Odessey and Oracle

I think it’s supposed to be poppy, kind of cheerful. Whatever, I don’t like these harmonies or this little style

Basis Album der späten 60er. Ein bisschen Woodstock und ein bisschen Hippie. Solide arrangierte Songs, mit Drums, ePiano und viel Bass. Tolle Songs sind „Time of Season“ und „Care of Cell 44“.,insgesamt ganz ok.

I ignored this album for too long. Absolutely fantastic. Wonderful melodies, arrangements and playing. Gently psychedelic. This one is a keeper.

Beatles-jam-band-gone-good!

Pretty dull, then Time of the Season shows up. An odd story behind the album - all sorts of fights and splits - but the album sounds so serene

Top 5 psychedelic albums of the 60s. Extremely influential but manages to remain untarnished by all of its proteges.

Gave it three stars because of a few songs that have survived the test of time. The rest is pretty forgettable.

I might have gone into this with too high of expectations. I had seen people praising this so I went in expecting something on the level of a Pet Sounds, Sgt. Peppers, or Forever Changes. It was none of those, but it was still pretty enjoyable to listen to. Some of the songs in the first half just kinda came and went for me. I think the second half was better. My favorite songs were Care Of Cell 44, Changes, This Will Be Our Year, and Time Of The Season.

A better version of the Beatles.
First half of the album is much stronger than the end, but there's generally not a bad track - there's just not really any great ones either.

Vocal harmonies give it a haunting vibe. Classy piano melodies. Psychedelic tone throughout. Must be the keyboards. I’m hearing Beatles and Beach Boys. Won’t leave my head. Well done.

Rien que le nom, The Zombies, ça vous pose un groupe. On s'attend à un truc sombre, morbide, un groupe de proto-gothiques qui chanteraient des histoires de cimetières sous la pluie. Et on ne peut pas être plus à côté de la plaque car ces types-là, c'étaient des orfèvres. Des artisans d'une pop baroque et psychédélique d'une finesse et d'une beauté à tomber par terre. Oubliez les morts-vivants, pensez plutôt à des poètes en velours côtelé.

"Odessey and Oracle", c'est le genre de disque qui vous fait dire : "Mais putain, comment j'ai pu passer à côté de ça ?". On parle souvent de "Sgt. Pepper's" des Beatles, de "Pet Sounds" des Beach Boys ou du "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" de Pink Floyd comme des sommets de la pop psychédélique de la fin des années 60. Et c'est vrai, mais ce disque des Zombies, qui joue dans la même catégorie, n'a absolument pas à rougir de la comparaison. C'est un album du même calibre, mais qui a eu la malchance de ne pas rencontrer son public.

Le contexte de l'enregistrement est assez fou. Le groupe, épuisé par des années de tournées et un succès en dents de scie, est sur le point de se séparer. Ils décident d'enregistrer un dernier album, pour la beauté du geste, sans aucune pression commerciale. Ils investissent leurs dernières livres dans des sessions aux mythiques studios d'Abbey Road, juste après que les Beatles y ont bouclé "Sgt. Pepper's". Et là, miracle, libérés de toute contrainte, les mecs lâchent tout ce qu'ils ont.

Et ça s'entend car le son est d'une richesse inouïe. Ils profitent à fond des possibilités offertes par le studio. Les arrangements sont somptueux, les voix sont posées avec une délicatesse infinie, les harmonies vocales sont à pleurer. C'est une pop orchestrale, mais sans jamais être pompeuse. Tout est d'une simplicité et d'une efficacité redoutables. Les rythmiques sont imparables, les mélodies vous attrapent et ne vous lâchent plus. C'est un disque qui respire la liberté et l'amour de la musique.

Et puis, il y a cette fameuse faute d'orthographe sur la pochette. "Odessey" avec un "e", au lieu d'un "y". Une simple erreur du graphiste, un ami du groupe, que les Zombies ont décidé de garder, par flemme ou par amusement. C'est un détail, mais il est à l'image du disque : un chef-d'oeuvre un peu bancal, un peu à côté de la plaque, et c'est ce qui fait tout son charme.

À sa sortie, l'album est un bide monumental. Le groupe se sépare comme prévu, et le disque tombe dans l'oubli. Mais c'est sans compter sur le bouche-à-oreille et au fil des années, "Odessey and Oracle" est devenu un trésor caché, un secret que les vrais connaisseurs se transmettent de génération en génération. C'est le disque que les musiciens citent en référence, que les critiques exhument régulièrement pour rappeler au monde qu'il existe. C'est un héritage, une petite pépite qui a survécu à l'indifférence de son époque.

Aujourd'hui, l'écouter, c'est se prendre une claque. Des morceaux comme "Care of Cell 44", "A Rose for Emily" ou le tube posthume "Time of the Season" sont d'une beauté intemporelle. C'est un disque qui n'a pas vieilli, qui pourrait avoir été enregistré hier. C'est un des plus beaux disques de pop de tous les temps, tout simplement.

