manager chose "First of May" for the A-side...
" - "WorldWorld (Bee Gees song)"World" is the second UK single from the Bee Gees second album Horizontal, released in 1967 in the United Kingdom. Though it was a big hit in Europe, Atco Records did not issue it as a single in the United States...
" - "MassachusettsMassachusetts (Bee Gees song)"Massachusetts" is a song written, recorded, and released by the Bee Gees in 1967 and later appearing on their 1968 album, Horizontal. It was their first Number 1 hit in the UK and eventually became one of the best selling singles of all times....
" - "To Love SomebodyTo Love Somebody (song)"To Love Somebody" is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st.The band's manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry Gibb to write a soul song for Otis Redding. Barry, along with Robin wrote "To Love Somebody," a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals...
" (Barry & Robin Gibb) - "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You"
- "New York Mining Disaster 1941New York Mining Disaster 1941"New York Mining Disaster 1941" was the first song to be released by the Bee Gees in the United States , and their first song to hit the charts in the US or UK...
" (Barry & Robin Gibb)
Except where stated all songs written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb