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Odessa

Bee Gees - Odessa Audio CD

A fair review of the Bee Gees "Odessa" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Bee Gees reviews here, or go back to the Bee Gees tabs.

Band: Bee Gees
Title: Odessa
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Odessa (City on the Black Sea) 2: You'll Never See My Face Again 3: Black Diamond 4: Marley Purt Drive 5: Edison 6: Melody Fair 7: Suddenly 8: Whisper Whisper 9: Lamplight 10: Sound of Love 11: Give Your Best 12: Seven Seas Symphony 13: With All Nations (International Anthem) 14: I Laugh in Your Face 15: Never Say Never Again 16: First of May 17: British Opera

This is great !!!!!!!!!!
The only way to find one of this odessa velvet cover was on ebay, of course, all used and sell it for $100 or plus. The day this lp was first released I wasn't born so, many years later I bought a regular reissue lp of Odessa and always dreaming to have one of this in his original velvet cover. Thanks to Rhino this is possible now, the lp sounds magnificent and the cover in his true original velvet cover and the original inside picture are just amazing. In the moment I receive it I love it, now I keep it safe with the Wall lp and Live After Death lp, my three little music treasures! Thanks a lot Rhino!!!!!!!!!.

worth every penny for 180 gram vinyl edition
I have started collecting 180 gram vinyl, and am non plussed with a lot of releases- a lot of minor defects with a pop here and a crackle there, maybe a slight warp and nothing you can do about it. . . which is disheartening when paying the high cost.
All Rhino releases I have purchased have wowed me
flawless vinyl pressing- not a sound besides the music. . . cant even tell the record is playing between tracks on this release
I can hear sounds that I never heard before
One of my top five albums ever .

The Concept That Wasn't
The over the top, red felt and gold impressed 1968 double LP says it all about this album-Barry, Robin, and Maurice's ambitions, talents, and conflicts all rolled into one.
I've waited far too long in tackling Odessa! A very ambitious review I'm sure. Fans in the know recall that this album is what briefly split the group in the late sixties and early seventies. The concept that was too big for the Brothers Gibb. Dang.

The album is supposed to tell the story of a man shipwrecked, and each song is to represent him telling his tales of life and loves lost. Odessa with it's parenthesis (City on the Black Sea) opens the concept smoothly. At over seven minutes in length, the title song sets the mood for the wavy waters we are about to traverse. My mom hates this song's repetitions and ups and downs and seemingly stupid lyrics. It took awhile for it to grow on me, but the twists and turns make sense if the music is to tell the destruction of the HMS Veronica. Robins croaky delivery of the title makes me want to turn blue. Where does he get that much air?

You'll Never See My Face Again is much shorter than Odessa, and Barry's delivery is smooth. Already we're seeing the multiple personality of this album. Odessa is quintessential orchestral pop, and You'll Never See My Face Again is a touch of sardonic country. Can we boil it down directly to Barry versus Robin? Maybe.

Robin returns for Black Diamond, and he is much more listener friendly this time around. The poetic lyrics make more sense than Odessa, and Diamond is just the right length. The ending turns into a bit of Auld Lang Syne. I'm not sure why the boys chose to do so, but it's unexpected and well done.

If you want truly sardonic country than Marley Purt Drive is for you. The story in this one has all the honest details, and Barry's voice fits the ho-hum routine. The kicker at the end is a real topper. You can't help but sing along and smile during Marley Purt Drive. I must not spoil it! Must not!

At first I thought Edison was kind of stupid and would skip over it. Do I really want to hear an ode to Thomas Edison? No. Even with the content snafu, Edison has its moments in Barry and Robin's lead. They break up the monotony and keep the bland subject fresh. The placement of Edison might also hurt it. It's got tough competition before and after.

Melody Fair is incredible. The strings and echoes and story all combine superbly for a tear jerking dang good song. Who is Melody? Is she the lost sailor`s woman? Or was she a missed chanced never to be realized? It`s sad either way, and all this is reflected in a different way each turn around. Brilliant. (We've also reviewed Melody Fair on Best of Volume 2. )

I actually have several sound bites from Odessa on my computer and Suddenly is one of them. Somewhere here in the middle the concept gets wishy washy and we're left with a song for each brother. Suddenly is Maurice's trippy track. Once again he seems short on actual lyrics, but what little is said is brass, if you catch my drift. My mom didn't mind me singing it in public until I got to the `How can you tell humans are real?' line. Just the noises Mo makes in this one are worth the listen, especially his Oh yeah!

Whisper Whisper starts off slow and quickly picks up into a swinging sixties tune. It reminds me of Hullabaloo, although I don't know why. My sister caught part of Whisper in my car one day, and said ,"Ew, Kristin. What a horrible song!" Whisper's orchestral music mixed with British pop is sharp to me. The drums and sound effects are tops. Whisper Whisper also has some raunchy lyrics. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll! I suppose it takes a special ear to enjoy Odessa all together. ;0)

My Mom hates Lamplight. Robin's creaky voice can take some getting used to, but my mom says its nails on a chalkboard! The story lyrics are great, and the tone perfectly captures those old fashioned thoughts of quills and inkwells. The chorus is strong, and the three part harmony carries to the end. All the Robin songs here seem to carry the shipwreck concept. His woe is me voice is just meant for such melancholy drabble. I'm not so sure Barry is even on this track. The echoes might just be over dubs. The closing echoes might drag on too long as well, but they sound pretty.

