Odessa

‘Odessa,’ released in March of 1969, was the Bee Gees’ first double album, recorded in both New York and London. Of all of the group’s ’60s-era releases, ‘Odessa’ is the most ambitious. Psychedelic artwork was replaced with a simple, yet stately crimson felt with gold lettering. The Bee Gees’ tell-tale romantic ballads share space with soaring, cinematic instrumentals—”Seven Seas Symphony,” “The British Opera,” and “With All Nations (International Anthem)”—and twangy, country numbers like “Marley Purt Drive” and “Give Your Best.” Barry Gibb once told The Guardian, in reflecting upon the 17-track release, “I think Odessa was an attempt to do a rock opera.” The title track is a baroque epic about a ship that sinks on Valentine’s Day in the late 19th century, coming in at over seven minutes. The album’s single, “The First of May,” is an elegant ballad, with delicate piano and Barry Gibb’s inimitable vocals, sweeping into a flurry of lush strings. Robin Gibb shines on “Lamplight,” a pining ballad of lost love.