Cabin Essence Blog

So, we’re on to the 3rd and final of our 3Os of late 60s pop rock quality albums, and this is the most obscure of the lot. Orpheus were a Boston based group who were touted as part of a new “Bosstown” sound. The scene didn’t really take off, but they left a legacy of four albums and are worth seeking out.

Their first album is self-titled (as it their fourth, which is normally known as Orpheus 4) and is, in my view, easily the best of the lot. The fourth album takes off in some prog-rock directions that don’t always work, but the first sticks to a solid sunshine pop formula of horns, strings, basic rock instrumentation with a nod towards psychedelia on the last two tracks.

Indeed, the last track The Dream is a really beautiful synthesis of Western and Eastern musical traditions and is, in my book, one of the best Indian-influenced pop tracks ever and a real highlight of the album. The highlight, however, is Can’t Find The Time, a track that gained some recognition as part of the soundtrack of the 2000 movie Me, Myself And Irene.  It is one of those romantic songs that turns me into mushy jelly and pine for flowers, candlelight and all that stuff. The rest is all pretty solid sunshine sounds with good production, vocals and harmonies and sufficiently mystical lyrics to place it firmly in the 60s.

You’ll probably battle to get this on vinyl or CD but it is now readily available for download on eMusic- a very worthwhile investment of a few dollars or equivalent.

Many years ago, when I first became aware of this “pop music” thing as a naive youngster, disco was on top and the Bee Gees were the king of the musical scene. Thanks to a cousin of mine, I became aware of the Bee Gees 60s Beatles-esque pop roots, which seemed a million miles away from the helium sound of Stayin’ Alive et. al (deep historical retrospect may indicate that the distance wasn’t so great…). Anyway, this was my first real exposure and interest in 60s music, and I remember gazing longingly in record shops at one of their earlier albums in a velvet red sleeve and the title of an exotic city in Ukraine.

It was many years later (in 2000) that I actually bought and heard this album (I know a few songs from other compilations). By then, I was aware of its reputation as a bit of a cult album, with a wide variety of styles, constructed in with the intention of a tight concept album, but which became a fairly loose collection of high-quality pop songs, similar to  Sgt. Pepper. (it was originally released as a double album).  And so we have Odessa, the second of our 3 Os of late 60s albums in the Pepper spirit.

As with so many notable albums, the album was created during a period of some turmoil in the band, and indeed, Robin Gibb, left in the midst of making the album. There is a wide variety of styles, although a baroque and sometimes sentimental pop seems to dominate. The title track is as epic as a 7 minute song dedicated to a city on the Black Sea is likely to be, but it is engaging and sticks in your mind. There are some pretty tunes throughout, Sound Of Love and I Laugh In Your Face being two of the most notable.

There is a bit of a country influence- the catchy Give Your Best is one of the strongest, Marley Purt Drive one of the odder. Then you have some big band instrumentals such as The British Opera where there is a definite attempt to fuse pop and classical. Finally, there are the classic Bee Gees tunes which you may, First Of May and Melody Fair- the former may be sentimental, but it is a deeply affecting love song.

It doesn’t always work -sometimes the sprawling sounds jar, but there are some magic moments- maybe a bit like the real city, Odessa? However, this is another one highly recommended for the 60s music collector and should interest Brian Wilson/Beach Boys fans -after all, the Bee Gees were also a family band. Availability looks a bit short at the moment, with only expensive second hand copies available on Amazon -hopefully will be a re-release soon.

With Sgt. Pepper still on our minds, I thought it would be an appropriate time to look at some late 60s albums that were conceived with the same principles in mind such as classy pop songs,  harmonies, a sense more than substance of a unifying theme,  and some hints of psychedelia. The next three album reviews are what I will call the three “Os” -three album titles that begin with O that I believe meet the above criteria. Maybe you can start guessing what the next two will be…..

The first one is a true “cult” album, Odessey And Oracle (and yes, that Odessey is a typo by the record company that has never been corrected) by the Zombies. The story of the album seems almost like one of those scenarios that they could make a blockbuster movie…band on the verging of breaking up make one final classic album, album sinks without trace due to no publicity in 1968,  DJ starts playing a track a year later that becomes a big hit and pop standard, and the album gains cult status and critical acclaim over the years.

The big hit is Time Of The Season, which readers should know. It is a classic slice of 60s pop rock with a fantastic riff and harmonies, and it more than deserves its “standard” status.  But it is in illustrious company, as the album clearly shows a band that shows it has nothing to lose and is prepared to take chances and a lot of care over the songs.

The music is sophisticated, harmonic pop, with slightly jazzy arrangements tinged by the use of a Mellotron, which should definitely appeal to fans of both the Beatles and Beach Boys. Lyrically, there is some very interesting ground covered – most notably in the very personal war experience song, Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914). As with Pepper, there isn’t really a unifying theme, but the songs do feel like they belong together. And bits of it were recorded at Abbey Road studios.

My personal favorite song on the album is Hung Up On A Dream, an evocative journey through a “a dream…that gave me peace and blew my mind” that includes some stunning melodic and harmonic moments.

Some more good background can be seen on the Wikipedia article, and it is still very readily available on-line. This is certainly an absolute must for 60s pop fans and anyone serious about having a complete collection of the great pop and rock albums.