Julian Howard wins £50 in our May Review Competition

Yet again we received some first class reviews for our Find CD May review competition and our thanks and congratulations go to all of you who submitted a review. We have chosen Julian Howard as the winner for his review of "Bee Gees – The Ultimate Bee Gees" and a £50 Asda voucher is its way to him.

Julian's review was not only in praise of the music of the Bee Gees and their song writing talent but was also a timely tribute to Robin Gibb whose sad death was recently announced. The sound of the Bee Gees is instantly recognisable with their falsetto voices, heart wringing lyrics, disco dancing melodies that never quite seem to go out of fashion. So if you think the music of the Bee Gees  is passé read this excerpt from Julian's review and rediscover the Bee Gees and perhaps a bit of your youth in the 70s.

Then why not enter our June review competition? It's so easy. Choose your CD from any genre on our site, write your review in the review field, click "submit" and you could be the next winner of a very generous £50 Asda voucher.  Your review must be unique and original and we will not publish offensive or abusive material, but apart from that entering the competition is simple and we are waiting for your review. Good Luck!

"Bee Gees-The Ultimate Bee Gees" a review by Julian Howard.

With Robin Gibb's recent death, the Bee Gees are sadly no more. The band was on hiatus following Maurice's death in 2003 but the remaining two members briefly re-formed for shows in 2009 before Robin became ill in late 2011. The success and legacy of the band is, in the words of Paul Gambaccini, "second only to The Beatles". For this reason, 'The Ultimate Bee Gees' simply has to be top of your list for music purchases as summertime beckons.

Needless to say, this double album is jammed to the gunwales with a breathtaking number of quality hits. Even when a song title is not instantly recognisable the tune doubtless will be. While things kick off with mid-career disco stomper You should be dancing, it makes more sense to review this album in chronological and thematic order to truly appreciate the evolution of the Bee Gees sound. Some very early material such as 1965's Spicks and Specks is included here, but it is with the haunting New York Mining Disaster 1941 that we begin our Bee Gees journey proper. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then To Love Somebody is right up there with The Beatles' Yesterday. Everyone has their favourite cover of this Bee Gees standard, but the original in this case really is the best. See Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame's 2005 version accompanied by The Cure's Robert Smith if you want to hear how different the song can be made to sound. Massachusetts and Words followed soon after. Massachusetts epitomised the band's ability to understand, interpret and then capitalise on a particular musical trend, a unique skill set that ensured their success and longevity for many years to come. In this case, the silky voice of a 17 year old Robin Gibb perfectly complemented the folk revival style prevalent at the time and rendered invalid any accusations of precociousness in the process.

Here is a selection of some of the CDs reviewed recently: