Break Out those White Polyester Suits4 Out Of 5 Stars
It's hard to not rate this double CD with a fifth star, as it contains some of the most sublimely perfect dance pop of the seventies. As it is, "Greatest" covers a mere five years of a career that went through four distinct phases, and this was basically phase three. Starting with Main Course and going to Spirits Having Flown, it misses out on their 80's comeback and the Beatlesque years in the 60's and early 70's.
But when you listen to these songs, they earmark a period of music. The landmark Saturday Night Fever album and the Bee Gees' three number one hits from that record breaking period are all here and have aged better than most of us who wore "Disco Sux" shirts back in the day would have ever predicted. The Miami-sound that producer Arif Mardin coaxed them into actually predates that album, with the number one "Jive Talking" and top ten "You Should Be Dancing'" being irresistible even before the white suits and gold chains.
Those white suits overshadow the brilliant vocals that the group had developed at this stage. Barry Gibb's falsetto had developed into an instrument unto itself, yet Robin and Maurice had their own leads along with extraordinary harmonizing abilities. "Children Of The World" probably best displays that interplay the brothers shared.
Originally that was the last track on the double album, but the remastered CD drops some bonus cuts. For me, the only real plus is the B-Side "Warm Ride," the rest are 12-inch remixes. Only the re-mix of "Staying Alive" on disc one is from the disco era, the others are new to this CD and superfluous. "He's A Liar" or the live Top 30 "Edge of The Universe" would have been a better pick. Maybe the upcoming 50th anniversary re-issues will have more for us. Still, "Greatest" is prime stuff.
Other Bee Gees collections:
No comments:
Post a Comment