Bee Gees: The Hits and History of the Bee Gees



Synopsis

This 2-disc set is rather confusingly labelled, but let’s see if we can make some sense of it.Disc 1 is labelled “One Night Only” and is a 2-hour A&E documentary about the band. The casesays the documentary is called “The Official Story of the Bee Gees,” yet the on-screen title is“This Is Where I Came In.” The confusion doesn’t end there. Disc 2 is labelled “The OfficialStory of the Bee Gees,” but actually features the concert film “One Night Only.” Are we clear?Good… In any event, the documentary is typical A&E celebrity-bio fare, especially when thecelebs are still alive (in other words, we accentuate the positive). The concert covers all the hitsfrom the brothers’ lengthy career.

Audio

You have 2.0 for the documentary, and 5.1, DTS and 2.0 for the concert. Obviously, it’s thelatter where the wound really counts. Everything is clear enough for the documentary. As for theconcert, the sound is suitably arena-big, and benefits from a very strong bass. The vocals arenever overwhelmed, though the crowd roars are sometimes a bit louder than I would like, butthat’s a personal taste thing.

Video

The picture quality on the documentary varies according to the source material: there is somevery vintage footage here, going back some forty years, so of course the image isn’t alwaysperfectly clear and sharp. The concert, however, is very handsomely shot and mounted (though Ican’t help but be disappointed by the decision to go with a fullscreen aspect). The colours arevibrant, the contrasts excellent, and the blacks damn near perfect. The image is very sharptoo.

Special Features

You could make the case that the entire set is a special feature. If the doc isn’t enough foryou, however, its disc has dozens of “Anecdotes” — short interview outtakes. The still gallery is ascored montage. There are bios of important figures in the Bee Gees’ lives, and a vide for therecent “This Is Where I Came In” single. Disc 2 has a19-minute bonus interview. Finally, thereare some brief liner notes. The menu is animated and scored, and Disc 2 has animatedtransitions.

Closing Thoughts

Mislabelling confusion aside, this is a solid (if unsurprisingly worshipful) package, sure todelight fans of the group.

Special Features List

• Anecdotes
• Scored Photo Gallery
• Guest Bios
• “This Is Where I Came In” Video
• Bonus Interview
• Liner Notes