Alors, un beau 4/5 pour ce chef-d'oeuvre méconnu. Pourquoi pas la note maximale ? Peut-être parce que, dans mon panthéon personnel, il y a une part d'affectif, une histoire personnelle avec les disques, qui joue. Et ma rencontre avec "Odessey and Oracle" est trop récente pour qu'il ait encore eu le temps de s'imprimer dans mon ADN. Mais c'est une note qui est appelée à évoluer car c'est un disque qui grandit à chaque écoute. Si, par malheur, vous faites partie de ceux qui ignorent encore son existence, je n'ai qu'un conseil à vous donner : foncez. C'est un voyage dont vous ne reviendrez pas indemne et c'est tout ce qu'on demande à un grand disque.

Easily one of my favorite albums of all time, Odessey and Oracle treats you to pop perfection right out of the gate with Care of Cell 44's mind-blowing, jaw-dropping chorus, and only tries to top itself to the very end of the album, with twists and turns, such as the percussion heavy sound on Changes, or the oddly fear-inducing Butchers Tale, culminating in yet another pop masterpiece, fit not only for 1968 with its more devious storytelling and oh-so memorable organ solo, but even relevant today as proof that the pop sound left behind by the greats like the Beatles was not tapped out of potential, and while the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds may have mastered the sunshine pop sound, this album perfected it. Every single moment is used perfectly, not a moment of the listener's time is wasted, not only leading to a concise yet filling album experience, but also ensuring every single note, harmony, and lyric leaves the listener in pure bliss. Its lush, its teeming with life, and its easily one of my favorite records of all time. Were the Beatles not the masters of music that they were, this would easily be my album of the 1960s, and if you've skipped out on it because Time of the Season didn't do it for you, give it in a listen any way, you won't be disappointed by what's offered.

I’m at a 4.5 that I think just barely bumps itself up to a 5.

I wasn’t really feeling the first 2 tracks on this album; I thought they felt a little repetitive in their lyricism and vocals, even if the instrumentals were pretty good. From Track 3 onward though, I thought this album took a nice ramp up in energy; each track got progressively better and better (save for the sort of super generic track that is “I Want Her, She Wants Me”) before it started firing on all cylinders by Track 9 and never looked back. I genuinely had a big grin on my face when I realized “Time of the Season” was that track, because I’ve heard it several times (obviously, the Eminem sample helped a bit), but I’ve never really thought to listen to the original.

The quality that stems from 9 of those final 10 tracks is what gets this to go from a 4.5 up to a 5; I think they’re just too damn good to sell them short by leaving them at a 4. Yes, the album starts slow, but it really does ramp up and finish in a remarkable way; the choice to end on Time of the Season, and save frankly your best song for last is really hard in the modern music industry, and it’s kind of a breath of fresh air to see it happen here. I might be overhyping it a little, but I really, really did enjoy this – I feel good about going to a 5.

Haven't heard of the zombies before, but I really enjoyed the harmonies. Reminds me a lot of the Beach Boys. 3* because it's in the right direction but not enough.
Highlights: a rose for emily, this will be our year (I heard the ok go cover first)

Odessey And Oracle is a fine album but it is one of those albums that i feel that i don't really have a lot to say about it. The Zombies just feel like one of those bands that feels stranded in a sea of Beatles clones that were incredibly prevalent throughout the 1960s. That's not to say the album is bad though, the songs definitely had their good moments and had some fairly unique sounds to them, the album was a short one that i feel is a perfect length for something like this and there is nothing the album does that's particularly wrong or anything, I just think I'm searching the bottom of the barrel just to find things to really say about this album.
Best Song: Butcher's Tale Western Front 1914
Worst Song: Changes

2.5

I knew this was a classic, but I never gave it a listen before now. My overall impression is that it's really dated. Everything on it screams 60s. That's not necessarily a bad thing - I like music from the 60s, but I suppose I prefer the stuff that's a little more timeless. A few songs caught my attention when I was only half listening, but just felt so dated when I listened closely (e.g., Hung Up On a Dream and Changes). The only ones that seemed to hold up on close listen were This Will Be Our Year (nice, clever pop) and the classic Time of the Season which is certainly VERY 60s, but a true classic track. In fact, I'd say Time of the Season and She's Not There (from their debut) are not just "quintessential Zombies" but also perfect representations of cool 60s music. I'm going with a 4 for cultural significance - it's good, but very much OF ITS TIME.

An alright album. I didn't realize The Zombies did the song Time of the Season, so learned something new. Other than that very generic. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

2.5

The album definitely has that golden oldies feel that makes me feel like I am riding around in the back of my parents car as a kid. But it also has some strange almost creepy touches to it as well. Butcher's Tale in particular stood out. I could see myself seeking out this one again.