This was done to off-set albums with a large number of ‘flawless’ or ‘excellent’ songs being disproportionally pulled down by a couple of lower-ranked songs. Acknowledging the potential limitations of a methodology that works purely on the highest average song rating in determining an album’s total score, I decided to count how many songs per album were rated 8 or above and include this information in my formula. Once I assigned each song with a number, I worked out the average score for each album. Here’s how I’ve determined the value of the points system for songs:ġ0: Flawless – among the elite of all pop songs by any artist of any era So let’s get started! In order to rank the albums, I decided to rate each song as well. As for Maurice, I’ve always felt Railroad (1970) was one of the top 10 greatest Bee Gees songs that never was. Barry’s In The Now (2016) and his Hawks soundtrack (1988) are particularly strong, as is Robin’s How Old Are You (1983).
Solo works also haven’t been included, though that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check them out. I’ve also removed from consideration the fine albums Barry, Robin and Maurice wrote for other artists, namely younger brother Andy as well as Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Ruffin, Carola, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers and Diana Ross. In making this list I’ve excluded the two Bee Gees albums recorded for the domestic Australian market in the mid 1960s before they found global stardom in ’67. When the final Bee Gees album, This Is Where I Came In, came out in 2001, I thought it was an even better work than its predecessor, the huge comeback that was Still Waters. Then there’s the fact I’ve always rated the brothers’ second international album, Horizontal, above their more widely heralded debut.Īlbums like High Civilization and Life In A Tin Can often occupy the bottom couple of slots for many fans and yet I find so much to like (and even love) about both of those. Beyond Fever though, fans generally mention the first international LP, First, as well as titles like Odessa, Main Course, Spirits Having Flown, Living Eyes, One, Size Isn’t Everything and Still Waters.īut what of Cucumber Castle? That’s the Bee Gees album that most often feels like my favourite even if it isn’t necessarily what I regard as their best.
Bee gees greatest hits album art full#
Gibbologists will almost always talk about Fever at the top of the pile and while that soundtrack – as well as its forgotten sequel Staying Alive – only contained five new Gibb songs each, for the purposes of this article we’ll count them as full LPs due to their significance in the brothers’ catalogue. With an international career of LP releases spanning the 34 years from 1967 to 2001, the Bee Gees were one of popular music’s greatest, most varied and most prolific phenomena across 22 different official studio albums, including the twin soundtracks of Saturday Night Fever and Staying Alive. Put the kettle on, get comfy, fire up the speakers and get ready to dive deep – I mean really deep – into the glorious back catalogue of Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. So let’s spark up that debate once more! Only this time, with a little mathematics to help us out. Not only have I debated with other fans, I’ve endlessly debated with myself as to what the absolute finest Bee Gees albums actually were.