Bee Gees had already gone through a few stylistic transformations long before they reinvented themselves as disco royalty in the mid to late ’70s.
Starting their career in Australia when they were still in their teens, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb released their first singles in 1963 and their first album two years later. It took a short while for the group to find their groove – early records, like countless others across the globe, tended to sound like Beatles copies – but by the time their first international LP came out in 1967, their songwriting prowess was already developing.
Just a list of Bee Gees’ earliest singles revealed something magical was in the works: “New York Mining Disaster 1941,” “To Love Somebody,” “Massachusetts,” “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” “I Started a Joke.” And that’s even before they had their first U.S. No. 1. By the middle of the ’70s, the Gibb brothers were mining new territory, exploring R&B and disco sounds with another run of successful hit singles, led by the immortal “Jive Talkin’.”
Then Saturday Night Fever hit and nothing was the same – for popular music and the Bee Gees. The soundtrack is still one of the all-time bestselling albums, and its string of hit singles (“How Deep Is Your Love,” “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” all hit No. 1) led to total domination of the charts and radio by the end of the decade, not only for the Bee Gees but also the artists they wrote hits for, including Yvonne Elliman, Samantha Sang, Barbra Streisand, Frankie Valli and their younger brother, Andy Gibb.
And while a disco backlash at the turn of the ’80s cast a dark shadow over the group’s commercial prospects moving forward, they kept supplying others with hit singles, including Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and Dionne Warwick, and by the end of the decade were once again reinventing their music. In 1997, Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and their reputation has only grown since the deaths of Maurice (in 2003) and Robin (in 2012). Their recorded legacy of nearly two dozen LPs has weathered multiple storms over the decades, as you’ll see in the below list of Bee Gees Albums Ranked Worst to Best.
10. ‘Children of the World’ (1976)
Flush from the success of the previous year’s Main Course, Bee Gees found no reason to steer from the formula for the follow-up. Children of the World was once again recorded at Miami’s Criteria Studios, but with newcomer Albhy Galuten assisting with production. (Arif Mardin had to step down after RSO Records went with a new distributor.) The R&B and disco are even more pronounced here: “You Should Be Dancing” went to No. 1, the ballad “Love So Right” hit No. 3 and “Boogie Child” pointed the way to the future.
9. ‘To Whom It May Concern’ (1972)
Polydor/Atco
9. ‘To Whom It May Concern’ (1972)
There’s not much focus to the group’s 10th album, but like predecessor Trafalgar, To Whom It May Concern does strike a somber note, which suits this wayward Bee Gees era. Opening song and lead single “Run to Me” is the highlight, but there are enough left-field choices here to keep things interesting (check out the closing “Sweet Song of Summer”). Next up: some big changes, including a new studio, a new label and a sorta new sound that would better realize itself in a few years.
8. ‘Horizontal’ (1968)
Polydor/Atco
8. ‘Horizontal’ (1968)
The Bee Gees’ second international album arrived about a half-year after their first one and is basically an extension of the psychedelic baroque pop the group was making at the time. The singles are the draw here, particularly “Massachusetts,” their first U.K. No. 1. While the Beatles influences of their earliest work can still be heard on Horizontal, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were growing as songwriters, and the contributions of guitarist Vince Melouney and drummer Colin Petersen make Bee Gees sound like a band rather than three Gibbs and some session players.
7. ‘Living Eyes’ (1981)
RSO
7. ‘Living Eyes’ (1981)
Saturday Night Fever was a blessing and a curse. By the early ’80s, music fans had abandoned disco and, in turn, the kings of the genre. Bee Gees do their best to remake themselves (again) on Living Eyes, this time as soft-rock craftsmen. That only served to alienate any disco holdovers and turn off others who couldn’t shake the baggage that came with their name. Little surprise then that the album couldn’t even crack the Top 40. But Living Eyes is fine-tuned, turn-of-the-’80s pop, critics be damned.
6. ‘E·S·P’ (1987)
Warner Bros.
6. ‘E·S·P’ (1987)
Pop music had moved on by the time Bee Gees followed up 1981’s Living Eyes with E-S-P, though they stayed busy with hit records by Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick and others, plus a flop sequel to Saturday Night Fever. But they were still crafting slick, listenable records as the end of the ’80s neared with help from old friend Arif Mardin, who pushed the Gibbs back into their comfort zone. The album wasn’t a huge commercial success in the States but was a hit elsewhere. And “You Win Again” was their best single since the glory days.
5. ‘Spirits Having Flown’ (1979)
RSO
5. ‘Spirits Having Flown’ (1979)
Bee Gees were the biggest group in the world when they released their 15th album and the first since the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack made them among the most recognizable faces on the planet. They held nothing back: disco fever, silky ballads, luxurious pop. The first three songs on Spirits Having Flown were released as singles, and all hit No. 1: “Tragedy,” “Too Much Heaven” and “Love You Inside Out.” There’s more here, too, like the epic title track. Two years later, disco was dead and so, for the most part, was the group’s chart dominance.
4. ‘Bee Gees’ 1st’ (1967)
Polydor/Atco
4. ‘Bee Gees’ 1st’ (1967)
Not really their first album, but close enough. Bee Gees’ third LP, but their debut international record, marked a huge leap from the boyish harmonies and Beatles pastiches of their two Australian albums. A scan of the track listing shows just how far they’d come: The excellent “Holiday,” “New York Mining Disaster 1941” and “To Love Somebody” are all here. Those were the hit singles; deeper excavation finds “Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You,” “I Can’t See Nobody” and “Close the Door.” The Bee Gees’ unofficial arrival.
3. ‘Main Course’ (1975)
RSO
3. ‘Main Course’ (1975)
Here’s the album that changed everything for Bee Gees. From a new logo to a new sound, Main Course steered the group’s course from creatively battered soft-pop vets to disco kings. “Jive Talkin'” gets much of the attention, and rightfully so, but there’s little filler on their 13th album – from great singles “Nights on Broadway” and “Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)” to deep cuts like “Edge of the Universe.” The Miami years begin here, launching one of the best runs in pop music history.
2. ‘Odessa’ (1969)
Polydor/Atco
2. ‘Odessa’ (1969)
A double-LP concept album about a lost 19th-century ship? Yes, please! The Bee Gees’ sixth album (originally titled An American Opera, giving you an idea of its scope) caused a huge divide among the group: Robin Gibb left after the record came out and guitarist Vince Melouney was gone even before that. Odessa wasn’t all that liked by fans at the time either, but a reevaluation over the years has elevated it to one of their greatest works: ambitious, tuneful and full of the big ideas and songs that the group would abandon as they developed tighter, more commercial targets. Essential listening.
1. ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (1977)
RSO
1. ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (1977)
Technically, it’s not a Bee Gees album. But the hit movie soundtrack wouldn’t have become one of the bestselling records of all time without them at the helm. There’s a reason they are on the cover with star John Travolta. They dominate Side One; four of their five landscape-shifting songs went to No. 1 (one, “If I Can’t Have You,” is sung by Yvonne Elliman; the Bee Gees’ B-side version is available elsewhere). Two of their earlier No. 1s are also here. Saturday Night Fever was not only a chart monster, it was a cultural phenomenon that made Bee Gees the biggest group in the world for the next couple of years.
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