Odessa (album)

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Odessa
Bee Gees studio album

Publication
(s)

January 1969

Label (s) Polydor

Format (s)

2LP

Genre (s)

pop

Title (number)

17th

production

Robert Stigwood , Bee Gees

Studio (s)

IBC Studios, London , Trident Studios, London, Atlantic Recording Studios, New York

chronology
Idea (1968) Odessa Cucumber Castle
(1970)

Odessa is the fourth international music album by the Bee Gees , released in 1969 as a double album.

production

The recordings for »Odessa« began in August 1968 without Robin Gibb in New York's Atlantic Recording Studios after he returned to England due to health problems and the tour of the USA had to be canceled. Robin Gibb rejoined the band in October of that year and the recordings were completed in London's IBC Studios and Trident Studio . “I Laugh in Your Face” was recorded in July as part of the sessions for the album “ Idea ” at IBC Studios .

After the recordings in New York, Vince Melouney left the band due to musical differences . In fact, it was probably also the tensions that were caused primarily by the quarrels among the Gibb brothers. The album was planned as a double album - apparently for purely commercial reasons. The producer had a concept album in mind. So it initially got the working title The American Opera , which was later changed to Masterpiece . Eventually it became »Odessa«, referring to the complex, seven-minute-long opening song of the same name on the album. This should also be released as a single, but this was discarded due to the length of the song. Instead, Robert Stigwood finally decided to release "First of May" (with the B-side "Lamplight") as a single. This was the only release from this album. There were two versions of it in Germany. On the one hand the original and also one with "Lamplight" as the A-side.

Except for Maurice Gibb on the piano on “Seven Seas Symphony”, no member of the Bee Gees was involved in the recordings for the three instrumental tracks on the album . All three were recorded by Bill Shepherd and his choir and orchestra alone.

The album cover was covered with a red velvet cover (actually it was felt ), which posed major problems for the record companies during production. For this reason, the album was re-released in a red glossy cover by Karussell (label) after the first edition was sold out in Germany . In England, the two records from the album were sold separately from 1970.

All songs on the album were composed in 1968.

The album was released in January 1969, parallel to the single "First of May", and reached number 4 in May, its highest position in the German album charts.

Contributors

Track list

all songs composed by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb

  • A1. Odessa (City on the Black Sea)
  • A2. You'll Never See My Face Again
  • A3. Black Diamond
  • B1. Marley Purt Drive
  • B2. Edison
  • B3. Melody Fair
  • B4. Suddenly
  • B5. Whisper Whisper
  • C1. Lamplight
  • C2. Sound of love
  • C3. Give your best
  • C4. Seven Seas Symphony
  • C5. With All Nations (International Anthem)
  • D1. I laugh in your face
  • D2. Never say never again
  • D3. First of May
  • D4. The British Opera

Bonus tracks 2009 ("Sketches For Odessa")

all songs composed by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb

  • Odessa (demo)
  • You'll Never See My Face Again (Alternate Mix)
  • Black Diamond (demo)
  • Marley Purt Drive (Alternate Mix)
  • Barbara came to stay
  • Edison (Alternate Mix)
  • Melody Fair (demo)
  • Melody Fair (Alternate Mix)
  • Suddenly (Alternate Mix)
  • Whisper Whisper - Part Two (Alternate Version)
  • Lamplight (demo)
  • Lamplight (Alternate Version)
  • Sound Of Love (Alternate Mix)
  • Give Your Best (Alternate Mix)
  • Seven Seas Symphony (demo)
  • With All Nations (International Anthem) (Vocal Version)
  • I Laugh In Your Face (Alternate Mix)
  • Never Say Never Again (Alternate Mix)
  • First Of May (Demo)
  • First Of May (Alternate Mix)
  • Nobody's Someone
  • Pity
  • Odessa Promotional Spot

expenditure

The album was released in 1969 by Polydor , but in the USA on Atco , a sub-label of Atlantic Records . In the same year the album appeared in an edition of the Bertelsmann Book Club , which summarized nine of the seventeen titles on one LP under the title "Best Of Odessa". In 1970 there was a second edition on the Karussell label , which remained available until the 1980s, followed by an edition on RSO Records in 1983 as part of a retrospective 17-LP box. The album was first released on compact disc in 1985 . In 2009 »Odessa« was re-released as a 3CD and 2LP set.

  • 1969: Polydor 184 199/200 (2LP, stereo)
  • 1969: Polydor 79 615 (LP, Stereo, Bertelsmann Club edition: The Best Of Odessa )
  • 1970: Carousel 2674012 (2LP, stereo)
  • 1983: RSO 2674012 (2LP, box set: Bee Gees )
  • 1985: RSO / Polydor 825 451-2 (CD, 16 tracks)
  • 2009: Reprise 8122-79886-6 (3CD, stereo / mono)
  • 2009 USA: Reprise R1 517011 (2LP, Stereo)

A Monomix was also produced for the English market in 1969 and was part of the 3CD box sets in 2009.

reception

Although the album is now in all sorts of best lists, it was not particularly well received by critics or audiences in 1969. The Bee Gees themselves were neither satisfied with the creative work nor with the technical implementation. In an Arte feature called Brothers in Disco Fever , Barry Gibb remembers - and Robin agrees - that "Odessa" should have been a concept album, but the result was "a mish-mash of songs ... this album never really got finished “.

The most famous track on this album, "First of May", has been re-recorded several times over the years by a number of artists. Above all José Feliciano , Patti Boulaye and Blackmore's Night . Italian versions were made by Ornella Vanoni and Giano Ton . There were other interpretations by Patty Pravo , Cilla Black , Sarah Brightman , Mel Carter , Lonnie Donegan or the Weeping Willows .

bibliography

  • The Ultimate Bee Gees Biography: Stories of the Gibb Brothers by Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes, with Joseph Brennan and Mark Crohan. Starcluster Verlag, Balve, 2007. ISBN 978-3-925005-66-4
  • The Essential Rock Discography by Martin C. Strong, Canongate Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84195-985-6

Web links

Individual evidence