The Studio Albums 1967-1968 [Box set]

Bee Gees | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Reprise
• ASIN: B000HKDBAO
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,124 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As any diehard Bee Gees fan knows--and really, who else is going to splurge for this lavish reissue of the group's first three internationally released albums?--the brothers Gibb had a long and relatively prosperous career as singer-songwriters before 1975's Main Course exposed them as blue-eyed, falsetto-singing soulmen with Saturday Night Fever dancefloor aspirations. This sumptuous six-disc box kicks off an extensive reissue program of the band's previously neglected back catalog in commanding fashion. In addition to the original tunes in both stereo and mono, a treasure trove of rarities is unearthed on the second CD devoted to each album. The Bee Gees' often innovative use of orchestration, introduced on Bee Gees 1st's opening "Turn of the Century" and "Holiday," continues through 1968's Horizontal and Idea. The remastering of the nearly 40-year-old tapes is astonishing; every chime, tambourine slap, violin pluck, and, especially, vocal harmony is distinct, uncovering the astounding beauty and detail of this meticulously constructed pop. Special note should be taken of brother Maurice's innovative McCartneyesque bass lines--most prominent in "I've Gotta Get a Message to You". Most impressive is the quality of the abundant alternate takes, B-sides, Christmas songs, non-album singles (such as the exquisite "Words"), and even soft drink commercials that have been painstakingly researched and dusted off. Add rare photos along with detailed liner notes that include interviews with Barry and Robin for a definitive representation of the Bee Gees' early days. To paraphrase an old New York Times slogan, you may not listen to it all, but it's nice to know it's all there. --Hal Horowitz

Product Description

One of the best-selling and influential groups in popular music, The Bee Gees' career spanned five decades, five GRAMMYs and eight platinum albums - but until now, the group's extraordinary catalog has never been upgraded. Reprise begins its complete restoration of their repertoire with 2-CD expanded remasters of their first three internationally released albums. THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1967-1968 is the definitive overview of the 5-piece Bee Gees line-up that shot to stardom in the late '60s: harmonizing brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, and Australian musicians Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen. The revitalization of these three early masterpieces marks the first time the group has opened their extensive tape vaults for archival mining, allowing a full disc of rarities and previously unreleased tracks to be added on to each album. On Bees Gees' 1st, Horizontal and Idea, the musical genius of the Bee Gees now sounds better than ever. Bee Gees 1st, originally released in 1967, reached #7 on Billboard's Pop Album chart and delivered a trio of top 20 smashes: "To Love Somebody," "New York Mining Disaster 1941" and "Holiday." Disc 2 features 14 previously unreleased tracks, include alternate versions of most of the album cuts plus the recorded debut of "Gilbert Green," "House Of Lords," "All Around The Clock" and other ultra-rare recordings. Horizontal, which debuted in early 1968, boasted adventurous arrangements and production and introduced the signature hit "Massachusetts," a chart-topper in Britain that went to #11 in the U.S., as well as the standouts "World" (a global hit), "Words", "And The Sun Will Shine," "Harry Braff," and the psychedelic title track. Disc 2 features thirteen rarities including nine previously unreleased tracks, among them "Out Of Line," "All My Christmases Came At Once," plus the season medley "Silent Night/Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (one of only two songs in this box that doesn't feature a Gibb songwriting credit). Idea followed in August 1968 and broke the Bee Gees into the U.S. Top 10 Billboard singles chart for the first time with the classics "I've Got To Get A Message To You" (#8) and "I Started A Joke" (#6).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate And Complete First Three Albums!, November 7, 2006

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Studio Albums 1967-1968 (Audio CD)

This first reissue of the Bee Gees classic albums by Rhino Records proves to be a collectors dream. Not only are "Bee Gees 1st", "Horizontal" and "Idea" Remastered, but each album's song is repeated in Mono and Stereo making for unique sound differences. Each album is suited with an additional CD of outtakes, alternate versions and unreleased material.

The first album contains all three versions of the Bee Gees first international hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941" as well as alternates of key album cuts. There is also plenty of extra material such as the sixties rocking "Gilbert Green" and the vaudeville-like "Mr. Wallor's Wailing Wall" with Robin going at it with warbling intensity. Robin's lead on "One Minute Woman" proves that it must have been a tough choice of which brother's lead vocal to use on the original album. "House of Lords" contains some nice original storybook lyrics while "I've Got To Learn" brings out the rock and roll the Bee Gees can so deftly handle.

