NFO :
the zombies
odessey and oracle
made in canada
date records
TES-4013
STEREO
XSM137383-1A
words and conversion - freQazoidiac@gmail.com
converted 2007 with Nagoaka MP series cartridge
prepared for sharing LPCD 2012
While any pressing of this album from the original release is considered
rare, the Canadian pressing is the rarest from our hemisphere
and it sounds pretty good although there is some noise present
from the vinyl pressing although the copy converted
it from was excellent condition. Since Date was a subsidary
of CBS, they probably used slightly cheaper vinyl.
Not trying to be redundant with this as there is already a few
issues of this online, but none Canada pressing and most
taken from the Big Beat compilations, which is not that bad
but I notice they brick walled the audio on those reissues sadly.
The one bonus of the recent reissue is the Stereo version of
'This will be our year' which was mixed mono originally.
To have revelations in life is a gift for the searcher. In the arts there are many gifts
and in the case of pop music designed for radio playback to garnish audience
to listen to commercial breaks there was a designer band that was masterful
at creating an minor key pop vibe that was both unique and emotional.
The Zombies were very much alive in the charts and at the top of the pops
early on starting way back 1964. Anyone heard of 'She's not there'?
Well, they did some really clever stuff, timeless really and then kind of
poofed. Nothing to be heard really from the Zombies for a few years and then
coming together as the band they started as, for one final studio full
length album which they turned in, with a spelling mistake on the cover
as 'Odessey and Oracle'.
from wikipedia:
The misspelling of "odyssey" in the title was the result of a mistake by the designer of the LP cover, Terry Quirk (who was the flatmate of bass player Chris White). The band tried to cover this up at the time of release by claiming the misspelling was intentional.
I noted the studios the songs were recorded in below with the track list.
One may find interesting that the song 'This will be our year' was recorded
in MONO! I was under the impression that 'Friends of mine' was MONO too
but not on the album. 'Friends' is just a loud ass track, and it shows
up as the B side on the North American, 2 years too late for
the band but a huge
hit of a single 'Time of the Season'. Incidentally the song
'Time of the Season' has been
sampled a few times of late,most recent example
very blatantly by some Soul Hip Hop
diva which must have really lined the old geezers coffers
with side effect sample tax.
Here is the scoop of why the song 'This will be our year' shows up
as Mono (I initially thought it was an error on the Canada press
but it's on every release except for the CD noted below)
from wikipedia:
The album was recorded using a Studer four track machine — the same type of tape machine used on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band — and was mixed down in stereo using an experimental transistor console at EMI Studios in 1967. Argent and White mixed the album down into mono, but when they handed the master to CBS, they were informed that a stereo mix was required. The recording budget having been spent, Argent and White used their own money to pay for the stereo mix. One major problem arose when it came time to mix "This Will Be Our Year" into stereo. The Zombies' original producer Ken Jones had dubbed live horn parts directly onto a mono mix. With the horns not having been recorded on the multi-track beforehand, a faked stereo mix had to be made of the mono master. The stereo mix was completed on 1 January 1968.[citation needed]
So it really just sounds like they ran out of time or resources as a Mono tracked
horn bed, can be simple tracked onto a stereo mix. Unless of course the Horns
were tracked onto Mono Rhythm track, which the article does not specify.
I wonder what the Console was, that explains the different kind of airy sound of the album.
Actually sounding more like an 80's high end console!
Since the 1st releases, there have been many reissues, mostly poor.
Among a few good reissues, one called 'Zombie Heaven' is a massive
inclusive unique box set.
from wikipedia:
For the 1997 Zombie Heaven box-set, "This Will Be Our Year" was given a full stereo mix, albeit minus the horns. This was made possible because The Zombies owned the multi track masters, which are in the possession of Chris White. Alternate mixes of "A Rose for Emily", featuring discarded overdubs of cello and Mellotron, appear on Zombie Heaven and the 30th anniversary release of the album.
There is a dark horse in this history of the Zombies. Al Kooper of the Blues Project and Bob Dylan fame was the one person who convinced CBS after a few attempts to release the album
in the North American market. Thanks Al. Thanks Mellotron. Thanks Zombies.
