#243 The Zombies, 'Odessey and Oracle' (1968)

Previously #100

Recorded at the height of The Summer Of Love, three quarters of this album was tracked at Abbey Road Studios on the very equipment that tracked ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ When the studio became unavailable they moved to Olympic Studios, a studio just as important as Abbey Road where Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin & Hendrix had recorded. The recording was fraught with fighting. By the time they reached ‘Time Of The Season,’ vocalist, Colin Blunstone and guitarist, Paul Atkinson had started losing interest. Songwriter, Rod Argent, told Blunstone to sing the song in a certain way. He blew up and told him to sing it himself. Eventually Blunstone would record vocals on it but it left the band fractured. Following poor performances of the first two singles, and a decreasing demand for live shows, the band broke up at the end of 1967, four months before the release of this record.

This album has the quintessential psychedelic sound that the Summer Of Love would be known for. On release not much was thought of it, but its popularity and importance has grown in the years since release. It would be an influence of artists such as Paul Weller of The Jam (he’s said it’s one of his all-time favourites), as well as Elliot Smith, OK Go, Foo Fighters and so many more. ‘This Will Be Our Year’ was used as the very last song in the series finale of ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ as well as the season 2 finale of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ The surprise hit of the record, however, would be the song that was the catalyst for their break up, ‘Time Of The Season.’ A song that would become synonymous in film with the end of the 1960s, with depictions of psychedelic drug use and Vietnam. It’s a song that was bigger than the album and truly defined an era.

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