The Bee Gees Uktimate

High Civilization is the nineteenth studio album by British pop group the Bee Gees, released on 25 March 1991 in the U.K., and 14 May 1991 in the U.S. It was their last album recorded for Warner Bros. Records, after a four-year contract (they would return to WB through subsidiary Reprise Records in 2006: after gaining the rights to their previously released material, they reissued each album through Reprise). Possibly in reaction to firm resistance from U.S. radio to the previous two albums, E.S.P. (1987) and One (1989), which had done well in other countries, the U.S.-based Warner Bros gave this one less promotion and did not issue remixes. They recorded this album and their next album Size Isn't Everything with engineer Femi Jiya.

The Bee Gees' second R&B album, Children of the World, had the advantage of being written and recorded while the group was riding a string of Top Ten singles and the biggest wave of public adulation in their history off of the Main Course album…

The Bee Gees were a pop music group formed in 1958. Their lineup consisted of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists…

The debut international long-player by the Bee Gees may shock anyone who only remembers them for their mid- to late-'70s disco mega-hits, or their quirky early-'70s romantic balladry. Up until 1966, they'd shown a penchant for melodic songs and rich, high harmonies, in the process becoming Australia's answer to the Everly Brothers…

Spirits Having Flown is regarded today as something of a letdown, representing the tail-end of the Bee Gees' period of greatest success, perhaps because it preceded a two-year layoff that, in turn, heralded a decline in their fortunes. At the time, however, no one heard anything less than what they expected – beautiful slow dance numbers ("Too Much Heaven," "Love You Inside Out"), achingly gorgeous romantic numbers ("Reaching Out"), soaring ballads ("Spirits (Having Flown)"), and pounding dance-rock numbers ("Tragedy"). If a few songs on the LP's second side, like "Stop (Think Again)" or "Search, Find," weren't quite up to that high standard, even the latter song displayed dazzling interwoven vocals on the choruses (which were pretty infectious) that made the trip worthwhile.

Still Waters is the twenty-first studio album by the pop group the Bee Gees, released on 10 March 1997 in the UK by Polydor, and on 6 May the same year in the US by A&M. As if they finally realized that they couldn't quite compete with contemporary musical fashions any more, the Bee Gees moved firmly into "mature" territory with Still Waters. However, they are canny enough to realize that they shouldn't abandon the frothy disco that made them superstars in the late '70s – they should merely temper it with measured rhythms and tasteful melodies. Consequently, nothing on Still Waters is infectious, but it is pleasant, and while only a handful of singles stand out – "I Could Not Love You More" is a sweet ballad – it is still a fine, professional effort from these consummate professionals.

The original double-LP version of this compilation was one of the most generous in the Bee Gees' catalog, assembling 20 of their biggest disco-era hits and most important album tracks in one place, all while the disco boom was still alive in a lot of places. The expanded Reprise double-CD edition of this collection, released in September of 2007, boosts the original compilation's running time by more than 30 minutes, most of the latter made up of remixes and alternate mixes of established hits, such as a 12" promo version and a Teddybears remix of "Stayin' Alive," a Jason Bentley/Philip Steir remix of "You Should Be Dancing," a Count De Money remix of "If I Can't Have You," a Future Funk Squad remix of "Night Fever," and a Supreme Beings of Leisure remix of "How Deep Is Your Love." There's also one previously unissued track, "Warm Ride," without a word of mention about when or where it came from – in its defense, it's as good a song as anything the Bee Gees actually released in the second half of the '70s.