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Zombies-odessey and oracle-1968-DATE-tes4013-stereo
CANADA 1ST PRESSING -LPCD with BONUS Canada Mono 45
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C O N T E N T S :
01-care of cell 44.aif
12-time of the season.aif
02-a rose for emily.aif
03-maybe after he's gone.aif
04-Beechwood Park.aif
05-brief candles.aif
06-hung up on a dream.aif
07-changes.aif
08-I want her she wants me.aif
09-this will be our year-MONO.aif
10-butcher's tale.aif
11-friends of mine.aif
13A-time of the season-MONO canada 45.aif
13B-friends of mine-MONO canada 45.aif
INFOZombies.rtf
ZombiesOdesseyGRPHX.pdf
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NFO FROM ONLINE SOURCES -
All songs written and composed by Chris White, except where noted.
1. "Care of Cell 44" (Rod Argent) 3:57
2. "A Rose for Emily" (Argent) 2:19
3. "Maybe After He's Gone" 2:34 (rec. Olympic studios)
4. "Beechwood Park" 2:44 (rec. Olympic studios)
5. "Brief Candles" 3:30
6. "Hung Up on a Dream" (Argent) 3:02
7. "Changes" 3:20
8. "I Want Her, She Wants Me" (Argent) 2:53 (rec. Olympic studios)
9. "This Will Be Our Year" 2:08
10. "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" 2:48
11. "Friends of Mine" 2:18
12. "Time of the Season" (Argent)
SINGLES CHART POSITION - UK and NORTH AMERICA:
October 1967 "Friends Of Mine"/"Beechwood Park" (UK only single) — NR NR NR
November 1967 "Care of Cell 44"/"Maybe After He's Gone" — — — —
April 1968 "Time of the Season"/"I'll Call You Mine" (UK only single) — NR NR NR
June 1968 "I Love You"/"The Way I Feel Inside" (UK only single) — NR NR NR
July 1968 "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)"/"This Will Be Our Year" (US/Can only single) NR NR — —
March 1969 "Time of the Season"/"Friends of Mine"(US only single) — 43 1 3
Personnel
* Colin Blunstone – vocals
* Rod Argent – organ, piano, Mellotron, lead vocals on "I Want Her, She Wants Me"
* Paul Atkinson – guitar, vocals (on "Changes")
* Chris White – bass guitar, vocals (lead vocals on "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" and one verse of "Brief Candles")
* Hugh Grundy – drums, vocals (on "Changes")
Production personnel
* Geoff Emerick – engineering
* Peter Vince – engineering
* Jools DeVere – design
REVIEWS ACROSS THE BOARD-
Allmusic 5/5 stars
BBC Music (very favourable)
MustHear.com (very favourable)
Pitchfork 9.3/10
PopMatters (very favourable)
Robert Christgau A-[10]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars
Treble (very favourable)
While the album was received indifferently upon its release, it has since gone on to gain a cult following and become a critically respected album. In their retrospective review, Allmusic gave the album five stars out of five, calling it "one of the flukiest (and best) albums of the 1960s, and one of the most enduring long-players to come out of the entire British psychedelic boom". BBC Music wrote "To this day it remains a word-of mouth obscurity. But by those who know it's held in such regard that the remaining living members of the band are to perform it in its entirety this year, on the fortieth anniversary of its release."treblezine.com wrote "Odessey and Oracle, even by today's standards, is impossible to top.
Legacy
* In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Odessey at number 80 in its "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[12]
* Stylus Magazine magazine placed it at number 196 on their "Top 101-200 Favourite Albums Ever" list.[13]
* The Guardian placed it at number 77 on their "Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever" list.[14]
* Mojo magazine placed it at number 97 in their "100 Greatest Albums Ever Made" list.[15]
* NME placed it at number 32 on their "100 Greatest British Albums Ever!" list.[16]
* Q magazine placed it at number 51 on their "50 Best British Albums Ever!" list.[17]
* Rate Your Music consistently ranks Odessey in the top 100 of its constantly changing "Top Albums of All-time" list.[18]
* Odessey was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[19]
The first song on the album, "Care of Cell 44", has been covered by a number of artists including Elliott Smith and Of Montreal.
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