Odessey and Oracle

Odessey and Oracle
Studio album by The Zombies
Released	19 April 1968 (1968-04-19)
Recorded	June–August 1967, Abbey Road and Olympic Studios, except "Changes", recorded November 1967 at Abbey Road studios
Genre	Pop rock, sunshine pop, baroque pop, psychedelic pop
Length	35:18
Label	CBS
Producer	The Zombies, Al Kooper (American reissue)
The Zombies chronology
Begin Here (UK) ————— The Zombies (US) (1965) Odessey and Oracle (1968) New World (1991)

Odessey and Oracle is the third studio album by English pop rock band The Zombies. It was released on 19 April 1968 by CBS Records. It is among the most critically acclaimed albums in history.

Recording history

Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after The Zombies signed to the CBS label. While their first album included several cover versions, Odessey consisted entirely of original compositions by Rod Argent and Chris White.

The group began work on the album in June 1967. Nine of the twelve songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where earlier in the year The Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd recorded The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This was the first time Abbey Road would be used for an independently produced (non-EMI) release.

In August, when Abbey Road was unavailable, The Zombies temporarily shifted base to Olympic Studios where they recorded "Beechwood Park", "Maybe After He's Gone", and "I Want Her She Wants Me". They returned to Abbey Road Studios in September. The sessions ended in November and the final two tracks to be recorded were "Time of the Season" and "Changes".^{[citation needed]}

By then, morale within the band was at a low point. Two singles, "Care of Cell 44" and "Friends of Mine", had been released to total indifference. Colin Blunstone and Paul Atkinson felt disillusioned and tempers flared during the recording of "Time of the Season". Blunstone was not at all keen on the song written by Argent, who insisted Colin sing it a certain way. Colin's patience snapped and he effectively told Argent to sing it himself. To everyone's relief, Blunstone finally sang the vocal as required. Little did they realize the song would become an enduring rock classic.

The album was recorded using a Studer four track machine — the same type of tape machine used on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band — and was mixed down in stereo using an experimental transistor console at EMI Studios in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

Argent and White mixed the album down into mono, but when they handed the master to CBS, they were informed that a stereo mix was required. The recording budget having been spent, Argent and White were forced to dip into their songwriting royalties in order to pay for the time and resources needed to create the stereo mix. This was the last straw for Paul Atkinson and Colin Blunstone, who quit and effectively split up the band. The stereo mix was completed on 1 January 1968, but by then The Zombies were no more.

One major problem arose when it came time to mix "This Will Be Our Year" into stereo. The Zombies' original producer Ken Jones had dubbed live horn parts directly onto a mono mixdown. With the horns not having been recorded on the multi-track beforehand, a faked stereo mix had to be made of the mono master, and it was not until the 1997 Zombie Heaven boxset that it was finally given a stereo mix, albeit minus the horns. This was made possible because The Zombies owned the multi track masters, which are in the possession of Chris White.

Because the album was recorded to a tight budget and deadline, The Zombies worked quickly in the studio, having rehearsed rigorously beforehand. This meant that there would be no outtakes or unused songs recorded during the sessions. Cello and Mellotron parts were added to "A Rose for Emily" but discarded at the final mixing stage. Alternate mixes of that song featuring the discarded overdubs can be heard on Zombie Heaven and the 30th anniversary release of the album.

Odessey and Oracle was released in the UK on 19 April 1968 and in the United States in June. The single "Time of the Season" became a surprise hit in early 1969, and Columbia Records (in the United States) re-released Odessey in February, with a different album cover that severely cropped the original artwork.

American CBS boss Clive Davis initially decided not to release the album. However, at the urging of staff producer Al Kooper, the US CBS/Columbia Records label was eventually persuaded to release the album on their small Date Records subsidiary label. Kooper had picked up a copy of the album during a trip to London and, when he returned to America and played the album, loved it and believed it contained three hit singles. CBS chose to release "Butcher's Tale" as the first single in the States, feeling the song's anti-war theme would resonate with record-buyers due to the Vietnam War. After its release, "Time of the Season" slowly gained popularity before finally hitting big on the US charts in 1969, by which time Rod Argent and Chris White were busy with their new band, Argent.

