Lossless Album - CD Box Set

Mythology contains four discs housed in a 5 3/4" X 7 5/8" X 7/16" box, with each disc spotlighting a different Gibb brother, including one disc dedicated to Andy. The songs were chosen by Barry, Robin, Maurice's widow Yvonne (and their children Adam and Samantha), and Andy's daughter Peta.

Mythology also features a collection of family photos, many never-before published, along with tributes from artists such as George Martin, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Graham Nash, and the band's longtime manager Robert Stigwood. Spanning the Bee Gees' five-decade career, the set's 81 tracks touch on several of the group's best-known hits.

The final disc spotlights Andy Gibb, who worked with his brothers throughout his career, before his death in 1988 at the age of 30. Notably, Andy's first 3 singles all went to #1 in the U.S., a feat that had never been accomplished before. Mythology also marks the debut of "Arrow Through The Heart," a song Andy recorded shortly before his death that was intended for a comeback album.

This is one of my many singles projects that I've compiled for my own amusement. While I don't think that strictly following the singles-only format gives all of their high points (they had a great many strong album tracks), their singles do give you an overview of what they were all about prior to "that movie". Why did I stop at 1974? Well, because that is where I get off the bus. The first single of 1975 was "Jive Talkin'", which ushered in a new era for these guys. It's not my aim to get into that.

Also included are the solo singles that the Gibb's released during the Bee Gees' 1970 hiatus. The only one not included is Barry's "One Bad Thing", although technically this one didn't get released to the general public. Atco pressed up a few copies in Canada, just prior to the group getting back together and pulling the plug on their solo projects. A couple copies or so wound up in collector's hands. Had I found a decent (lossless) source for the track, I might've included it. If you have it, do share it with us.

I used the individual album remasters as a source for all tracks from the first three albums. The original Polydor CDs were used for all the selections after those. I used all stereo versions simply because of continuity's sake and because some mono single mixes are not in digital form yet. So, even though this is a "singles" collection, I don't have single mixes/edits. The first 12 cuts (Festival singles) are mono, and they appear here as they are found on the 1998 Festival records compilation "Brilliant From Birth". Everything from there on out is stereo except "One Million Years" - that is the rechanneled (fake stereo) mix that has been used on the "Robin's Reign" German LP and subsequent CD reissue. Some songs were not initially mixed for stereo, and would not be until 1990's "Tales From The Brothers Gibb" box set. I used the stereo mixes found on that box for several of the songs.

Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song is a box set compilation released by The Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, Tales is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their first album, 1967's Bee Gees 1st to the group's most recent album (at the time), 1989's One.

Considering the peculiar nature of the Gibbs' catalog, the compilers neatly arranged each disc/cassette to represent the Bee Gees at different periods of their career called Chapters. Chapter I consists of songs from their folky/psychedelic era of 1967-1970; Chapter II covers the ballad heavy period of 1971-1974; Chapter III tracks the disco era from 1975-1979 and Chapter IV consists of the Gibbs' output in the 80's, including material from their two Warner Bros. albums.

Many B-sides made their CD debut on Tales as well as solo material, unreleased tracks and live performances not available anywhere else. Album cuts, with a few exceptions, were not included here as to keep the focus on single releases.

Several tracks received new stereo mixes prepared by Bill Inglot especially for this set. "World" and "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" are notable for the improved stereo mixes found on Tales, while many of the B-sides such as "Sinking Ships", "Barker of the UFO" and "The Singer Sang His Song" were mixed in stereo for the first time. [2]

The attractive packaging includes symbols for each song, photos taken in 1989 at a video shoot, and comments from one of the brothers on each song in the accompanying book. No historic photos were used.