Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent Representation of an Act That Helped Define Disco
Of course, many people know the Bee Gees best for their soft rock and disco songs during the mid-to-late 1970s. The reason for that is not hard to understand, either: the group had created tunes that were not just memorable classics (which many of the songs on GREATEST can be called), but songs that have stood the test of time. (It also helped that this era was their commercial peak as well.) And the double-disc GREATEST gives an excellent overview of that era, which lasted from 1975 to 1979. Disc one mainly focuses on their biggest hits, with the dance selections "Jive Talkin'"; "Night Fever"; "Tragedy"; "You Should Be Dancing"; and "Stayin' Alive" occupying the first five slots of the disc and lighter songs such as "How Deep is Your Love"; "Love So Right"; and "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)" rounding out the rest of the disc. Disc two sort of functions as a more-of-their best sample, giving representation to excellent album tracks like "More Than a Woman" and "Love Me"; the "Stayin' Alive" B-side "If I Can't Have You"; but also (puzzingly) putting in the #1 "Love You Inside Out" and the Top Five hit "Nights on Broadway." Yes, there may be a personal favorite or two missing, but this is still a collection that is wonderful and fun. The biggest complaint in GREATEST would have to be that it runs a little too long, for the Bee Gees only had so many hits during their disco era (I think they had eleven charting songs, eight of which went to #1), and even though all of their albums were all very good, the hits easily outshadowed the album tracks. But that is nitpicking, for all of the songs here are very good. However, the Bee Gees' disco era may actually be better represented in the group's career-summing THEIR GREATEST HITS: THE RECORD, mainly because it trims the era's list of selections to fourteen (not including their 2001 recording of "Emotion"). But if you just want the group's hits during their artistic and commercial peak, stop here. It will be a trip worth taking. (I should also note, however, that GREATEST is at this point out of print in the United States.)
Rating: - for the money, it's great! i listen to it a lot!
if you can;t afford the box set, this is the one you want. it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be -- the quality of the cd is high, and although there are many tunes on here that i wasn't familiar with, i must say that they included ones that i love, like "nights on broadway." as for the other tunes included on the disc, but not originally performed by the bee gees, those songs for the most parts were hits, and were written by the bee gees or barry gibb, so that's probably the logic for including them, considering that the bee gees might have performed them as a demo.once again, it won't win any great awards, but it has the hits that most of us 20-something disco fans think are pretty groovy.
Rating:  - Stayin' On Top - for five years
It takes a double C.D. just to reflect the staggering success the Bee Gees had in just five years (1975-79), documented here in BEE GEES GREATEST. Extra special treats include the band's non-hit versions of "If I Can't Have You," which was a smash for Yvonne Elliman. As has been done for songwriters like Lennon-McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, I would like to see a various-artists collection of hit songs written by (mostly) Barry Gibb or various combinations of the the Gibb brothers. It would include "Woman In Love" by Barbra Streisand; "Islands In The Stream" by Kenny Rogers & Dollyn Parton; "Grease" by Frankie Valli; "Heart Stop Beating In Time" by Leo Sayer; all the major hits by the late Andy Gibb; and of course some songs from SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. Getting back to BEE GEES GREATEST, my only complaint is the package design, just a few pictures of brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb and musician/songwriter credits. No lyrics, no notes, no nothing else. But it's for playin' and dancin,' not sittin' and readin,' so get BEE GEES GREATEST
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