THE BEE GEES-ODESSA-POLYDOR DOUBLE LP 1969-FELT SLEEVE

	£		32
	$		42

THE BEE GEES-ODESSA TYPE DOUBLE LP -MONO LABEL/PRESSING INFO

POLYDOR

CATALOGUE NUMBER 582049 YEAR OF RELEASE 1969 COUNTRY OF RELEASE UK SLEEVE TYPE GATEFOLD-E.J. DAY -RED FELT COVERED WITH GOLD EMBOSSED CHARACTERS AND LOGO INSERTS/EXTRAS NONE   GRADING DISC(s) EXCELLENT+ ( NICE CLEAN DISCS with just VERY LIGHT playwear and VERY LIGHT surface handling marks) LABELS

EXCELLENT+(COMPLETELY unmarked with no writing stickers rips tears or scuffs and very light spindleusage)

SLEEVE

EXCELLENT (NICE CLEAN SLEEVE with well preserved felt covering that still has all of its "pile" and just a light bit of rubbingwear,it has however a neat repair to a rip on the front.)

INNERS/EXTRAS

N/A

 

  DETAILS

The group members may disagree for personal reasons, but Odessa is easily the best and most enduring of the Bee Gees' albums of the 1960s. It was also their most improbable success, owing to the conflicts behind its making.

The record started out as a concept album, to be called "Masterpeace" and then "The American Opera," but musical differences between Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb that would split the trio in two also forced the abandonment of the underlying concept. Instead, it became a double LP -- largely at the behest of their manager and the record labels; oddly enough, given that the group didn't plan on doing something that ambitious, Odessa is one of perhaps three double albums of the entire decade (the others being Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles) that don't seem stretched, and it also served as the group's most densely orchestrated album.

Yet, amid the progressive rock sounds of the title track and ethereal ballads such as "Melody Fair" and "Lamplight" were country-flavored tunes like "Marlery Purt Drive" and the vaguely Dylanesque bluegrass number "Give Your Best," delicate pop ballads like "First of May" (which became the single off the album), and strange, offbeat rock numbers like "Edison" (whose introduction sounds like the Bee Gees parodying Cream's "White Room") and "Whisper Whisper" (the latter featuring a drum break, no less), interspersed with three heavily orchestrated instrumentals.

Even the seeming "lesser" numbers such as "Suddenly" had catchy hooks and engaging acoustic guitar parts to carry them, all reminiscent of the Moody Blues' album cuts of the same era. Moreover, the title track, with its mix of acoustic guitar, solo cello, and full orchestra, was worthy of the Moody Blues at their boldest. The myriad sounds and textures made Odessa the most complex and challenging album in the group's history, and if one accepts the notion of the Bee Gees as successors to the Beatles, then Odessa was arguably their Sgt. Pepper album.

The album was originally packaged in a red felt cover with gold lettering on front and back and an elaborate background painting for the gatefold interior, which made it a conversation piece just to look at.

  GRADING SPECIFICS All of my records are subject to close scrutiny before listing, and to ensure that I am accurate with my interpretation is carefully examined under a strong viewing light and played on a high end deck - I will never list a record that jumps,sticks,or is subject to so much background noise that the listening pleasure is radically impaired. I use the grading denominations as laid down in the Rare Record Collectors Guide,but with my own revisions as laid out below.

