This often ignored 1969 double vinyl album from the brothers Gibb was as lush, plush and sumptuous as its eye catching faux-red velvet cover. Now restored to its original packaging for a 40th anniversary deluxe/expanded edition CD, the Bee Gees’ fourth release remains an intermittently impressive and sprawling, though somewhat affected set.
Videos by American Songwriter
Label: REPRISE/RHINO
[Rating: 3 STARS]
This often ignored 1969 double vinyl album from the brothers Gibb was as lush, plush and sumptuous as its eye catching faux-red velvet cover. Now restored to its original packaging for a 40th anniversary deluxe/expanded edition CD, the Bee Gees’ fourth release remains an intermittently impressive and sprawling, though somewhat affected set. The 17 predominantly acoustic folk-chamber pop songs are slathered with sweet vocal harmonies and Bill Shepherd’s ornate orchestrations that both enhance and occasionally overwhelm the material. The classy boxed reissue includes a rare mono mix along with a third disc of even rarer demos, B-sides, alternate versions and other ephemera of interest to diehards only. Odessa is worth discovering for lovers of the band during that era but it remains a pleasant, if dated, curiosity for everyone else.
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