The Bees Gees

Barry Gibb & The Bee Gees/Spicks And Specks/Turn Around … [Festival/Warner]

Morning Of My Life/The Best of 1965-66 [Festival/Warner]

[Rating: 3.5/5]

Hats off to Festival Records for opening their vaults with such zeal in the last few months. This time the sonic dig sees the label set their sights on the Bee Gees. Here, in slip cases housed in slim box, are the Bee Gees first three Australian albums: billed as The Festival Albums Collection 1965 – 67. The first does exactly what it says on the tin ‘The Bee Gees Sing & Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs’. The young songwriter had his work covered early by artists both here and overseas. Recorded in Sydney the set, as the cover shot implies, is Barry and the twins delivering their antipodean take on the Everly Brothers with a British bent.

By the time they were on the boat heading back to England, the single Spicks And Specks was racing up the chart. The Spin label, which was distributed by Festival, quickly added the single to the lads’ second album and re-issued it with a new title track. Still learning the ropes, the production team was helmed by Nat Kipner and Ossie Byrne: the latter travelled with the boys to the UK. Listen to How Many Birds and the lads sound like a mid-sixties’ beat combo.

When Spicks And Specks was enjoying the lofty heights of the charts: the Bee Gees had flown. A decision was made to cobble together singles, b-sides and studio ‘obscurities’ to craft what was essentially the boys’ first compilation album, Turn Around… Look At Us. It’s here you’ll find The Battle Of The Blue And Grey, I Was A Leader Of Men and Peace Of Mind. Glenn A. Baker, who provides  data on where the tunes came from, compiles liner notes for the set.

Sold as a separate item, Morning Of My Life/The Best Of 1965-66 features material that does appear on the Festival box as well as some stand-alone material, all of which was remastered in 2012. Over twenty-four songs the set features tunes recorded both at Festival Studios and at Claire Studio in Hurstville. This was the birth of something brilliant and the music is lovingly re-packaged and presented here. Period pieces for sure, there’s something special that glimmers on the surface. In a matter of months the Bee Gees were on their way to conquering both the UK and America.

Sean Sennett