Search - Zombies :: Odessey & Oracle: Deluxe Edition

Let me tell you why I won't be buying this remaster

Jeffrey Hubbard | Murray, UT United States | 08/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, off, let me say that I couldn't be a bigger fan of "Odessey and Oracle." I have the '98 30th Anniversary edition, and I love it to death. If this remaster is your best shot at getting the album, buy it, by all means. It's a very nearly perfect record, easily one of the best of the sixties.



Having said that, the clips that I've listened to of the bonus tracks sound completely out of character with the album at hand. Most of them sound much more like a group trying to ape the Rolling Stones' sound circa "Flowers" or "Between the Buttons," and while that's not a bad thing, necessarily, I simply don't think that they achieve anything near the craft or individuality of the album itself. For that reason, I doubt I'd even listen to them much.



Moreover, the previous issue included, as part of the stereo version of the original album, the stereo take of "This Will Be Our Year," certainly one of the highlights of an album full of them. Personally, I greatly prefer that version, which, for technical reasons, does not include the horn charts of the finished version. In my opinion, the horns do nothing for the song, and in some parts, they are downright obtrusive. If the new master included, even as a bonus cut, the "sans horns" version of that tune, I might consider it. As is, no thanks.



And, again, I just don't think that these bonus tracks, which were recorded apparently somewhat piece-meal for a follow-up album that was never released, really add to the value of the album.



Okay, that's it. Like I said, if this is the version that you can find, don't hesitate to get this amazing album in any form that you can. Me, I'm sticking with my tried and true Big Beat version. Like the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds," to which this record is often compared, bonus cuts are relatively beside the point. This record is a perfect, unique entity, and recordings made by the band shortly thereafter are simply superfluous."

See, there is a God

M. K. LEVINE | Monroe, New York USA | 09/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's no way this minor group - nearly broke, on the way to breaking up in 1967 and seemingly stuck in an artistic rut - could have been expected to produce such a masterpiece. The songwriting, the harmonies, the performances are exquisite. This album caught more of that evocative summer than anything outside of Sgt. Pepper. Not one clinker in the bunch. There's a reason why this album was ranked #82 in the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums of all time and why some music giants today consider this album one of the most influential ever. This reissue is as low-fi as the original recording. You can almost hear the scratches from a cheap turntable. Enjoy!"

As Sophisticated Yet Accessible as the Beatles' Finest

Michael K. Kivinen | Wyoming, MI United States | 08/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hailed belatedly by some critics as the British "Pet Sounds," "Odessey and Oracle" is, like Brian Wilson's triumph, a keyboard and choral-based pop masterpiece that has aged far more gracefully than many other albums of the era. Its melodies, harmonies and arrangements are as sophisticated yet accessible as the Beatles' finest moments, and without the aid of a George Martin: The Zombies wrote, produced, arranged and performed the entire album. The extremely cool hit "Time of the Season" is, like "Good Vibrations" or "Eight Miles High," a zenith of 1960's pop-rock Other tracks hint at Anglican hymnody and neo-baroque psychedelia. "Changes" would not sound out of place on a John Renbourn Group album. Only the well-intentioned but jarring anti-war piece, "The Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" detracts from the overall effect. It is simply out of place. Imagine if someone dropped "Eve of Destruction" into the middle of "Astral Weeks" or the Trinity's "Czechoslovakia" into the middle of "Pet Sounds" and you get the idea. But that's why God made bonus tracks and programmable cd players! This Fuel 2000 reissue is superior to the "30th Anniversary" version in that it features several additional songs rather than alternate mixes only. I usually program out "Butcher's Tale" and replace it with "Smokey Day," "Remember the Swan" and "I'll Call You Mine," all recorded after the "Odessey and Oracle" sessions and each equal or even superior to almost anything else on the album.

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