Odessa is a studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1969. It is their six… Read Full Bio ↴Odessa is a studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1969. It is their sixth album, the group's fourth album released internationally, and their first released as a double LP. Odessa is noted in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Odessa would be the final album for the band's original incarnation. Guitarist Vince Melouney would pursue other interests, and Robin Gibb would leave the band over personal and artistic differences with brother Barry Gibb. Barry and Maurice would continue to record with drummer Colin Petersen as the Bee Gees, but disintegrated when Petersen was fired.
After the recording of side one of the album, guitarist Vince Melouney left the group amicably, wanting to pursue a more bluesy direction. Prior to release there were disagreements over which song was to be released as a single (the Robin led "Lamplight" lost out to "First of May" a Barry solo vocal). This led to Robin Gibb leaving the group in late 1968, though he would rejoin the group in 1970.
Odessa was initially released on Atco Records in a red flocked cover with gold lettering. Due to the high cost of production, as well as allergic reactions among workers during assembly, this design was discontinued. It was later reissued in 1976 as an edited single-disc album with a plain red cover on RSO Records.
Rhino Records had previously planned on an August 2008 release of the album containing three discs, which would contain mono and stereo versions along with selected rarities. The release of the re-issue had been delayed until January 13, 2009. This edition restored the red flocking originally found on the LP.
Track listing
All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.
Original LP
Side one
1. "Odessa (City on the Black Sea)" – 7:33
2. "You'll Never See My Face Again" – 4:17
3. "Black Diamond" – 3:29
Side two
1. "Marley Purt Drive" – 4:26
2. "Edison" – 3:06
3. "Melody Fair" – 3:50
4. "Suddenly" – 2:30
5. "Whisper Whisper" – 3:25
Side three
1. "Lamplight" – 4:47
2. "Sound of Love" – 3:29
3. "Give Your Best" – 3:28
4. "Seven Seas Symphony" – 4:10
5. "With All Nations (International Anthem)" – 1:47
Side four
1. "I Laugh in Your Face" – 4:10
2. "Never Say Never Again" – 3:29
3. "First of May" – 2:50
4. "The British Opera" – 3:16
The 1976 single LP reissue deleted tracks 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 17. Some early CD and cassette editions also omitted the track "With All Nations (International Anthem)".
Deluxe edition
On January 13th, 2009, Reprise Records released a 3-CD set of Odessa, complete with remastered stereo and mono version of all 17 tracks, plus a bonus third disc with demos, alternate version, and three unreleased tracks. To date, Odessa was the last non-compilation album to be released, and the status of the re-release program is unknown.
Disc 1: stereo/Disc 2: mono
1. Odessa (City On The Black Sea)
2. You’ll Never See My Face Again
3. Black Diamond
4. Marley Purt Drive
5. Edison
6. Melody Fair
7. Suddenly
8. Whisper Whisper
9. Lamplight
10. Sound Of Love
11. Give Your Best
12. Seven Seas Symphony
13. With All Nations (International Anthem)
14. I Laugh In Your Face
15. Never Say Never Again
16. First Of May
17. The British Opera
Disc 3: “Sketches for Odessa”
1. Odessa” (Demo)
2. You’ll Never See My Face Again”(Alternate Mix)
3. Black Diamond (Demo)
4. Marley Purt Drive (Alternate Mix)
5. Barbara Came To Stay
6. Edison (Alternate Mix)
7. Melody Fair (Demo)
8. Melody Fair (Alternate Mix)
9. Suddenly (Alternate Mix)
10. Whisper Whisper – Part Two (Alternate Version)
11. Lamplight (Demo)
12. Lamplight (Alternate Version)
13. Sound Of Love (Alternate Mix)
14. Give Your Best (Alternate Mix)
15. Seven Seas Symphony (Demo)
16. With All Nations (International Anthem) (Vocal Version)
17. I Laugh In Your Face (Alternate Mix)
18. Never Say Never Again (Alternate Mix)
19. First Of May (Demo)
20. First Of May (Alternate Mix)
21. Nobody’s Someone
22. Pity
23. Odessa Promotional Spot
Odessa would be the final album for the band's original incarnation. Guitarist Vince Melouney would pursue other interests, and Robin Gibb would leave the band over personal and artistic differences with brother Barry Gibb. Barry and Maurice would continue to record with drummer Colin Petersen as the Bee Gees, but disintegrated when Petersen was fired.