PLAYING SURFACE

MINT The record itself is obvious by its look and feel that it has never been removed from its inner sleeve,and typified by the very action of removal from a lined sleeve,where it has a very light friction against the poly,and a sheen across the playing surface that hasn't been dulled by the passage of a stylus,and requires no effort to remove any traces of foreign matter in the grooves,other than a cursory wipe with a soft cloth,and with a sound reproduction that you would expect from a piece of unplayed vinyl. MINT- Again a record that has been bought and stored away,but has been removed from its sleeves,either by the owner or more often some clumsy potential second user,and has some,but not many hairline marks across the playing surface due to the action of removal and insertion,these would not be noticeable unless viewed by rotation under a viewing lamp,and definitely have no effect on the reproductive quality. EXCELLENT++ A record that has endured only the lightest of playtime,say maybe only once or twice,and is perhaps only distinguishable by a spindlemark on the label or the presence of minimal hairline playmarks. EXCELLENT+ The majority of records that we sell fall into this category-the RRC defines EXCELLENT as:"The record shows some signs of having been played,but there is very little lessening in sound quality", but to take this a step further,there are a multitude of records that are far better than this and deserve a higher status. These are the records that you would feel more than comfortable in receiving,they have very light playwear and no abuse marks such as needle skating,edge scuffing,or feelable scratches,and the audio quality will be as such that any previous play will be completely inaudible. EXCELLENT As defined above-these are records that "show some signs" of being played,and by some signs we interpret ,lightish hairline markings (papercuts)that are the result of multiple removals from the sleeve,occasional visual playmarks and very light scuffing that cant be heard during playtime,and the record has the overall feel of one that has been popular but cared for. VERY GOOD/VERY GOOD+/VERY GOOD++/VERY GOOD+++ The definition of VG is of record that has been played many times but shows no "major deterioration" despite "noticeable" surface marks and scratches.We don't care for this sort of product and don't stock them,and are of the opinion that it doesn't really matter how many +++'s you suffix the grading with its still a VG (very good) LABELS MINT We are great believers in the fact that labels will tell you more about the life of a record than anything else,apart from playing it of course,the number and voracity of spindlemarks,the usage wear around the hole any tears stickers writing,attempts to remove or fill in blemishes all point to the previous care of the record itself,and we always detail pictorially and grade them accordingly .A MINT label is just that a perfectly clean and free from any signs that the disc has ever been near a turntable,and only used in conjunction with MINT or NEAR MINT vinyl gradings. MINT- Both labels are perfectly clean but there will be a hint of spindlemarking ,say one or two dectectable mark on 1 label EXCELLENT+ Again perfectly clean but with very light but noticeable spindlemarks that are the result of light but inaccurate placement on the turntable. EXCELLENT In keeping with grading system as a whole an EXCELLENT label grading is given to a record with clean and unmarked labels that have born the brunt of moderate play but have suffered in as much that the "player" has neglected to line the record accurately which has resulted in noticeable spindlemarkings, with the occasional wayward or spidery effect,dark rooms and alcohol can exacerbate this. EXCELLENT- Any label that has "neat" user embellishment -a small biro name ,initials or an unobtrusive sticker,obviously we will show this pictorially. VERY GOOD/+ it is rare that we offer for sale any record where the labels have been so defaced that cosmetically the record is unpleasing to the eye,this means major tearing due to amateur sticker removal,large scale writing, using felt tip pens or the like,this can apply to any grading of vinyl! -in a nutshell if we feel that it is ugly then we don't buy it. SLEEVE MINT A MINT sleeve is something that we do not believe in,you wouldn't even get one straight from the shop,they have always picked up even the slightest of knocks to the corners or a hint of a crease here or there,so you will never see a mint grading for one of our sleeves.   MINT- These are a reality ,but only very occasionally,and only where the initial purchaser has had so much pride in their collection that it has immediately been stored in a poly outer sleeve,and kept upright in an environment that has allowed to remain free from crushing,and external forces,sleeves of this calibre are perfectly clean with uncrushed spines no creasing and no wear to any edges,and not not even a hint of ringwear.   EXCELLENT++ A high quality of storage ,again in a protective sleeve,with no visible defects,but perhaps a very light wear to the opening or corner buffing,or a hint of ringwear etc,an exceptional sleeve but not quite NM   EXCELLENT+ Again as with vinyl grading,the majority of our sales fall into this category.Its clean and unmarked with no user markings,straight edges,there is light wear to the opening and only very light or no ringwear.   EXCELLENT A perfectly serviceable and clean ,but with a noticeable defect,such as excessive colour loss to the top or bottom edge due to storage and handling movement,some occasional light markings on the boards,lightish rigwear,or a very light sticker removal mark.   EXCELLENT- A sleeve that whilst being of good quality is marred by some significant event- biro name ,sticker markings,less than perfect edges or spine,and just a general sadness and careworn demeanour.As always we show multiple pictures,and will always note major defects in the grading section above.   VERY GOOD/ETC There are occasions where we feel that record is of sufficiently high quality or scarcity that it is of interest even with major defects,board tearing,significant writing and or a grubby disposition,on the occasions we do list with a low grading and display the faults.   INSERTS/EXTRAS The problem with a major part of lyric/picture inners is that are made of such light paper that they split very easily and are effectively rendered useless.We try very hard to limit this and do not normally stock any records with split,excessively creased or damaged inner sleeves or inserts.The exception that we make are to small worn portions which we will either repair or reinforce with a neat taped repair.Any defects that are not visible in our pictures will be noted in the grading above. Postal Shipping & Handling charges Region Single Item Extra UK £3.00 £.70 Europe £5.00 £1.50 USA £7.00 £2.00 Japan/ROW £7.00 £2.00   Terms and Conditions Guarantee I like to believe that I have an inkling about these things and accurately describe the item I am selling,but I along with everyone else am only human,and there might be an occasion where my assessment differs from yours,in this instance please contact me,and I will without question accept your criticism and arrange a full refund + your return costs if we need to go down that route. Communication and Feedback I have always been a great believer that feedback is a mutual thing between parties,and should be recognised upon the satisfactory completion of a sale .I know that these days it really matter when it is left as there is no recriminatory comments allowable for a buyer no matter how despicable they behave,but non the less I still prefer to leave feedback once I know that the buyer has received and is happy with the item,and have set my feedback profile to automatically reply to feedback given -So you will get your feedback minutes after you send yours,alternately I could do it manually and with my memory you could be waiting a loooong time. Payment We accept the following payment types - UK Customers - Paypal Cheque or Postal Order. Overseas Customers - Paypal Only