A few weeks ago, Rhino released Bee Gees: 1974-1979 which followed from last year’s Bee Gees: The Warner Bros. Years 1987-1991.  Both boxes contained the complete studio albums from those periods plus some bonus material.  Now, fans of the Bee Gees and the Gibb brothers should have more to look forward to as Rhino’s sister label Reprise has just announced a new set chronicling the recordings of one of the band’s members during a two year period: Saved By the Bell: The Collected Works of Robin Gibb 1969-1970.

This three-CD set includes the recordings Robin Gibb made when he briefly stepped away from the Bee Gees, beginning in 1969.  Only one album was released from these sessions, Robin’s Reign.  The LP was issued in early 1970 (on Polydor in the U.K. and Atco in the U.S.).  Its commercial performance was poor, and a planned second album was never released.  Robin soon returned to the Bee Gees and didn’t try any more solo outings until 1983’s How Old Are You?

While some felt that the last two Bee Gees boxes were a little light on bonus material, there shouldn’t be many complaints for this set.  The first disc presents an expanded edition of Robin’s Reign (which has only been available on CD in a long out-of print barebones German edition from the 1990s) while the second disc contains tracks intended for the follow-up album Sing Slowly Sisters with bonus material.  The third disc rounds up other odds and ends including BBC appearances and song demos.  All told, 47 of the set’s 63 tracks are previously unreleased.

You can read more information in the press release from Reprise below.  We’ve also included the complete track listing and discographical information.  This set is due to be released on June 2.

LOS ANGELES - On June 2, Reprise will release SAVED BY THE BELL - THE COLLECTED WORKS OF ROBIN GIBB: 1969-70. The collection captures the entire musical output of Robin Gibb at 19 years old, over a 12 month period from 1969 and 1970. The extensive 3 disc set features the critically acclaimed hit solo album Robin's Reign, rebooted to include nine alternate takes and full-length versions, as well as the previously unreleased, and much sought-after Sing Slowly Sisters album, which comes exactly 45 years after it was recorded.

This compilation, produced by Grammy-nominated reissue producer Andrew Sandoval (The Beach Boys, Elvis Costello, Elton John), took over 10 years to complete. The first conversations took place with Robin Gibb himself with the original idea being to complete the lost album Sing Slowly Sisters, but Robin's focus turned to the creation of new material until his death in 2012 and the project stalled. However, immortalizing his lasting legacy, work continued to finally bring this lost gem to his fans. In fact it was the fans that eventually provided the material needed to complete the project, sharing with Andrew material purchased on cassette and one-of-a-kind acetates at auction over the years to augment the original masters that were accessed and mixed for this collection. The full-length album version of Sing Slowly Sisters (Disc 2) is in fact the best approximation of the running order, as a full album was never previously compiled.

For a brief period at the beginning of 1969, after the release of the Bee Gees’ Odessa, the Gibb brothers entered a period of solo output, led by the release of Robin's single "Saved By The Bell" which shot to #2 in the UK (only kept from the number one spot by The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women"). Recorded at London's Chappell Studios, IBC Studio and Recorded Sound Studios between March 1969 and April 1970, Robin Gibb not only created his solo opus Robin's Reign, but also consciously worked on the follow-up Sing Slowly Sisters and even more material in what was one of his most creative and prolific periods of song writing.

This stunning collection is a tribute to this period of Robin's life and features absolute gems, such as "Hudson's Fallen Wind." This track is the original suite lasting more than 12 minutes that became the three-minute excerpt that was "Farmer Ferdinand Hudson," a track featured on Robin's Reign. The third disc is simply titled Robin's Rarities, an intriguing collection of 23 alternate takes, demos, BBC sessions and unissued songs including "Janice," "Alexandra Good Time" (the original withdrawn flipside of "Saved By The Bell"), Robin's fascinating orchestral tribute to Scrooge ("Ghost Of Christmas Past"), and the moon landing  ("Moon Anthem.")

With sleeve notes provided by St. Etienne's Bob Stanley he sums up the reason for this release perfectly: "Finally the boxed-up tapes, acetates and one-off demos have been gathered in one place. These potent tales of love, loss and contemplation, with their opaque references to Shipston-on-Stour and Derbyshire dentists, can breathe at last."

This brilliant new set is a unique insight into the genius song-writing talent of this much loved and greatly missed globally renowned artist.

Robin Gibb, Saved By the Bell: The Collected Works of Robin Gibb 1969-1970 (Reprise, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

Robin’s Reign….Plus

1. August October
2. Gone Gone Gone
3. The Worst Girl in this Town
4. Give Me a Smile
5. Down Came the Sun
6. Mother and Jack
7. Saved by the Bell
8. Weekend
9. Farmer Ferdinand Hudson
10. Lord Bless All
11. Most of My Life
12. One Million Years
13. Hudson’s Fallen Wind
14. Saved by the Bell (Mono)
15. Mother and Jack (Mono)
16. One Million Years (Mono)
17. Weekend (Mono)
18. August October (Mono)
19. Give Me a Smile (Mono)
20. Lord Bless All (Alternate Take)

CD 2

Sing Slowly Sisters – Sessions

1. Sing Slowly Sisters
2. Life
3. C’est La Vie, Au Revoir
4. Everything is How You See Me
5. I’ve Been Hurt
6. Sky West and Crooked
7. Irons on the Fire
8. Cold Be My Days
9. Avalanche
10. Engines Aeroplanes
11. The Flag I Flew
12. Return to Austria
13. It’s Only Make Believe
14. All’s Well That Ends Well
15. A Very Special Day
16. Great Caesar’s Ghost
17. Anywhere I Hang My Hat
18. Loud and Clear
19. Return to Austria (Demo)
20. Why Not Cry Together (Demo)

CD 3

Robin’s Rarities

1. Alexandria Good Time
2. Janice
3. Love Just Goes
4. August October “Agosto Ottobre” (Italian)
5. One Million Years “Un Milone De Ani” (Italian)
6. Saved by the Bell (BBC)
7. Robin Talks with Brian Matthew (BBC)
8. August October (BBC)
9. Weekend (BBC)
10. Give Me a Smile (BBC)
11. Robin Talks with David Wigg (BBC)
12. The Band Will Meet Mr. Justice (Demo)
13. The People’s Public Poke Song (Demo)
14. Indian Gin and Whiskey Dry (Demo)
15. The Girl to Share Each Day (Demo)
16. Come Some Halloween or Christmas Day (Demo)
17. Heaven in My Hands (Demo)
18. Most of My Life (Demo)
19. Goodbye Good World (Demo)
20. Down Came the Sun (Demo)
21. Don’t Go Away (Demo)
22. Moon Anthem – Robin Gibb Orchestra and Chorus
23. Ghost of Christmas Past – Robin Gibb Orchestra and Chorus

CD 1, Tracks 1 - 11 from Robin’s Reign (Polydor 583 085, 1970)
CD 1, Tracks 12-13, 20 Previously Unreleased
CD 1, Tracks 14-15 from Polydor single #56337, 1969
CD 1, Tracks 16-17 from Polydor single #56368, 1969
CD 1, Tracks 18-19 from Polydor single #56371, 1970
CD 2, All Tracks Previously Unreleased
CD 3, All Tracks Previously Unreleased