After the recording of side one of the album, guitarist Vince Melouney left the group amicably, wanting to pursue a more bluesy direction. Prior to release there were disagreements over which song was to be released as a single (the Robin led "Lamplight" lost out to "First of May" a Barry solo vocal). This led to Robin Gibb leaving the group in late 1968, though he would rejoin the group in 1970.
Odessa was initially released on Atco Records in a red flocked cover with gold lettering. Due to the high cost of production, as well as allergic reactions among workers during assembly, this design was discontinued. It was later reissued in 1976 as an edited single-disc album with a plain red cover on RSO Records.
Rhino Records had previously planned on an August 2008 release of the album containing three discs, which would contain mono and stereo versions along with selected rarities. The release of the re-issue had been delayed until January 13, 2009. This edition restored the red flocking originally found on the LP.
Track listing
All compositions by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.
Original LP
Side one
1. "Odessa (City on the Black Sea)" – 7:33
2. "You'll Never See My Face Again" – 4:17
3. "Black Diamond" – 3:29
Side two
1. "Marley Purt Drive" – 4:26
2. "Edison" – 3:06
3. "Melody Fair" – 3:50
4. "Suddenly" – 2:30
5. "Whisper Whisper" – 3:25
Side three
1. "Lamplight" – 4:47
2. "Sound of Love" – 3:29
3. "Give Your Best" – 3:28
4. "Seven Seas Symphony" – 4:10
5. "With All Nations (International Anthem)" – 1:47
Side four
1. "I Laugh in Your Face" – 4:10
2. "Never Say Never Again" – 3:29
3. "First of May" – 2:50
4. "The British Opera" – 3:16
The 1976 single LP reissue deleted tracks 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 17. Some early CD and cassette editions also omitted the track "With All Nations (International Anthem)".
Deluxe edition
On January 13th, 2009, Reprise Records released a 3-CD set of Odessa, complete with remastered stereo and mono version of all 17 tracks, plus a bonus third disc with demos, alternate version, and three unreleased tracks. To date, Odessa was the last non-compilation album to be released, and the status of the re-release program is unknown.
Disc 1: stereo/Disc 2: mono
1. Odessa (City On The Black Sea)
2. You’ll Never See My Face Again
3. Black Diamond
4. Marley Purt Drive
5. Edison
6. Melody Fair
7. Suddenly
8. Whisper Whisper
9. Lamplight
10. Sound Of Love
11. Give Your Best
12. Seven Seas Symphony
13. With All Nations (International Anthem)
14. I Laugh In Your Face
15. Never Say Never Again
16. First Of May
17. The British Opera
Disc 3: “Sketches for Odessa”
1. Odessa” (Demo)
2. You’ll Never See My Face Again”(Alternate Mix)
3. Black Diamond (Demo)
4. Marley Purt Drive (Alternate Mix)
5. Barbara Came To Stay
6. Edison (Alternate Mix)
7. Melody Fair (Demo)
8. Melody Fair (Alternate Mix)
9. Suddenly (Alternate Mix)
10. Whisper Whisper – Part Two (Alternate Version)
11. Lamplight (Demo)
12. Lamplight (Alternate Version)
13. Sound Of Love (Alternate Mix)
14. Give Your Best (Alternate Mix)
15. Seven Seas Symphony (Demo)
16. With All Nations (International Anthem) (Vocal Version)
17. I Laugh In Your Face (Alternate Mix)
18. Never Say Never Again (Alternate Mix)
19. First Of May (Demo)
20. First Of May (Alternate Mix)
21. Nobody’s Someone
22. Pity
23. Odessa Promotional Spot
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Odessa
Bee Gees Lyrics
Black Diamond Where are you? I love you Where are you? I love…
Edison He made electric lights to read. He gave us light…
First of May When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall We used…
Give Your Best It's a square dance Mr Marshall. It's a square dance…
I Laugh in Your Face The circus is coming to see you. The elephant smiles.…
Lamplight Alons, viens encore, cherie. J'attendrai patiemment sous la…
Marley Purt Drive Sunday morning, woke up yawning, filled the pool for a…
Melody Fair Who is the girl with the crying face looking at…
Never Say Never Again Your lips could never show a smile. You never tried…
Odessa (City on the Black Sea) Fourteenth of February , eighteen ninety nine. The British s…
Sound Of Love See the children play the ball. See them play along…
Suddenly How can you tell by looking at me? How can…
Whisper Whisper Whisper, whisper. What have you got? I got something that…
You'll Never See My Face Again Every single word has been spoken. It's much to late…
Philip Kassabian
on Stayin Alive
What a fantastic song by the Bee Gee's.