Album sleeve

The album sleeve contains a short text written by keyboard player Argent quoting William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

The famous misspelling of "odyssey" in the title was the result of a mistake by the designer of the LP cover, Terry Quirk (who was the flatmate of bass player Chris White). The band tried to cover this up at the time of release by claiming the misspelling was intentional.^{[citation needed]}

Reunion performances

Because the band split before the album was released, they never performed any of the songs onstage. Colin Blunstone and Argent reunited in 2001 and over the next few years resurrected The Zombies as a recording and touring unit with ex-Argent bassist Jim Rodford, his son Steve Rodford on drums and Keith Airey on guitar. They performed various songs from the album, but to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release, in March 2008, Chris White and Hugh Grundy returned to perform three shows at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London during which they performed Odessey and Oracle in its entirety with assistance from Darian Sahanaja and various friends. Paul Atkinson had died in 2004 so Keith Airey took his place.

The original five piece line up had reformed briefly in 1997 for the launch party of the Zombie Heaven boxset. Held in London's Jazz Café, they performed "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season". There was one final reunion in 2004 at a benefit gig for Paul Atkinson and though Paul was very ill, he insisted on performing with them. The 2008 shows were the first time Argent, Blunstone, White, and Grundy performed to the British public as a unit since the split back in December 1967.

The Zombies were insistent on being as authentic as possible, hence the extra singers, Darian filling in keyboard and mellotron parts via use of a Memotron and Argent himself played an original Mellotron on a couple of numbers. Argent also tracked down a Victorian Pump Organ dating from 1896 so they could recreate White's "Butcher's Tale", the original organ having long since been given away or sold by Chris.

The concerts were sell-outs and critically acclaimed. One of the shows was recorded and filmed and is now available on CD and DVD as Odessey and Oracle (Revisited). The reunion was so successful that they decided to reprise the show on a short four-date British tour in April 2009, playing in Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester, and ending on April 25 at the Hammersmith Apollo in London which Argent stated would be the very last time the album would be performed on stage.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Chris White, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Care of Cell 44" (Rod Argent)	3:57
2.	"A Rose for Emily" (Argent)	2:19
3.	"Maybe After He's Gone"	2:34
4.	"Beechwood Park"	2:44
5.	"Brief Candles"	3:30
6.	"Hung Up on a Dream" (Argent)	3:02
7.	"Changes"	3:20
8.	"I Want Her, She Wants Me" (Argent)	2:53
9.	"This Will Be Our Year"	2:08
10.	"Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)"	2:48
11.	"Friends of Mine"	2:18
12.	"Time of the Season" (Argent)	3:34

Legacy

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC Music	(very favourable)
MustHear.com	(very favourable)
Pitchfork	9.3/10
PopMatters	(very favourable)
Robert Christgau	A-
Rolling Stone	[citation needed]
Treble	(very favourable)

While the album was received indifferently upon its release, it has since gone on to gain a cult following and become one of the most critically acclaimed albums in history. In their retrospective review, Allmusic gave the album five stars out of five, calling it "one of the flukiest (and best) albums of the 1960s, and one of the most enduring long-players to come out of the entire British psychedelic boom". BBC Music wrote "To this day it remains a word-of mouth obscurity. But by those who know it's held in such regard that the remaining living members of the band are to perform it in its entirety this year, on the fortieth anniversary of its release." treblezine.com wrote "Odessey and Oracle, even by today's standards, is impossible to top."

Accolades

• In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Odessey at number 80 in its "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
• Stylus Magazine magazine placed it at number 196 on their "Top 101-200 Favourite Albums Ever" list.
• The Guardian placed it at number 77 on their "Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever" list.
• Mojo magazine placed it at number 97 in their "100 Greatest Albums Ever Made" list.
• NME placed it at number 32 on their "100 Greatest British Albums Ever!" list.
• Q magazine placed it at number 51 on their "50 Best British Albums Ever!" list.
• Rate Your Music consistently ranks Odessey in the top 100 of its constantly changing "Top Albums of All-time" list.
• Odessey was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Impact

The first song on the album, "Care of Cell 44", has been covered by a number of artists including Elliott Smith and Of Montreal.

Personnel

• Colin Blunstone – vocals
• Rod Argent – organ, piano, Mellotron, lead vocals on "I Want Her, She Wants Me"
• Paul Atkinson – guitar, vocals (on "Changes")
• Chris White – bass guitar, vocals (lead vocals on "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" and one verse of "Brief Candles")
• Hugh Grundy – drums, vocals (on "Changes")

Production personnel

• Geoff Emerick – engineering
• Peter Vince – engineering
• Jools DeVere – design

External links

• Odessey and Oracle at Discogs (list of releases)