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Odessey & Oracle: Deluxe Edition

The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle: Deluxe Edition Audio CD

A fair review of the The Zombies "Odessey & Oracle: Deluxe Edition" 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 The Zombies reviews here, or go back to the The Zombies tabs.

Band: The Zombies
Title: Odessey & Oracle: Deluxe Edition
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-06-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Care of Cell 44 2: Rose for Emily 3: Maybe After He's Gone 4: Beechwood Park 5: Brief Candles 6: Hung up on a Dream 7: Changes 8: I Want Her She Wants Me 9: This Will Be Our Year [Mono Mix] 10: Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914) 11: Friends of Mine 12: Time of the Season 13: I'll Call You Mine [Stereo Mix No. 1][*] 14: Imagine the Swan [Stereo Mix No. 1][*] 15: Conversation Off Floral Street [*] 16: If It Don't Work Out [Overdubbed][*] 17: Don't Cry for Me [Overdubbed][*] 18: Smokey Day [*] 19: She Loves the Way They Love Her [*] 20: Time of the Season [UK Mono Mix][*] 21: I'll Call You Mine [Overdubbed][*] 22: Imagine the Swan [Stereo Mix No. 2][*]

So beautiful it almost makes me want to cry
At points the lead vocals remind of "Chelsea Girl" era Nico, and that's a good thing. Especially the last part of "Hung Up On A Dream" that I could listen to forever. The idea that most people only view The Zombies as the band who sang "Time of the Season" and "She's Not There" is ridiculous, and I was one of those people only a few weeks ago.

Along with 'Arthur' (By The Kinks for those who are unlucky to not have heard it) and 'Forever Changes' (By Love, and you have to hear "Alone Again Or"), this is the third melodic masterpiece of the late 60s not made by The Beatles. So for those who believe The Zombies are only good for soundtracking an Austin Powers movie, this album shows why John Lennon and The Hollies both wanted to produce an album for the band.

Great Zombies
They only managed to release two albums and about a dozen singles, of which only three hit the charts. The Zombies were almost ignored by the record buyers through most of their relatively short career from 1963-68. Almost everything they did record was of very high standards.
This album, their second, from 1967 is usually considered their best recording moment; and it really is a great album. Both songwriters Rod Argent and Chris White contribute strong material.
Except for "Butcher`s Tale" for which I never really cared, there are no fillers here.
Then to the extensive inclusion of great bonus tracks.
Chris White`s "I`ll Call You Mine" was the B-side of the "Time of the Season" single and as such a very logical choice. A great recording
The White/Argent collaboration single "Imagine the Swan" was the follow up to their world-wide hit; unfortunately it failed undeservedly. It was recorded after Colin Blunstone had left the band; in fact they did record an album`s worth of material which recently has been released in Japan titled "Rest in Peace" which was the origal working title for their never released follow-up album. Most of these recordings are featured here as bonus tracks. Most of these recordings are up to the same standards as "Odessey and Oracle".

Besides "I`ll Call You Mine" and "Imagine The Swan" songs like "Smokey Day" and "I Could Spend the Day" are all-time Zombies favourites of mine.

Take an "Odessey"
For the 30th anniversary of "Odessey and Oracles," the Zombies' best album was rereleased in a new form, proving that their enchanting psychedelic pop has aged exceeedingly well. Many bands (the Beatles, the Beach Boys) at least dabbled in psychedelica, but the Zombies are often overlooked.

The Zombies were unusually good at taking perky, sweet, lush music and wrapping it around a more serious song, such as the upbeat "Care of Cell 44" (guy writing to his jailed girlfriend), or the lovely "A Rose For Emily," a poignant little song that tells of a lonely woman doomed to stay lonely. "And as the years go by/she will grow old and die/The roses in her garden fade away/Not one left for her grave. . . "

But the Zombies aren't all sadness wrapped in happy music. There are perky songs about being happy in love, losing a love and hoping she'll return, and reminiscing about "golden days and golden summer nights. " The album ends on a reassuring note with the laid-back "Time of the Season," which sounds like the ultimate hippie anthem.

I have no memories of the 60s, since I was only born in the eighties. But "Odessey and Oracle" gives a rosy glow to that era,. Psychedelic flair minus the hazy, and every song is a gem. Though "Time of the Season" was the sleeper hit from the album, it's not the best or catchiest song on here -- it's just one of many excellent ones.

Rod Argent was definitely an outstanding songwriter. He was able to create atmospheric and beautiful songs with very simple writing ("Brief candles in her mind/bright and tiny gems of memory"). Perhaps his finest moment here is "I knew he when summer was her crown/and autumn sad/how brown her eyes," as a kick-off to a colorful look at a woman compared to all the seasons.

Colin Blunstone's vocals were well-suited to the music: a bit husky, quite pleasant and mellow. The music itself was generally based on guitar, gentle drums, pretty piano, and wavering Mellotron, with a bit of accordian coming in in one song. There's a rich interweaving of many instruments, in all sorts of pop music. Some is almost classical in tone, some is uptempo stuff that is perfect for the radio.

The Zombies were in peak form in "Odessey and Oracle," churning out some of the purest pop music ever. As sweet and exquisite as it was in the 1960s. .

Sheer, unmitigated brilliance.
I've never before been moved to write a review on this site before, but this album is the exception (I'm listening to it as I type). Found this album at a garage sale when I was 10, fell in love with it, & now years later am thrilled to find that it exceeds even my youthful enthusiasm. Think about a "Something Else" -era Kinks infused with "Carrie Anne"ish Hollies vocal harmonies and "Ummagumma"-era Pink Floyd production values and you'd be starting on the right track - but there's so much more to "Odyssey" than that. "Time of the Season" is the radio track, of course, but a moody masterpiece like "Beechwood Park" and the immense, spacious, otherworldly "Hung Up On A Dream" actually put it to shame. Apart from the dreadful "Butcher's Tale," there isn't a bad cut in the bunch - and you can hear threads of the remainder of the disc woven throughout rock history from '67 onward. "Influential" doesn't begin to describe the impact of this disc; basically, the entire history of '60s britpop is rewritten in the course of 40 minutes by this sadly underrated band. "Odyssey" also benefits from seeming somehow timeless - despite some incredibly naive lyrics (to 21st-century ears) this is incredibly forward-looking music. And still, it oozes late-'60s England with every chord. And just _try_ to play along with it. . . never has sophistication so moved you to snap your fingers.

As Good As It Gets
I can't honestly say I've ever enjoyed a CD more. The Zombies 'Odessey & Oracle' (with bonus tracks) may well be the best CD I've ever heard. My son (age 17) picked it up on a whim, (he liked Time of the Season), last August, and I've been playing it ever since. I'm addicted to 'Odessey & Oracle'. I've listened to it countless times since then, like once or twice a day, nearly every day. It's the singing, the vocals. Euphoric! They are just so happy, just so glad to be there! This is a CD in which the band just loves to sing - joyous, baroque, harmonious Beach Boys Beatles Barclay James Harvest Steeleye Span-like, they just love to sing! The lead vocals, the harmony vocals, the second harmony vocals, the background sounds, the oohs and ahhs and Beatlely little accents and touches permeate the disc - this band just loves to sing. Euphoric, that's it. Every cut is a musical journey, every cut has something special to offer, including the bonus tracks, (on which they also love to sing). I have no idea how I missed this when it was new, but I did. It's magnificent. I'm forever indebted to my son for finding it for me. (good thing I had him!) If you don't have it, GET IT!!! NOW!.

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