Bee Gees Album: “Odessa [Box] [1/13]”

There's no doubt that the Gibb brothers are masters at writing timeless music with great melodies, catchy lyrics and perfect 3-part harmony, but delving deep into their vast catalog of music finds, "Odessa", the grandest of them all. Coming off three hugely successful albums, with the most recent being the joyful "Idea", The Bee Gees set out and created an album with many varying styles, with grand orchestration and moving epics such as the title track, Odessa (City On The Black Sea) and beautiful ballads such as Melody Fair. There were several choices for singles such as "Never Say Never Again" and "Marley Purt Drive", but the first and only single was ultimately "First Of May", a wonderful choice in its own right.

The packaging on the Deluxe Edition is first rate. The original red velvet cover has been restored as well as track by track details, plus several photos from the period. The bonus disc "Sketches For Odessa" gives us a glimpse into the evolution of these great songs as well as some unreleased tracks that were left off the original album. This is a must for any Bee Gees fan or any fan of 60's baroque pop.

Odessa has to rank with Mr. Natural as one of the greatest unknown Bee Gees albums ever. It definitely was their best of their 4 '60s CDs (although the other 3 are all solid). What made this album even more incredible was that it came out at a time when all 3 brothers were having a tough time getting along with each other and by 1970, Robin had left the group. If all you know about the Brothers Gibb is their stuff from the late '70s, then you really need to listen to this album because you will really be amazed at what you hear. Originally envisioned as a concept album, Odessa is an hour of musical bliss. Here's a track listing and my thoughts on each: 1) Odessa -- The title track is over 7 minutes long but it's an incredible 7 minutes. Unbelievable harmonies that only the Brothers Gibb can do. Starts the theme of love lost at sea. 2) You'll Never See my Face Again -- A light-hearted piece that's okay, but not one of my favorites. 3) Black Diamond -- A great song! Robin gives one of his best performances ever in singing this gem. 4) Marley Purt Drive -- A song that definitely has a country feel to it with the banjo playing in the background. Interesting song in many aspects including the memorable line "with 16 kids and a family on the skids, I gotta go for a Sunday drive." 5) Edison -- A fun song to listen to. I love the sound of the instruments in this song. 6) Melody Fair -- Classic Brothers Gibb. An unbelievable song to say the least. One of the main reasons to buy this album. 7) Suddenly -- An okay song but like #2, one that I don't really listen to alot. 8) Whisper Whisper -- A different type of song that was somewhat revolutionary in its time. This isn't Stayin' Alive or Night Fever that you're listening to. Curiously, it's one of my least listened to songs on the album. 9) Lamplight -- An important song for Bee Gees buffs (this was the song that caused Robin to leave the group). IMHO, one of the best songs on the album. Robin gives his usual fine performance, but what makes this song great is the unbelievable harmonization by Maurice. 10) Sound of Love -- An okay song that has some good background music to it. 11) Give Your Best -- A somewhat hokey song that I usually skip when it comes on. 12) Seven Seas Symphony -- Purely instrumental. It's actually an outstanding track as it showcases the Brothers' composition talents. 13) With All Nations -- Another instrumental track that is less than 2 minutes long. Sounds alot like track #12. 14) I Laugh in Your Face -- One of my favorites on the album. I love how they develop the mood to this song and then change it to something completely different. 15) Never Say Never Again -- Another solid song featuring a fine performance by Barry. 16) First of May -- Believe it or not, the only song on this album to hit the US Top 40 (peaked at #37). Once again, Barry gives a fine performance. This was the song that was picked over Lamplight and caused Robin to leave the group. 17) The British Opera -- The third instrumental track on the album. It's a little more scary sounding than the other two. All in all a great and underappreciated album. The best tracks are #1, #3, #4, #5, #6, #9, #10, #12, #14, #15, and #16. If you like good music, then the Bee Gees are always a smart choice to get; however, where most of their albums, like all other artists, have their filler tracks, Odessa is an example of what they can do when they really focus. Once again, it's hard for me to imagine that they were able to do this considering the personal problems they were going through plus they were only 21, 19, and 19 when they did this! Do yourself a favor and buy this album!

