Odessey & Oracle

Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after the Zombies signed to the CBS label, and was only the second album they had released since 1964. As their first LP, Begin Here, was a collection of singles, Odessey can be regarded as the only true Zombies album.

The group began work on the album in June 1967. Some songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where earlier in the year the Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. By the time the recording was finished, in late 1967, the Zombies were effectively disbanded, due to lack of financial success. Odessey and Oracle was released in the U.K. in April 1968 and in the United States in June. The single "Time of the Season" became a surprise hit in early 1969, and Columbia Records (in the United States) re-released Odessey in February, with a slightly different album cover.

Since its release the LP has come to be regarded as one of the greatest of all pop albums, with indelible melodies, complex harmonies, and an air of nostalgia and longing that makes it comparable to such albums as Love's Forever Changes and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.