- Saturday Night Fever (The Original Movie Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition] · 1977
- Greatest · 1977
- Saturday Night Fever (The Original Movie Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition] · 1977
- Spirits Having Flown · 1978
- Spirits Having Flown · 1979
- Trafalgar · 1971
- Spirits Having Flown · 1979
- Greatest · 1977
- Main Course · 1975
- Main Course · 1975
- Bee Gees 1st (Deluxe Version) · 1967
- Children of the World · 1976
- Bee Gees 1st (Deluxe Version) · 1967
Essential Albums
- Spirits Having Flown is an appropriate title for The Bee Gees' 1979 album—it was their first release after the unprecedented success of their songs for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. While their phenomenal flight would soon abruptly end as they fell from favor in the '80s, the Gibbs remained aloft both artistically and commercially with this album. Elder brother Barry Gibb occupied the forefront more than before, handling lead vocal duties on everything but "Living Together," where he shared the spotlight with Robin. Fans of the group's balladic side were served such delicacies as the edenic "Too Much Heaven," and the trio continued their love affair with Philly-style soul on the luminous slow jam "Stop (Think Again)." The larger-than-life "Tragedy" was actually the only tune to offer a straight-up four-on-the-floor disco beat, but a number of tracks—including the slinky hit "Love You Inside Out"—featured funky, syncopated grooves fully functional for dancing. Spirits would be the group's last golden moment for some time, but it sure shone brightly.
- After a few years of faltering sales, The Bee Gees regrouped in 1975 for their 11th album and created a sound that simply altered the course of music history. (Though it wasn’t until the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, which included songs from this 1975 album, that things really changed.) Together with producer Arif Martin, The Bee Gees fused underground dance and disco with some Philly soul and Stevie Wonder–influenced R&B. It all codified on “Nights on Broadway” and the No. 1 hit “Jive Talkin’.” The well-crafted soul-pop disco drew the most attention here, but other songs, such as the soaring “Edge of the Universe,” are secret gems in the Bee Gees catalog. The gentle, country-tinged “Come On Over” is a comely left turn (Olivia Newton-John later made a hit of it), and the beautiful “Baby As You Turn Away” features a stellar early example of Barry Gibb’s falsetto. Older Bee Gees–styled ballads appear too, such as “Country Lanes” and “Songbird.” The hit “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)” is as much of a singer/songwriter track as it is soul-dance balladry.
- 1997
- 1981
Artist Playlists
- Their legacy just keeps stayin' alive.
- Surrender to the master craftsmen of melody, harmony, and emotion.
- Sparkling melodies and breathtaking harmonies, in tribute to the brothers Gibb.
- Beyond the disco hits are country laments and soulful ballads.
- Grab the mic and sing along with some of their biggest hits.
Singles & EPs
Compilations
- 2005
- 2004
More To Hear
- Hanuman Welch revisits the album that lit up the charts.
- Barry Gibb revisits some of Bee Gees' most feverish favorites.
- The film's director, Matthew Vaughn, shares music with Elton.
- More music from Kwabs, plus classics from the Bee Gees and Maxwell.
About Bee Gees
The Bee Gees may be associated with the shimmering disco grooves and stratospheric falsetto of Saturday Night Fever, but the band scored hits in four decades with substance and style, reinventing themselves through setbacks and comebacks marked by graceful harmonies and impeccable songcraft. Born to a musical family in northern England, Barry Gibb and his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin and Maurice, spent their teen years in Australia before returning in 1967 to ride the Beatlemania wave, positioning themselves as adventurous psych-pop explorers on a string of sweet, melancholy hits. The early phase peaked with the 1969 double LP Odessa, a kaleidoscopic mix of progressive rock, soul, and country; after a brief hiatus that saw a solo release from Robin, the brothers arrived at the soulful, hi-fidelity pop that perfectly suited their musical gifts. With the simmering 1974 album Mr. Natural and strutting R&B of 1975’s Main Course, the Bee Gees were no longer adapting to musical trends—they were defining them. Their thoughtful songwriting added emotional depth to the effervescent disco craze, while songs like “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive” were filled with the opulent energy and luxurious hedonism that defined the decade. Those tracks were both on the monumental 1977 soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, which took disco’s four-on-the-floor pulse—once a cult soundtrack to the underground club scene—and thrust it into the global mainstream. After the twinkling lights of the disco faded, the trio released a suite of albums through the ’80s and ’90s with mature, soulful pop that appealed to audiences who had hung up their bell bottoms. Their collaboration continued until Maurice’s death in 2003 and Robin’s in 2012. After decades of reinvention, the Brothers Gibb left behind a catalog that glimmers with an enduring disco-ball sparkle.
- ORIGIN
- Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia
- FORMED
- 1958
- GENRE
- Pop