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Odessey and Oracle 1968
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Odessey and Oracle

When The Zombies embarked on the creation of Odessey and Oracle, they did so at a particular moment. Recorded in 1967, this work came after their second album, Begin Here, which felt more like a collection of singles than a cohesive album. However, Odessey and Oracle was conceived as a complete work, with all compositions coming from the pens of the group's two main songwriters: Rod Argent and Chris White. The recording sessions took place at the iconic EMI Abbey Road studio, the same place where The Beatles had finished Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band earlier that year, and where Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett, was taking its first steps with The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Despite the quality of the material, the band broke up upon finishing the recording in late 1967, partly due to a lack of commercial success. The album saw the light of day in the UK in April 1968 and in the United States in June.

Year
1968
Songs
12
Duration
35 min 39 seg
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About the album

Odessey and Oracle, according to DoReSol

A curious detail about the title is the typo in "Odyssey," which became "Odessey." At the time, the band tried to cover it up by saying it was intentional. Musically, the album moves between psychedelic rock and baroque pop, offering a distinctive sound for the era. One of the tracks that emerged strongly was Time of the Season, which became an unexpected hit in early 1969. This event led Columbia Records in the United States to re-release the album with a different cover than the original. The delay in the US release was due to the initial version being recorded in mono, and the record company insisted on a stereo version. Al Kooper, the producer, managed to get the album released belatedly through Date Records, a CBS subsidiary label in the US. To achieve this, Argent and White had to use their own royalties to cover the costs of stereo remixing, although the ninth track, This Will Be Our Year, could not be released in stereo due to the lack of a wind instrument overdub track on the original tape.

Over the years, Odessey and Oracle has maintained a prominent place in the appreciation of critics and psychedelic music fans. It has been recognized on various best albums lists, appearing in publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine and Mojo, and being included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list in its 2018 edition. The album, originally released in 1968, remains a benchmark for its atmosphere and compositions.