Odessey and Oracle

I know this album is critically acclaimed and adored by artists I rate highly, including Paul Weller. That said, I have always struggled with it.

There is no denying the craft. The harmonies are tight, the arrangements are thoughtful and it has that classic late sixties melodic charm. But for me, it never quite catches fire. It feels pleasant rather than powerful, and I find my attention drifting at times.

I have even seen The Zombies live and, if I am honest, I found them quite boring on stage as well. The songs just do not have the bite or urgency that I tend to gravitate towards.

There are moments I enjoy. Maybe After He’s Gone has a lovely melody, and Time of the Season is obviously a standout with its distinctive groove. But the first couple of tracks do very little for me and make it hard to fully settle into the album.

Favourite songs: Maybe After He’s Gone and Time of the Season
Least favourite songs: The opening two tracks do not grab me
Album artwork: A great cover. Colourful, bold and instantly recognisable

A good time but besides the last song (which is a 5/5) ut wasnt that interesting. They sound a lot like the Beach Boys

So good

Breezy psychedelic pop tunes float on by wanting to be a Pet Sounds or a Sgt. Pepper, and truthfully there's not a bad song on this album, but theres also not a lot of great ones either, they're all perfectly serviceable as a single listen through, but only "Time of the Season" stands out as a relistenable, and thats really about it... As middle of the road as psychedelic pop can be.

Puuh hieman alkaa tökkiä tämä brittirockin aikakausi, mut teknisesti ei kai mitään suurempaan vikaa. 3/5

"What's your name? Who's your daddy? Is he rich like me?"

I'm a massive fan of the single T12- "Time of the season," so I was expecting the album to match that upbeat, poppy, yet dated and unique style of rock music that the song provides. With T1- "Care of Cell 44," I was excited because that song seemed to confirm my expectations, with a really great song off of the album that matches the vibe of a later, more psychedelic Beatles song, like "Strawberry fields." The rest of the album didn't quite live up to my standards, but kept with the Beatle-y theme. It all felt uninspired, and it's hard to try and match the style of the Beatles, while having clearly inferior songwriting abilities.

I considered giving this album a 4, because of how much I adore "Time of the season" (playlist track), but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I wouldn't want to listen to the track again, as I'm not a huge Beatles fan, and especially not a fan of a knock-off Beatles.

sorry Abby, it's getting a...

3/5

Stereotypical sounds of the late sixties. Mostly forgettable except for the last song. Sounds like a budget Beatles

Mucho mejor de lo que recordaba. Desde el Care of Cell 44, A Rose for Emily, Brief candles, Friends of mine y para terminar su famosa Time of the season. Genial.

I was struggling to understand why this was on the list, then I finally got to 'Time of the Season' and I realized this was another one of those albums that is put on the list because of a popular single. I don't personally find the album all that interesting.

Psychedelic chamber pop. The mood is woozy and vague. Slow paced and ornate - with Beatles-y sounds and beach boyish harmonies. Pianos and big churchy organs are the lead instruments, with a high up the fretboard bass. The guitars are all chime and jangle. Very finicky composition - choir boys messing around with mushrooms. Time of the Season is the epitome of groovy.

I was pleasantly surprised with this album, balancing between Pet Sounds and Sgt Peppers, with an amazing singer, but a few mediocre songs unfortunately, in amongst the brilliants.

I liked this quite a bit. Really good pop/psychadelic stuff here. I'll listen to it again, sometime, but probably not anytime real soon.

I really tried the give this a fair chance, but like other 60 psychedelic rock we've encountered, it's really not my thing. Better than the Mamas and the Papas, but not by a huge margin.

One of the most gorgeous slices of psychedelic pop ever put to wax. The vocals and harmonies in particular are just beautiful. Brief Candles is an S tier track

Het heeft soms iets weg van de oude Beatles, maar vrolijker en iets spontaner. Het is vaak niet mega spannend, maar luistert gewoon lekker weg. Muziek voor onder het werk.

11 generic and acceptable 60s songs (2 stars) followed by the ridiculously good Time of the Season (4.5 stars). More Hammond Organ!

First of all, the name of the band: quite a juxtaposition from the sound, though perhaps not the lyrics, of their music. One thing I love about this album is how their lead singles are the first and last songs, arguably their most famous track being last, which means you have to sit through the whole album to get to it. I'm going to assume this was intentional, the band saying in 1968 that they weren't just making an album with a couple of singles and a bunch of filler tracks. There is no filler here. Every song is brilliant and fits in the overall whole of the album, a document dominated by the dual perennial themes of vivacious love and inevitable death. Leaves fall, and the summer crown of your roses wither. Also, opening your album with a seemingly innocent love song about “baby you’re coming home” type feelings but actually having it be a letter sent to a jailbird who’s about to get release from prison is a wonderful twist on the romantic song trope. Scratch the surface and you will reveal a darker message here: we’ll kiss and make up… wait. Why is the person in jail?

First time listening to this album, Iv heard a couple of Zombie songs before. Really enjoyed this, one of the better 60’s albums and I’d say very underrated compared to Sgt. Pepper, and Pet sounds, but maybe just isn’t quiet as good, though maybe my bias of knowing those records much better.

Again, Its fine. great vocal harmonies. Time Of The Season is a thundering hit in an album that is the quintessentially sixties experiment.

College era cult favorite among friends. A thing of beauty. Up there with Pet Sounds. I consider this a perfect album.