Zombies, The - Odessey & Oracle

Mono Remastered on Orchid Vinyl Even in a late '60s rich with groundbreaking psychedelic chamber pop, few albums achieved the same magic as the Zombies' 1968 masterwork Odessey and Oracle. Made by a group spread thin by years of toiling with limited success, the recording budget was limited and the process was rushed, and when the public more or less ignored the final product, the frustrated and disillusioned Zombies broke up. Even under less-than-ideal conditions, however, Odessey and Oracle tapped into a very specific balance of mysterious, moody vocal harmonies, Baroque instrumentation, joyful sunshine pop, and lovelorn songwriting so sadly beautiful that these 12 tunes remain fascinating and unique over 50 years later. The album kicks off with the jaunty, piano-driven "Care of Cell 44," a narrative song about reuniting with a lover fresh off a stint in prison. It's one of several tracks that juxtapose heavy subject matter with bright, beaming musical accompaniment, in this case gli