Search - Bee Gees :: Brilliant From Birth: Birth of Brilliance 2

Definitive package of their early recordings.

P. J. Walstra | 03/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Much of this material will already be familiar to long time fans of the Brothers Gibb, for it has been repackaged on a fairly regular basis ever since the late 60's. Remember the two volumes of "Rare, Precious and Beautiful" that Atco released thirty plus years ago? That recycling has continued in the digital age with a seemingly unending series of budget priced knockoffs containing the same 12 - 14 songs. Well, if you've been looking for this early material but waiting for some kind of intelligent package; wait no more! Brilliant From Birth has got to stand as the absolute last word on the Bee Gees "Australian Period." This CD takes the 32 track 1978 LP "Birth of Brilliance," then adds another 31 tracks on top of that, giving the listener everything that was recorded during that 1963 - 66 period. Going more or less in chronological order we start off with the boys sounding very much like The Chipmunks; yes, Alvin, Simon and Theodore assume lifelike form on tracks like "The Battle of the Blue and Grey" and "The Three Kisses of Love." In fact Disc 1 contains all of their very earliest tracks and while it does make for interesting listening from a historical standpoint, there are too many tracks here that do not merit more than one listen. Prime offenders being tracks 23 - 28, which I believe were recorded for some TV show down under, never being intended for release. As they were not disturbing anyone in the vault, why weren't they allowed to remain there? Also, there are several covers of British hits of the day, all of them pretty lame, with the boys not really making too much of an effort to get the lyrics down. Proof positive that the "completist approach" is not always to the benefit of the listener. Things improve considerably on Disc 2; the boys stop trying to be the Beatles and start concentrating on being the Bee Gees, with some damn fine results. There are too many good songs to list here but personal favorites include "Where Are You," "I Don't Know Why I Bother With Myself", "Tint of Blue," "Spicks and Specks," "Exit Stage Right," and "Coalman." The Beatle influences are still there, but the songwriting has come into sharper focus and the musical backing much tougher, with many tracks having a strong Revolver-era Beatles feel. A lot of care has gone into Brilliant From Birth, the overall sound is quite fine and Glenn A. Baker does his usual superb job with the liner notes. I must say, however that this could have been a better package had the compilers exercised better judgment in deciding what material went into this release. I am referring to the 15 or so covers included that really did not merit inclusion and keep this from being a five star release. All in all, though, I cannot envision this material ever being released in a more thorough, more insightful package than Brilliant From Birth. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that there is some damn fine songwriting to be had here as well?"

Most complete set of early recordings

P. J. Walstra | 02/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With so many budget albums out there that have the early recordings of The Bee Gees in various combinations, it seemed difficult to get them all without having to many duplicates.
This double album makes it easy. Not all songs are all that great, but you can certainly follow the development of the typical early Bee Gees sound. I also like the cover versions of Lennon & McCartney songs they do on this album.
So if you want the very early stuff, buy this one - you won't need any other then."

Complete collection.

duke14 | NE Philly, PA | 11/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Three Kisses Of Love, The BeeGees Sing And Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs, Claustrophobia, Spicks and Specks, etc... all early albums/ compliations. And many many more. I had 3 of them before I finally found this, which has every single early recording of the BeeGees before theycame out with First. I Want Home, How Love Was True, You Wouldn't Know, I Was A Lover A Leader Of Men, Claustrophobia, and Big Chance some of my favorites. A couple of the tracks are not theirs. Just One Look and Daydream. Maybe that's why they don't sound that great, knowing it's not theirs. But still, forget about all those other compilations. Save some money and get this. You'll have all of them in one."