"Horizontals" supplement disc contains the rare "Barker Of The UFO" and other B-Sides such as the whimsical "Sir Geoffrey Save The World" and "Sinking Ships". There's the brilliant Beatles-esque "Out Of Line" and the "Kinks" influenced "Ring My Bell". This disc also showcases original curiosities such as the Middle-Eastern themed, "Deeply, Deeply Me" and the psychedelic "Mrs. Gillespie's Refrigerator". The three Christmas songs are rare and unusual additions, especially for a box set such as this.

The "Idea" second disc contains some alternate songs, along with rare B-Sides, such as "The Singer Sang his Song" (originally optioned for an A-Side release) and the rare A-Side, "Jumbo". Barry belts out the blues on "Chocolate Symphony" and "Bridges Crossing Rivers" proves the Bee Gees were an original band with more than clever hooks and lyrics. Maurice's keyboards and mellotron use is consistently ear-opening. Following in the Christmas foot-steps of novelty songs, the Bee Gees give us two versions of "Coke commercials" released in their sixties heyday.

The liner notes are some of the most comprehensive since "The Authorized Biography Of The Bee Gees", containing detailed month by month history of those first two years, original album artwork and rare photos. In addition, every song is listed with writer credits, place of recording and date of recording. Even the albums label name and copyright number is posted. Can you get more detailed?

Considering that this entire set is completely Remastered and there is ample new material along with alternate versions and outtakes, this is a Bee Gees fan dream come true. It is hard to believe that there is still more unreleased material, but this should satisfy the public as to what actually happened with the Bee Gees those first two classic years. It's a true gift of music.

The set is marketed in digi-paks (half cardboard and plastic), which has proven to be arguably less durable than simple jewel case, but that's a minor concern, all things considering. Excellent liner notes by Andrew Sandoval - a veteran of pop music history.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most welcomed box set, February 12, 2007

By 

William M. Feagin "music dealer/geek" (Upstate New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Studio Albums 1967-1968 (Audio CD)

It's been said by many that The Studio Albums 1967-1968 is an argument in favour of the Bee Gees' not just being an overblown disco group from the mid '70s; I wholeheartedly agree. Barry, Robin and Maurice had a long career that encompassed much more than just disco. These three albums are solid proof of that.

Bee Gees' 1st is something of a misnomer, as the lads had recorded two LPs for Australia's Festival Records while they still lived there (1958-1966), recorded while they were quite young--it's just that those two records were *only* released in Australia. Festival was, however, distributed by the European label Polydor and as a result, those records came to the attention of Robert Stigwood when the brothers arrived back home in the UK in January of 1967. For all intents and purposes, then, 1st, while their third album overall, was truly their first to gain international release; they were signed to Atlantic's Atco label here in the States. (I believe the story behind that involves Cream; Stigwood also represented Clapton's new power trio, and offered the Bee Gees to Ahmet Ertegun if he took Cream along with them...or it may have been the other way round. Cream's albums were also released through Polydor in Europe, specifically the Track Records label in the UK.) That said, as an international debut, it's a particularly fine one--highlights being such hits as "New York Mining Disaster 1941" and "To Love Somebody" (which has been covered by many different artists, not the least of which was Janis Joplin on her Kozmic Blues album). It's a pure psychedelic confection, with the harmonies of "Red Chair, Fade Away," the Gregorian chants of "Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You," and the imagery of "Cucumber Castle" and "Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts" (you've got to love the titles, too). Great bonus tracks, too; it's nice to have the previously unreleased "Gilbert Green," "House of Lords" and "All Around My Clock." We also have the detailed evolution of "New York Mining Disaster 1941," with its first two versions on the bonus disc to compare and contrast with the final version on Disc One.

