Bee Gees - Odessa: Is it PROG? w/Rand Kelly

[@thomaswery3087]

The Bee Gees wrote Islands In The Stream for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Pardon and was one of the biggest country hits ever

[@romelovesdan]

Great and interesting choice for a show topic. Good job Grant, listening now….

[@romelovesdan]

Electric guitar on intro of “Edison” and on “Whisper, Whisper” …….Maurice singing lead on “Suddenly”

[@alv4794]

I think its baroque pop/rock....and I just listened to this for the first time yesterday.

[@Sandra6411]

@GrantsRockWarehaus Barry said in an interview that whoever brought the song idea to the group would lead the song, then the 3 of them would finish the song. So whoever lead the song was the one who actually brought it to the other 2. You’ll see in the 70’s particularly, Barry lead most of their songs. He was a songwriting beast in the 70’s with not only The Bee Gees songs or Andy’s or the other artists they wrote for. Barry was the main writer’s idea man. And my favorite song on this album was the Sound of Love! Different strokes for different folks.❤

[@christianhaynes1954]

Hope you had a great time at SOT fest Grant 😀. Wanted to go but i couldn't swing it . 🤟

[@GrabAStackofRocK]

Never considered this before! Interesting.

[@aldebaran4154]

On their early 70's albums they had a Moody Blues influence on some of their songs, especially the use of mellotron, so they did do prog light.

[@wolf1977]

VERY light...

[@georgemathie8123]

What I liked about the early bee Gees is how all 3 brothers had their own musical identity Barry was the confident band leader, Robin was the soulful and passionate vocalist and a great lead harmony with Barry and Maurice was the keen one to experiment with different musical textures not so much a lead as Barry and Robin but an essential support vocalist and player to Barry and Robin from 1968 to 1974 the bee Gees were not just an amazing vocal group but a young band that wasn't going to be put into any one genre so albums such as Odessa, Trafalgar and idea show a young band capable of anything

[@wolf1977]

To me those first two Yes albums are great (but yes - after the fact, not at the time when practically no one heard that stuff). Really a different band from the Howe lineup - I love Banks & Kaye together...For Procol Harum give me the s/t debut, or Broken Barricades, instead of Salty Dog...I posted it earlier - I think they just 'overreached' with this concept album. Also the comparisons of some of it to the Moodies - sure but that doesn't appeal to me too much as I can really only get into the MB heavier/rock stuff (with a few exceptions). And yeah Robin Gibb is credited with mellotron on Odessa

[@Alval2020]

If this album used Mellotron instead of Orchestra it would be more prog

[@wolf1977]

Robin Gibb is credited with mellotron on this one - not sure how much it was actually used. Robert Stigwood produced, that I think tends to keep it away from strict 'prog rock'

[@Alval2020]

@wolf1977 its Symphonic Rock also prog albums usually had virtuoso musicians.

[@wolf1977]

@@Alval2020 I actually like 'baroque/chamber/neo-classical pop' - I definitely wouldn't call this a prog album

[@wolf1977]

No it's not (to me anyway), the 7+ minute title track maybe comes closest (some label this as 'baroque/chamber/neo-classical pop'). And not just because I don't particularly like this album that much - just too laid back for me which would be OK if the melodies grabbed me more - but they don't. I hear almost all slow-tempo ballads & pop tunes that really aren't all that catchy to my ears (unlike their best pop tracks). For die-hard BG fans/lovers of this album there's a 3 disk Special Edition version of Odessa that also features the entire mono album as well as Demos/Alternate Mixes. This is one of those records that didn't make a huge impression at the time (other than charting pretty well) but over the years has been 'recast' as somewhat of a 60's 'masterpiece'. The original album title of 'An American Opera' kinda tells you what the band's idea was for the record's direction. IMO probably too lofty a goal for the band... While I'm not real big on the Bee Gees in general they did have some good tracks, 1968 for example was a good year for the band: "Harry Braff", "The Earnest Of Being George", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "To Love Somebody". Also 1974: "Bad Bad Dreams", "Run To Me", "Nights On Broadway", "Down the Road", "Jive Talkin'". But regardless I wouldn't label anything I've ever heard by the band as 'progressive rock', strictly speaking. Some alternatives that ARE prog & also from 1969? Again these are 'real' prog so not Odessa sound-alikes: Roger Bunn/Piece Of Mind The Eclectic Mouse/Everything I've Got Maxwells/Maxwell Street Plus/The Seven Deadly Sins Nite People/P.M. After All - s/t Aphrodite's Child/It's Five O' Clock Steamhammer/MKII & s/t Ars Nova/Fields Of People: The Recordings 1968-1969 Audience - s/t Circus - s/t Rare Bird - s/t Tasavallan Presidentti - s/t The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band/Were's My Daddy Pesky Gee/Exclamation Mark Skin Alley - s/t

[@GrantsRockWarehaus]

I think you've given us a great list of alternative prog records, thanks for that.