204: ODYSSEY AND ORACLE | THE ZOMBIES
Easily the records strongest track. I really like how it is used here with an edited collage of a families Super 8s thru the years. I hope this is OK. Since this is not my family. I will obviously remove it if the makers object. But nicely done.
A great album of this period that has definitely stood the test of time. ”This Will Be Our Year” has always been a favorite of mine. Odessey was engineered by the great Geoff Emerick , The Beatles engineer.
Wiki: Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after the Zombies signed a recording contract with the CBS label. They began work on the album in June 1967. Nine of the twelve songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. "Friends of Mine" was recorded on 1 June, "A Rose for Emily" was started on 1 June and completed on 10 July (take 5 reduction of take 3), "This Will Be Our Year" was recorded on 2 June (take 4) and 15 August (horn overdub), "Hung Up on a Dream" was recorded on 10–11 July (take 7 reduction of take 3), and "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" was recorded on 20 July (take 1). In late July, when Abbey Road was unavailable, The Zombies temporarily shifted base to Olympic Studios where they recorded "Beechwood Park", "Maybe After He's Gone" and "I Want Her, She Wants Me". They returned to Abbey Road Studios in mid-August to record "Care of Cell 44" (take 5 reduction of take 4) and "Brief Candles" (take 10 reduction of take 9) on 16–17 August and "Time of the Season" (August, date unknown). The sessions ended in November and the final track to be recorded was "Changes" (take 5) on 7 November 1967.
Because the album was recorded to a tight budget and deadline, The Zombies worked quickly in the studio, having rehearsed rigorously beforehand. This meant that there would be no outtakes or unused songs recorded during the sessions. Cello and Mellotron parts were added to "A Rose for Emily" but discarded at the final mixing stage.
Colin Blunstone and Paul Atkinson felt disillusioned and tempers flared during the recording of "Time of the Season". Blunstone was not at all keen on the song. When writer Rod Argent insisted that he sing it a certain way, Blunstone's patience snapped and he effectively told Argent to sing it himself. Blunstone finally sang the vocal as required.
The album was recorded using a Studer four track machine, the same tape machine used on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[10] Argent and Chris 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 the 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]
Morale within the band was at a low point at the end of the recording. Two singles, "Care of Cell 44" and "Friends of Mine", had been unsuccessful, and the band had a declining demand for live appearances, so after a final gig in mid-December 1967, the band split up. Full Article