Odessa

ODESSA stands as one of the great British pop albums of the '60s, right up alongside such tours de force as SGT. PEPPER, ODYSSEY AND ORACLE, and S.F. SORROW. In fact, while it's full of elegant baroque pop gems, ODESSA's range even extends beyond its aforementioned peers, delving over the course of its double-length into everything from Gospel to country. Songs like "Melody Fair" employ all the pop smarts the Gibbs earned early in their career and apply them to a much more sophisticated scope of song structure. The seven minute-plus title song is a centrepiece here, an epic account of a ship gone astray, full of changes in texture, tempo and dynamics, veering dangerously close to artsong, but (as is part of the Bee Gees' magic) always staying on the right side of infectiousness.

Q (2/96, p.104)
- 3 Stars - Good - "...an ambitious double...that spanned the daily grind and the symphonic alike..."

Mojo (2/00, p.107)
- "...beautifully sung, delicately orchestrated and filled with highly individual songs about lost love, electric light and sinking ships....ODESSA remains one of The Bee Gees' finest albums..."