Barry definitely makes his presence known for Sound of Love. The soul ballad is the first of two Baz slow songs presented. The words tug at your heartstrings, and Barry's voice matches perfectly with the ups and downs in the music. A very under appreciated song.

Currently my computer opens with Give Your Best. The snappy dialogue and banter show the fun side of the boys, although I wonder how forced the track was, considering they hated each other at the time. The ironic lyrics are very sing along, even for those of us who don't like country. I have no clue how this song would fit in with the lost concept!

The Seven Seas Symphony is an instrumental that captures everything Barry, Robin, and Maurice wanted to say in its 4 minutes of non lyrics. The opening is soft and beautiful. The oooos and aaaahhhhs in the middle help accentuate the up and down composition and that shipwrecked feeling. I am really hung up on the shipwreck! I love playing Odessa's instrumentals for my classical music friends. They are wowed and ask who it is, and I am more than happy to share this underutilized facet of the Brothers Gibb.

With All Nations (and I can't forget the parenthesis International Anthem!) continues the more orchestral and less pop begun in the Seven Seas Symphony. Not as ominous, Nations seems happy to start, but its booming ending is a real kicker. The vocals are the same as Symphony, and I'm not sure why these two are listed as separate rather than one big song, since Nations is only 1:42. I often confuse which instrumental is titled what. They all sound like they belong together and in my playlists that is how I play them. The boys could have had a whole `nother career composing ballets. Who knew?

I Laugh In Your Face opens with some sort of circus talk. I'm not really sure how this is supposed to tie into the lost concept, but this tune always reminds me of the old fashioned turn of the century circus posters with Death!Defying!Stunts! Another strong chorus with harmony and top notch music. What is the rest of the song talking about? Does it really matter? It's amazing how I think I can absolutely hate a song, and then the boys bring in one single hook that can make me listen to a whole crappy song. Thankfully, Face isn't crappy.

Never Say Never Again is a cute song. The rhyme is stretched by the way the boys say again-stretched to rhyme with Spain! The story isn't really anything new. We've heard love lost melodrama before, but the chorus here is so easy and fun to sing. I'll even let the double negative slide.

And now I come to First of May, the song that broke the Brothers Gibb, albeit briefly. Barry's second slow tune was chosen as the single over Robin's Lamplight, and the wounded younger Gibb went solo. I like the opening lines about Christmas trees being tall and kids being small. It reminded me of being a very young child, when the Christmas tree really did seem so huge. Barry's easy tale is soft and moving, yet has some pretty senseless lyrics. Careful, it can bring a tear to one's eye. Is First of May better than Lamplight? I'll leave that one up to you!

The British Opera is the closing instrumental and matches the concept and over the top bravado begun in the opening track. The tune is a tight orchestral opus that ends the album with power and impact. I wish With All Nations would have been the closer with its booming ending, but I digress.

It is debatable whether Odessa failed in its concept or not. Enough of the story was put into place, and just enough lies undone for the listener to fill in the blanks. Odessa is more of a treat for its look into Barry, Robin, and Maurice both working separately and together. Maybe they did try at a linear album and failed, but the talent of The Brothers is obviously not linear. Odessa displays the multifaceted trio perfectly. The red felt may not last as long as the music, but a must have on CD.

Symphonic Pop
Don't overpay for a used copy of this now-deleted disc, because I've got some great news for you fans: on January 12,2009, Reprise Records will release a Deluxe "40th Anniversary" 3-CD edition of the album, including the original album in both its' stereo and (unreleased in America) mono mixes, plus a 3rd disc containing 23 previously unreleased selections, including demos, alternate takes,alternate mixes,two unreleased songs("Nobody's Someone" & "Pity") and a promotional radio spot. This album was the ultimate expression of the 1960's Bee Gees sound which Robin Gibb called "Symphonic Pop". The new set will reproduce the original "flocked"(I. E. velvet-textured) album cover of the original 1969 L. P.

BG fan from their start, but not with their disco changeover!
Odessa remains a milestone, a true super achievement. The Gibb brothers were, to many of us 60's folks, somewhat like the Moody Blues, early PFloyd and of course THE Fab Four. . . among those recordings of that period. Too bad . . . the "disco" thing strayed many musicians from their great writing and musicality, including some R. Stone and S. Winwood recordings. For us who never cared for any disco, we diehard BG fans appreciate their BG 1st, Horizontal, Idea, and their "Sgt Pepper" or their peak of their career , the legendary ODESSA. A real classic !!

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You can see a complete list of all Bee Gees discography, or go back to the Bee Gees tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.