The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle, Mono British Import, 1968 Psychedelic Album

$

350

The Zombies, one of the original British Invasion groups, first hit in 1964 with the classic, “She’s Not There”, since covered by Santana and many others. Of course, nobody on the planet could duplicate lead singer, Colin Blunstone’s breathy vocals, so for me, and many people, the original remains the standard by which all are judged!

After the success of “She’s Not There” and the follow-up, “Tell Her No”, the band released their first full length album, called Begin Here in the UK, and simply, The Zombies, in America, and proceeded to issue a string of great singles for the next three years, all of which failed to chart! By 1967, the band was becoming discouraged, but they had just signed a new recording contract, so they decided to record one more album, and if it didn’t produce a hit, they would disband and go their separate ways.

They recorded that album, called Odessey and Oracle. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and the band used John Lennon’s mellotron for the record, which had been left at Abbey Road after the recording of Sgt. Pepper’s. CBS released it in April, 1968, but the band didn’t even make it to the record’s release date! They broke up in December, 1967, four months before Odessey and Oracle’s release!

The record didn’t even have a US release date, until Al Kooper, who was then signed to Columbia, convinced the label heads that the album deserved to be heard! It finally came out in America, a single was released, and both were total flops! But then something interesting happened. Over the next year, the single, “Time of the Season”, gradually garnered airplay, and eventually became a monster hit, in 1969, over a year after its release, and is still a radio staple today!

The band declined to reform to tour behind their surprise hit, although most of the essential members did, decades later.

This copy of Odessey and Oracle is a first press, mono, British import, on the British CBS label, and is in excellent playable condition, but for one factor. There is a slight warp in the record. This does NOT render it unplayable! On the contrary, it plays just fine, and other than the slight warp, is in excellent playing condition. Slight qualifier, though. On my friends Dual turntable, it plays perfectly. On my Denon turntable, the first side plays perfectly, but, for some strange reason, when you play the second side, you can hear an audible “bump” sound on the first song, as the needle goes over the warped section. It doesn’t skip, and there are no clicks, pops, or other noises.

The noise is only audible for the first song on side 2, “Changes”, and mostly during the intro and beginning of the song. The intro is fairly quiet, and the bump noise is loudest at the beginning, so logic dictates that would be the most prominent section to hear it. Within a few seconds, the music and vocals kick in, the “bump” sound lowers in volume, and it mostly fades into the background, although it is still there. The funny thing is, the “bump” is very nearly in sync with the rhythm of the song, so it almost becomes just another percussion instrument, and once the song starts, it becomes fairly unnoticeable.

Now, I don’t know what kind of turntable you will be playing this psychedelic classic on, but I’ve described my experience with two different turntables. It played with no skips on both. Perfectly and noiselessly on the Dual, and with a slight “bump” noise at the beginning of one track, on my Denon. I, obviously, can not guarantee what result you will get, because I don’t have your equipment. Based on my experience, it will play with no skips, clicks, or any other problems, but, depending on your turntable, you may hear a slight bump at the beginning of the second side. Or not. As I said, it played flawlessly on my friend’s Dual, which is a good tracker, so if your turntable tracks well, it should play just fine. FYI, the sound is not a click, or anything harsh like that, which would interfere with l your listening pleasure. It, literally, sounds like a soft “bump”.

I don’t really know how to “grade” records, but the cover seems to be in pretty good shape. It’s got some creases in it, but that is very normal for the soft British covers that albums come in over there. I used to get them imported from the UK, and brand new records would often have creased corners, so this 50 year old record album is no exception. One other issue on the cover – my name, Fred, is written, very small and lightly, on the back cover, in the upper left corner. Anyway, just look at the pics for the best descriptive features. Pictures tell the story best. The cover shows some normal wear, but is still in very good to excellent condition, in my opinion, with no major problems. The album has the original CBS Sound of Entertainment inside jacket.

This item is listed “as is”, and as a vintage item, no returns will be accepted.

Odessey and Oracle, now considered a classic, is ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and The Zombies have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 3 times, but have yet to be inducted.