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Best of Bee Gees
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014) |
| Best of Bee Gees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by Bee Gees | ||||
| Released | June 1969 (United States) October 1969 (United Kingdom) | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 37:34 | |||
| Label | Polydor (United Kingdom) Atco (United States) | |||
| Producer | Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees, Ossie Byrne | |||
| Bee Gees albums chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [2] |
Best of Bee Gees is a 1969 compilation album by the English-Australian rock band Bee Gees. It was their first international greatest hits album. It featured their singles from 1966–1969 with the exception of the band's 1968 single "Jumbo".
History
[edit]The following songs in this compilation from 1966-1969 were very popular worldwide and were picked up by many casual fans who owned no other Bee Gees album. The compilation includes the US singles "Holiday" and "I Started a Joke." However, the 1968 song "Jumbo" that was also released as a single was not included. This was the first LP appearance of "Words" and first LP appearance outside North America of "I've Gotta Get a Message to You." Both songs were presented in stereo on the Atco version and in mono elsewhere. Many fans consider the songs from Bee Gees' 1st to sound better here than on the original album.[3]
Release
[edit]With the release of this compilation, Robin Gibb had left the group after the previous release, Odessa, and this compilation was released while the remaining Bee Gees worked on their next album, Cucumber Castle. Guitarist 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. The cover of the album features only the four members and was taken in early 1967 before Melouney joined the band. The back cover is from the winter of 1968-1969. 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 a more balanced stereo mix.[3]
The first issue in Germany was in August 1969, and had the song "Please Read Me" on the disc by mistake where "I Can't See Nobody" belongs. This was fixed a month later.[3]
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.
Legacy
[edit]In October 2010, it was listed at No. 16 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.[4]
Noel Gallagher commented that Best of Bee Gees is one of his favourite albums and that it inspired the cover art of his band High Flying Birds' greatest hits album, Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011–2021).[5]
Track listing
[edit]All songs written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb except where noted.
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holiday" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) | Bee Gees' 1st, August 1967 | 2:53 |
| 2. | "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" | UK: Single only, September 1968 US: Idea, September 1968 | 2:59 |
| 3. | "I Can't See Nobody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) | Bee Gees' 1st | 3:45 |
| 4. | "Words" | Single, January 1968 | 3:13 |
| 5. | "I Started a Joke" | Idea | 3:07 |
| 6. | "Spicks and Specks" (Barry Gibb) | UK: Spicks and Specks, November 1966 US: Rare, Precious and Beautiful, 1968 | 2:52 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "First of May" | Odessa, March 1969 | 2:48 |
| 2. | "World" | Horizontal, February 1968 | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Massachusetts" | Horizontal | 2:23 |
| 4. | "To Love Somebody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) | Bee Gees' 1st | 3:00 |
| 5. | "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" | Bee Gees' 1st | 3:38 |
| 6. | "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) | Bee Gees' 1st | 2:09 |
Personnel
[edit]- Barry Gibb — Lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 6-8 & 10), backing vocals (5, 6 & 9), acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Robin Gibb — Lead vocals (1-3, 5, 9 & 10), backing vocals (10 & 12)
- Maurice Gibb — Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, organ, mellotron, harpsichord, backing vocals
- Colin Petersen — drums
- Vince Melouney — electric guitar, lead guitar
Chart performance
[edit]| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 6 |
| 1969 | Billboard Albums Chart | 9 |
| 1969 | Germany Media Control Charts | 26 |
| 1969 | United Kingdom Albums Chart | 7 |
| 1969 | Canadian Top 100 Albums | 5 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[6] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[7] | Gold | |
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| South America | — | 200,000[9] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ Raggett, Ned. "Best of Bee Gees - Bee Gees". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "The Bee Gees". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 58. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b c "Gibb Songs : 1969". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
- ^ Noel Gallagher: Evolution Since Oasis, Meeting Bruce Springsteen and Best Of Album | Apple Music, retrieved 13 June 2021
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Bee Gees – Best of". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Triple Crown" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 May 1970. p. 64. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "American album certifications – Bee Gees – Best of". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "The Bee Gees' International Fame Provides Fuel for Youle's Thought" (PDF). Record World. 14 June 1974. p. 44. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