Horizontal was the Brothers Gibb trying to follow up the first album and falling a tad short--chalk it up to the Sophomore Slump--but not failing utterly. Not even close; Horizontal features the hits "World" and "Massachusetts," yet it's the album tracks in between these which prove most interesting. "Lemons Never Forget" is a droll little poke at the Beatles and their establishment of Apple Corps Limited; "Harry Braff" features a race-car driver as its hero, and is truly a slice of late '60s psychedelic pop that many current alt-rock bands could probably cover quite satisfactorily; "The Earnest of Being George" is a twist on Oscar Wilde (the reference being, of course, "The Importance of Being Earnest," itself a pun if one is familiar with the play). And the bonus tracks include the non-LP singles "World, "Barker of the U.F.O." (which reminded me, oddly enough, of Fairport Convention's "Mr. Lacey"--although not done in the same bluesy style) and "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World" (very English, that), as well as the previously unreleased "Mrs. Gillespie's Refrigerator."

Finally, we have Idea, the third and final release by the original quintet; guitarist Vince Melouney, who had known the brothers in Australia and had come to the UK specifically to try and make it there, would leave after this album. (Colin Peterson stuck around through Odessa, the band's fourth Atco release from 1969, which we hope to see reissued in 2007, but left with Robin later that year amidst group infighting, which saw Peterson file an unsuccessful lawsuit in which he tried to climb ownership of the group name!) This, too, is an eclectic album--a few songs don't sound at all typical of what the Bee Gees had been doing on the previous two LPs, notably the Simon & Garfunkel-influenced "Kitty Can" (believe it or not, I *can* picture Paul and Artie doing that one) and "Such a Shame," the only song to be contributed to the group's canon from Vince Melouney's pen; Vince also sang lead on this song, a one-time-only event as well. The psychedelic title cut shows influences from the Beatles, the Stones and a number of other bands and it really rocks, too. And speaking of the Beatles, "In the Summer of His Years" was the brothers' moving and lovely tribute to their fallen manager, Brian Epstein, who was also Robert Stigwood's business partner and friend. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," which was one of the hit singles ("I Started a Joke," a study in contradictions, was the other), was included on the U.S. release of Idea but not, as the notes and some of the photos attest, the international releases, and is written from the point of view of a convicted killer on his way to be executed. And some just damn fine psychedelia in the forms of "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" and "I Have Decided to Join the Airforce." The bonus disc features the singles "Jumbo" and "The Singer Sang His Song" and the unreleased "Chocolate Symphony," "Bridges Crossing Rivers," and two Coke adverts in "Another Cold and Windy Day" and "Sitting in the Meadow."

One might question whether stereo *and* mono mixes were needed on the first disc of each album, but truthfully, they were--you can certainly spot differences in each (I noted a particular difference in the stereo and mono mixes of "Kitty Can"), although I'll admit I'd have been just as happy with just the stereo versions plus the bonus tracks, which would have made rather full single-disc versions of these albums. Still, Reprise has done a commendable job with these albums, and I must say I look forward to further remasters of early Bee Gees albums, especially Odessa, Cucumber Castle (which was just Barry and Maurice) and 2 Years On (on which the brothers reunited and continued in solidarity for the remainder of their career). And not to be forgotten, Trafalgar and To Whom It May Concern, which completed their contractual obligation to Atco and essentially closed out the first third of their career (make what you will of the transitional Life in a Tin Can).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Treasure for Bee Gees Fans, November 8, 2006

By 

D. Loiacano "Play Me a Song" (Kalamazoo, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Studio Albums 1967-1968 (Audio CD)

This is just a really impressive boxed set for the Bees Gees first 3 international studio albums. The songs have all received a long overdue remastering in both stereo and mono. Just as great, many alternate takes of the album tracks as well as many rare songs from the era are included. This collection showcases the early potential of this group like never before. I am also very impressed with the packaging. The gate-fold sleeves for each double cd are of very high quality (much better than the Beatles Capitol Re-releases, for example). They include tons of great pictures of the group from that era that I have never seen (and I've seen many). Each of the 3 gate-fold sets contains its own biography insert with details on the recording of the albums and lots more photos. The sets are individually numbered--apparently limited to 10,000 at this time. If you love the Bee Gees early music, you should definitely put this on your Christmas list. I am very impressed with the release, and look forward to what Reprise has in store for future Bee Gees releases. Is Odessa next? Can't wait. Thank you for giving the Bee Gees catalogue the attention it deserves.