The Second Disc’s Crystal Ball

Today being the first day of December, we’re really entering the home stretch of another year. With that in mind, we present a neat little discussion topic for your perusal.

With a new year creeping around the corner, there’s going to be an inevitable crop of reissues coming our way next year. Billy Joel and Paul Simon are having their catalogues redone, and reissues from George Michael and Thin Lizzy are going to brighten up the bleaker months of winter. We can even expect offerings from Ozzy Osbourne (bumped from last year), Howard Jones (in theory) and REO Speedwagon (maybe).

But what else are we missing? What sort of anniversaries would you like to see commemorated, milestones to be celebrated, potential reunions to capitalize upon? We’re turning The Second Disc’s Crystal Ball over to you; what reissues, remasters and box sets do you want 2011 to bring you? Sound off in the comments!

Reissue Theory: Andy Gibb

Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. The new Bee Gees box set prompts this post to look at the “other” Gibb brother who enjoyed a great deal of success – yet is sadly not around to continue making great music.

As Joe’s review of the new Bee Gees box set Mythology shows, young Andy Gibb was a pretty integral member of the musical family. Though he wasn’t part of the ensemble that Barry, Robin and Maurice bought to great success in the late ’70s, his birthright as a Gibb (and some killer tunes from his brothers) gave him a great run of success in the same era – one that was sadly shorter-lived than that of The Bee Gees themselves.

Andy, born in Manchester in 1958 (not the Isle of Man, as his elder brothers), first sought a music career after The Bee Gees struck out internationally. He managed to secure some small club performances in Ibiza in the early ’70s before returning to the family’s home base of Australia to cut some tracks with Australian producer Col Joye. The first single, “Words and Music,” was a minor hit in the country, but second single “Can’t Stop Dancing” (later covered by The Captain and Tenille) was never released.

But by that point, fate had intervened. Robert Stigwood, manager of The Bee Gees, signed Andy to the RSO label in an attempt to further enjoy the success the Gibbs were bringing to both the label and the pop music scene. Working with his brothers and producer Albhy Galuten in America, Andy cut the bulk of his debut RSO LP, Flowing Rivers, including the Barry-penned smash “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.” Both that song and follow-up “(Love is) Thicker Than Water” were No. 1 hits; the title track off sophomore album Shadow Dancing was, too.

While most of Gibb’s subsequent songs would be U.S. Top 40 hits, his growing addiction to drugs led to a long drop from the public eye in the 1980s while he cleaned up his act. With RSO long gone by the end of the ’80s, Andy worked with Barry and Maurice on album for an intended comeback on Island but died of an inflammation of a heart muscle just five days after his 30th birthday. He was never one of “The Brothers Gibb,” but he was a Gibb brother, and a talented one, too. Mythology does well in honoring his brief but popular stint in the spotlight – and it would be a kick if those three Andy Gibb LPs, out of print since being remastered on Polydor in 1998, got the expanded treatment.

After the jump, a look at how expanded editions of Flowing Rivers, Shadow Dancing and final studio album After Dark might be sequenced.

Review: Bee Gees, “Mythology: The 50th Anniversary Collection”

I’ve gotta get a message to you. The Bee Gees are celebrating half a century in the business we call show, and Rhino has invited fans to the party with the release of Mythology: The 50th Anniversary Collection, a new four-disc box.

There’s always something unmistakable about a family’s vocal blend. The Gibbs belong to the same tradition alongside the Everlys, the Wilsons, the Jacksons, the Carpenters, and so many others. Family was foremost on Barry and Robin Gibb’s mind when creating Mythology, and the Gibb family crest adorns its cover. The collection is a particularly poignant tribute as Barry and Robin called in Maurice Gibb’s widow, Yvonne, and Peta Gibb, daughter of Andy Gibb, to participate. While Andy was never a member of The Bee Gees, his all-too-short recording career was frequently a family affair and he solidifies his credentials as an unofficial Bee Gee here. Mythology is designed in a unique format as each of its four discs is devoted to the core works of one brother. (Many of the Bee Gees’ songs were credited to all three brothers, but each disc selects the songs on which one brother may have stood out in the production, songwriting and/or lead vocal duties.)

The release of Mythology is something of a bittersweet affair. When Warner Music Group’s Rhino arm announced its licensing of the Bee Gees catalogue in 2006, hopes were high. Fans and collectors were rewarded with that year’s release of a deluxe box set. The Studio Albums: 1967-1968 contained expanded mono/stereo editions of the group’s first three “canon” albums with a generous amount of unissued tracks. The promise of more such collections to come was particularly enticing. Then, the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever was bizarrely overlooked. While a remastered edition was released, it contained no additional material or new packaging, hardly the expected treatment for such a landmark recording. After that, a gorgeous boxed set devoted to the Odessa album materialized, but plans have otherwise stalled, excepting a couple of decent greatest hits repackages. Mythology was originally announced for 2009, and has finally arrived after a year’s delay. Was it worth the wait? Hit the jump to find out!