Best of Bee Gees
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Background and Development
Historical Context
The Bee Gees were formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb in Manchester, England, where they initially performed as a skiffle group called the Rattlesnakes before adopting the name Wee Johnny Hays and the Bluecats.[8] That same year, the family emigrated to Australia aboard the SS Fairsea, arriving in Sydney on September 1, 1958—Barry's 12th birthday—and settling in Redcliffe, Queensland, to escape postwar economic hardships in Britain.[9][10] In Australia, the brothers built their early popularity through live performances at venues like the Redcliffe Speedway starting in 1959 and appearances on television programs such as Anything Goes and Brisbane Tonight in the early 1960s, often backed by their father Hugh as drummer and manager.[8][10] Their first major success came with the 1966 single "Spicks and Specks," which topped the Australian charts and marked their breakthrough in the local music scene after signing with Festival Records.[11] Returning to the UK in early 1967 to seek international fame, the group signed with manager Robert Stigwood, who secured a deal with Polydor Records and Atco (an Atlantic subsidiary).[11] Under Stigwood's guidance, they achieved their global debut with "New York Mining Disaster 1941" in June 1967, which reached the UK Top 20 and US Top 40, followed by the soulful ballad "To Love Somebody" later that year, initially written for Otis Redding but becoming a signature hit for the Bee Gees and cementing their international breakthrough.[12][13] The band's evolution continued with their debut international album Bee Gees' 1st in July 1967, featuring psychedelic pop elements influenced by the British Invasion, followed by Horizontal in February 1968, which leaned into heavier, more experimental rock arrangements while incorporating orchestral touches.[13] By 1968, guitarist Vince Melouney, who had joined as a full member for Bee Gees' 1st, departed the group late that year, citing creative differences over the shift toward melodic balladry rather than his preferred rockier sound.[14] This period saw a stylistic transition from psychedelic pop to a more mature, introspective ballad style, evident in Odessa (released February 1969), a conceptually ambitious double album blending baroque orchestration and folk-inflected songs like the elegant piano-driven "First of May."[13][15] Amid growing internal tensions, particularly between Barry and Robin over song selection and lead vocals—exacerbated by disagreements on the lead single from Odessa—Robin temporarily left the band in March 1969, shortly after the album's release, leaving the future of the group uncertain.[13] These lineup changes and frictions, combined with the band's rapid string of hits from 1967 to 1969, prompted the release of Best of Bee Gees in spring 1969 as their first international greatest hits compilation, capturing the essence of their early success during a transitional phase.[13]Track Selection
The track selection for Best of Bee Gees primarily drew from the band's international hit singles released between 1967 and 1969 during their Atco and Polydor eras, aiming to showcase their burgeoning popularity in the United States following successful albums like Bee Gees' 1st (peaking at number 7) and Horizontal (peaking at number 12) on the Billboard 200.[16] Ten such singles were included, including "Massachusetts" (1967), "World" (1967), "Words" (1968), "I Started a Joke" (1968), and "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (1968), selected to highlight the group's evolving pop and ballad style that had propelled them into the US Top 20 multiple times.[17] To complement these hits, two non-single tracks were added: "Holiday" from the 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st and "First of May" from the 1969 album Odessa, providing a broader representation of their pre-1969 catalog and harmonic versatility.[1] Notably absent was the 1968 single "Jumbo," a non-album release that failed to continue the band's streak of major hits and thus did not align with the compilation's focus on their most successful international output.[18] The original 1969 release included the Australian single "Spicks and Specks"; however, due to copyright and licensing complications with Festival Records, later CD reissues often replaced it with the 1969 single "Tomorrow Tomorrow".[19] This curation reflected a strategic effort to consolidate the Bee Gees' Atco/Polydor period achievements, capitalizing on their rising US profile amid the psychedelic pop landscape of the late 1960s.[17] The album's mixes were tailored to regional preferences, with the US Atco release featuring stereo versions to appeal to American audiences embracing the format, while the UK Polydor edition used mono mixes, consistent with British market standards at the time.[1] Overall, the 12-track selection prioritized the band's most accessible and chart-proven material from 1966 to 1969, ensuring a concise overview of their early international breakthrough without delving into less commercial album deep cuts.[20]Production and Release
Production Details
