Greatest, the 8th compilation album released by pop-rock band Bee Gees, was released in October 1979. The album consists of two disks with 4 sides in total, there are 5 songs on each side from various albums that include; Saturday Night Fever, Main Course, Spirits Having Flown, and Children of The World. The designer of the logo, Tom Nikosey, is mentioned on the back side of the sleeve cover along with the photographer and the art director Ed Caraeff and Glenn Ross. The album achieved multi-platinum status and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, cementing the Bee Gees’ influence on popular music at the time. Only within a few months of its release it sold over 1 million copies making it one of the best selling compilation albums. The album captures the energy, style, and sound of the late '70s, making it a timeless collection of one of the most influential musical groups of the disco era.
The dramatic lighting on the metal text and vibrant colors used are reminiscent of the disco era of the 1970s. It's a visual echo of the Bee Gees sound through its polished and sophisticated finish. The songs selected for this compilation album are full of rich harmonies which reflect the rich layered design of the lettering in the Bee Gees logo. The word “greatest”, made by the golden ribbon, serves as a leading line to take you from the top of the logo with the humming bird through the “BEE GEES” text and finally to the word “greatest”.
Tom Nikosey was a young graphic designer who brought a new dynamic logo design for the graphic design on album covers. His work is heavily inspired from his surroundings when he lived in New York, the architecture and signage that are layered with history usually showed up in his work.
Sources:
- “Interview with Graphic Artist Tom Nikosey – Part 1,” Album Cover Hall of Fame.com, December 7, 2012, https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/interview-with-graphic-artist-tom-nikosey-part-1/.
- “Covers : Tom Nikosey, Designer + Illustrator,” Tomnikosey.com, 2024, http://www.tomnikosey.com/covers.php.
- Wikipedia Contributors, “Greatest (Bee Gees Album),” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, August 6, 2024), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_(Bee_Gees_album).