Yes, this was the Bee Gees 'white' album, only this doubled LP had a red velvet cover and a 'Titanic'-like illustration in the gatefold. Now available on a single CD, it marks the end of the sixties period for the Bee Gees.

The music? This was an important time for the Gibbs' who were maturing (at ages 19 and 21) and already millionaires. The music was conceptual and starting with the title track, it delivers with powerful orchestration and emotional, lyrical simplicity. It is a skewed look at a fabled seafarer lost at sea and emotionally destitute. At least, that's what the project started out to be.

Somewhere during the recordings, egos flared and tempers snapped, so what you ended up with is a collection of half Bee Gees conceptual songs and half individual Gibb contributions. It is still a remarkable recording!

Stand-out cuts are "Marley Purt Drive" that could have been recorded by "The Band" and "Melody Fair", a single in some countries and a well covered track.

Most of the other tracks deal with period issues like, drugs, sex, rock 'n roll, psychodelia and why not? Producer Stigwood unwittingly fueled the tensions by choosing "First Of May" as the A-Side single instead of B-Side "Lamplight", which was just as strong.

Regardless, the final outcome is a conceptual album filled with an orchestrally sweeping moodiness aligned with perfect harmonies and lyrics envied by everyone. This is one of the few albums of the period with orchestral solos with the Gibbs providing the chorus. It is monumental.

So its 1968 and Robert Stigwood decides that his young charges, The Bee Gees, need to make a big musical statement and the way to do it is with a double album. Heck, it worked for The Beatles, Bob Dylan; even The Mothers of Inventions debut was a double.

Thus "Odessa" was born.

When originally released, it was a 2 record set in a red flocked cover (you can still find decent used copies for cheap) but unlike the previous studio albums there was more of a feel of sophistication in the music and in the songwriting. Side one begins with the line "14th of February 1899, the British ship Veronica disappears without a sign" which is a clear indicator that the album is treading into "conceptual" waters but there really is no concept per se. The concept seems to be how much more orchestration can be added to the songs. And the beautiful thing is that it works.

This has to be the Bee Gees most varied album up to this point. With country numbers like "Marley Purt Drive" and "Give Your Best." Conceptual pieces like the title track, straight pop like "Melody Fair and the orchestral interludes "With All Nations" and "Seven Seas Symphony the group shows just how far they have come since their debut to an international career in 1967. And all before Barry turned 21. But then this is also the album that caused Robin to leave the group and caused a schism between the Brothers Gibb that would last for 2 years

This set is deluxe re-issue of "Odessa" spread over three CDs and contains the following:

CD 1 contains the original stereo mix of the two record set.

CD 2 contains the original mono mix of the album, which has its debut here in the U.S. since the album was only released in the stereo format on this side of the Atlantic.

CD 3 is titled "Sketches for Odessa" and contains early demos, alternate mixes, un-dubbed tracks, as well as unreleased material as well as the tracks "Nobody's Someone" and "Pity" which was recorded for the album but did not make the final hurdle

The package comes in a red flocked box (just like the original vinyl version) and contains a poster, a Bee Gees decal, and a booklet giving track-by-track annotation and session information. Unfortunately, neither Barry nor Robin was interviewed about their thoughts about the sessions, which is probably because of the growing rift between Barry and Robin at the time. Best to leave sleeping dogs lie.

Many music fans state that the mind blowing album for them was "Sgt. Pepper's" from the Fab Four. For many, THAT was the album of the late-60's generation. "Odessa" from The Bee Gees is a superior effort--no doubt inspired by The Beatles. The album itself is a story about love lost, scorn, history, youthful desire and comedy ("Give Your Best"). "Suddenly" is one of Maurice's Best efforts, and "Lamplight" is an emotional ride that put's the listener in the eyes of the young lad longing for his love to return. "First Of May" is an adult contemporary number which gives those sentimentalists a nod. The instrumentals ("With All Nations"), ("Seven Seas Symphony"), give the work an originality all its own. Yes, The Beatles may have been the inspiration, but each group of artists during this time respected it, and went down their own paths. The Bee Gees are no exception. Fine Work from fine talented people--Barry at 21, Maurice and Robin both 19--amazing how artists this youthful could compose such beautiful melodies and arrangements. Highly recommended--for the "eyes" and ears. --Nicholas Arietano, Jr.