The Best of Bee Gees compilation was overseen by producers Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees, and Ossie Byrne, who acted as co-producer on select tracks including "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "To Love Somebody," and "Holiday." As a retrospective collection, the album required no new studio recordings, relying instead on compiling master tapes from the band's existing singles and album cuts spanning 1966 to 1969 to capture their early pop and rock influences.[1] Technical preparation involved remixing efforts to suit market-specific formats, with stereo versions created for the US Atco Records release and mono mixes retained for the UK Polydor edition, all sourced directly from the original multitrack sessions to preserve the songs' harmonic and vocal arrangements. Packaging emphasized the band's evolving identity, with cover artwork designed by Haig Adishian featuring a prominent photograph of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb—omitting guitarist Vince Melouney following his departure from the group in 1968—while the inner sleeve included contextual notes on the tracks' origins and the Bee Gees' rise to prominence.[21][22] Final mastering focused on balancing the 12 tracks for vinyl playback, applying subtle equalization and compression adjustments to achieve uniform dynamics and fidelity across the LP sides despite the varied recording eras of the source material.[23]Release Information
The Best of Bee Gees compilation album was initially released in the United States in June 1969 by Atco Records, with catalog number SD 33-292.[3] In the United Kingdom, the album was released in June 1969 via Polydor Records, bearing catalog number 583 063.[1][24] The primary format for these debut editions was a stereo LP vinyl record.[25] The album's packaging featured a black-and-white photograph of the three Gibb brothers—Barry, Robin, and Maurice—taken during a 1967 photo session, with the title prominently displayed in bold lettering to highlight its "best of" status.[1] International variants emerged shortly after, including a German pressing on Polydor (catalog 184 297) released in August 1969, which contained a manufacturing error on side A where "Please Read Me" was mistakenly pressed in place of "I Can't See Nobody"; this mispress was corrected in subsequent runs by September 1969.[26] South American editions, such as those issued in Colombia, adapted the album for local markets under Polydor and related imprints. Additional variants appeared in countries like Australia (Spin Records, SEL-933482) and France (Polydor, 658 173), maintaining the core tracklist while accommodating regional distribution.[1] A compact disc reissue was later produced by Rhino Records in November 2008, remastered for digital format and substituting "Tomorrow Tomorrow" for "Spicks and Specks" due to licensing restrictions on the latter track.[19] This version preserved the stereo mix adapted from the original production.[27]Commercial Performance
Chart Positions
The Best of Bee Gees compilation album achieved notable commercial success upon its 1969 release, peaking at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 chart and remaining on the tally for 25 weeks, with 3 weeks in the top 10.[28] In the United Kingdom, it reached number 7 on the Official Albums Chart and spent 22 weeks in total on the listing, entering on November 8, 1969, amid the Bee Gees' rising international profile following hits like "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," which had peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier that year.[6][5] Internationally, the album performed strongly in Australia, attaining a peak of number 5 on the Go-Set National Top 40 and logging 26 weeks on the chart, reflecting the band's foundational popularity in their adopted home country. It also peaked at number 5 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums chart, underscoring sustained North American interest driven by the timing of its release shortly after the group's successes with singles from the Odessa era, though internal tensions including Robin Gibb's brief solo pursuits and temporary band hiatus later that year tempered longer-term momentum. In Germany, the album peaked at number 26 on the Media Control Charts, contributing to its eventual gold certification by the BVMI in 1978 based on cumulative sales.[29]| Country/Chart | Peak Position | Weeks on Chart |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 9 | 25 |
| UK Albums Chart | 7 | 22 |
| Canada RPM 100 Albums | 5 | Not specified |
| Australia (Go-Set) | 5 | 26 |
| Germany Media Control | 26 | Not specified |
Certifications and Sales
The Best of Bee Gees compilation album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States in December 1969, for shipments exceeding 500,000 units, equivalent to $1 million in wholesale value at the time.[30] This early certification underscored the album's rapid commercial success as the band's first international greatest hits collection, bolstered by chart peaks from its included singles. Despite this momentum and sustained popularity, the album has not received Platinum certification in the US, which requires 1,000,000 units. In Canada, the album attained 2× Platinum status from the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA, predecessor to Music Canada) for 200,000 units shipped. New Zealand awarded it Gold certification through the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ, now Recorded Music NZ) for 7,500 units. These accolades reflect robust demand in key English-speaking territories, where the hits-focused format resonated with audiences familiar with the Bee Gees' early singles. Estimated worldwide sales surpassed 1 million copies by 1970, including approximately 200,000 units in South America, driven by the band's growing international profile. Performance varied regionally, with stronger results in markets like the UK, Australia, and the US compared to non-English-speaking areas such as Germany, where sales were more modest due to language barriers and local preferences. Chart peaks from its tracks provided additional sales impetus, though detailed weekly trajectories are documented separately. As of November 2025, no further physical certifications have been issued for the album, but RIAA reports on the Bee Gees' overall catalog note significant contributions from streaming equivalents, where 1,500 on-demand audio and video streams count toward one album unit, enhancing its enduring commercial footprint.[31]Reception and Legacy
Critical Reception
Retrospective assessments have been overwhelmingly positive, emphasizing the album's value as a snapshot of the Bee Gees' pre-disco sound. AllMusic awarded it 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising its selection of tracks that highlight the group's sophisticated pop craftsmanship from the late 1960s.[3] Pitchfork, in a 2008 review of the band's 1979 compilation Greatest, reflected on the earlier era captured here, noting the Gibb brothers' songwriting that produced hits like "New York Mining Disaster 1941" and "To Love Somebody" and solidified their reputation for intricate ballads and harmonies.[32] The review underscored how such collections demonstrate why the Bee Gees "mattered," blending baroque pop influences with emotional depth. Aggregate scores across review sites average 4 out of 5 stars based on available reviews, reflecting enduring acclaim for its hit-driven curation.[33]Cultural Impact
The Best of Bee Gees compilation played a significant role in cementing the band's identity as 1960s hitmakers, encapsulating their early pop and psychedelic sound that bridged their Australian origins to international fame before their later disco era. This recognition highlighted how the album preserved their pre-disco legacy, influencing subsequent soft rock and ballad-oriented acts through its collection of harmonious, introspective tracks like "Words" and "I Started a Joke," which exemplified the genre's emotional depth and melodic craftsmanship. The album's visual and artistic influence extended into later decades, notably inspiring the cover art for Noel Gallagher's 2021 greatest hits collection Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011–2021) by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Gallagher cited it as one of his favorite records in a 2021 Apple Music interview.[34] In terms of availability, the 2008 Rhino Records CD reissue remains a standard modern physical edition, featuring remastered audio from the original 1969 Polydor/Atco release, alongside a 2020 vinyl reissue.[35] Tracks from the compilation were incorporated into the band's 2010 box set Mythology, a four-disc retrospective that celebrated their career-spanning catalog; it enjoys consistent accessibility via major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Beyond its initial commercial peak, Best of Bee Gees aided in maintaining the band's relevance amid their 1970s pivot to disco, reintroducing audiences to their earlier, non-dance material during a period of genre evolution and backlash against the style. This enduring appeal is evident in its frequent references within media exploring the group's origins, including the 2020 HBO documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, where contributors like Noel Gallagher lauded the Bee Gees' harmonies as an irreplaceable instrument foundational to pop music.[34]Album Content
Track Listing
The Best of Bee Gees compilation album, originally released in 1969, features 12 tracks drawn from the band's early singles and albums, sequenced to reflect a rough chronological progression of their hits from 1966 to 1969. All songs were written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb unless otherwise noted. The total runtime is approximately 35 minutes.[1]Original Vinyl Edition (1969)
| Side | Track | Title | Writers | Original Release (Year, Album/Single) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | Holiday | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 1967, Bee Gees' 1st | 2:52 |
| A | 2 | I've Gotta Get a Message to You | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1968, Idea | 2:59 |
| A | 3 | I Can't See Nobody | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 1967, Bee Gees' 1st | 3:43 |
| A | 4 | Words | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1968, Horizontal | 3:13 |
| A | 5 | I Started a Joke | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1968, Idea | 3:04 |
| A | 6 | Spicks and Specks | Barry Gibb | 1966, Single | 2:52 |
| B | 1 | First of May | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1969, Odessa | 2:48 |
| B | 2 | World | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1967, Horizontal | 3:12 |
| B | 3 | Massachusetts | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1967, Horizontal | 2:22 |
| B | 4 | To Love Somebody | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 1967, Bee Gees' 1st | 2:58 |
| B | 5 | Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | 1967, Bee Gees' 1st | 3:32 |
| B | 6 | New York Mining Disaster 1941 | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 1967, Bee Gees' 1st | 2:09 |