Editing Odessey and Oracle (section)

==Recording and production==

''Odessey and Oracle'' was recorded after the Zombies signed a recording contract with the UK [[Columbia Records|CBS]] label. They began work on the album in June 1967. Nine of the twelve songs were recorded at EMI Studios (now [[Abbey Road Studios]]), in Studio 3, where [[Pink Floyd]] had just finished recording their debut LP, ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]''.<ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pink_Floyd_s_The_Piper_at_the_Gates_of_D/xKXeoxThy9gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=studio</ref><ref>https://vintageking.com/blog/zombies-odessey-oracle/?srsltid=AfmBOoqFJu9Alsrh3a3lSdi0tNT9Mw3IRCUW4buoHrWpFwopIaAWmlqI</ref> "Friends of Mine" was recorded on 1 June, "A Rose for Emily" was started on 1 June and completed on 10 July (take 5 reduction of take 3), "This Will Be Our Year" was recorded on 2 June (take 4) and 15 August (horn overdub), "Hung Up on a Dream" was recorded on 10–11 July (take 7 reduction of take 3), and "[[Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)]]" was recorded on 20 July (take 1). The EMI sessions used the same [[Studer]] four track machine used on ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Kevin |last1=Ryan |first2=Brian |last2=Kehew |title=[[Recording The Beatles]] |year=2006 |publisher=Curvebender |isbn=0-9785200-0-9}}</ref>

In late July, when EMI was unavailable, the Zombies temporarily shifted base to Olympic Studios where they recorded "Beechwood Park", "Maybe After He's Gone" and "I Want Her, She Wants Me". They returned to EMI in mid-August to record "[[Care of Cell 44]]" (take 5 reduction of take 4) and "Brief Candles" (take 10 reduction of take 9) on 16–17 August and "[[Time of the Season]]" (14 September, take 1). The sessions ended in November and the final track to be recorded was "Changes" (take 5) on 7 November 1967.<ref>Zombie Heaven booklet pages 35-36, 49-52, released on Big Beat in 1997</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yTCSX933VcC&pg=PA174 |title=The Zombies: hung up on a dream : a biography 1962–1967 |page=174 |first=Claes |last=Johansen |publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd |date=1 September 2001 |isbn=9780946719341 |access-date=28 March 2012}}</ref>

Because the album was recorded to a deadline and tight budget, the Zombies worked quickly in the studio, having rehearsed rigorously beforehand. This meant that there would be no outtakes or unused songs recorded during the sessions. Cello and [[Mellotron]] parts were added to "A Rose for Emily" but left out at the final mixing stage.

[[Colin Blunstone]] and [[Paul Atkinson (guitarist)|Paul Atkinson]] felt disillusioned and tempers flared during the recording of "Time of the Season". Blunstone was not at all keen on the song. When writer [[Rod Argent]] insisted that he sing it a certain way, Blunstone's patience snapped and he effectively told Argent to sing it himself.<ref name="Yesteryear">{{cite web |url=http://centraltrack.com/Music/3465/Back-From-The-Dead/The-Legendary-Zombies-Tell-Us-Why-They-Broke-Up-Before-Their-Biggest-Singles-Were-Ever-Released |title=Back From the Dead |first=Central |last=Track |date=12 March 2013 |access-date=13 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524023509/http://centraltrack.com/Music/3465/Back-From-The-Dead/The-Legendary-Zombies-Tell-Us-Why-They-Broke-Up-Before-Their-Biggest-Singles-Were-Ever-Released |archive-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Blunstone finally sang the vocal as required.

Argent and [[Chris White (musician)|Chris White]] mixed the album down into mono, but when they delivered the master to CBS, they were informed that a stereo mix was required. The recording budget having been spent, Argent and White used their own money to pay for the stereo mix. One major problem arose when it came time to mix "This Will Be Our Year" into stereo. Record producer Ken Jones had dubbed live horn parts directly onto the mono mix. With the horns not having been recorded on the multi-track beforehand, a "re-channeled" stereo mix had to be made of the mono master of this track. The stereo album mix was completed on 1 January 1968.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

Morale within the band was at a low point at the end of the recording. Two singles, "[[Care of Cell 44]]" and "Friends of Mine", had been unsuccessful, and the band had a declining demand for live appearances, so after a final gig in mid-December 1967, the band split up.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yTCSX933VcC&pg=PA201 |page=201 |title=The Zombies: hung up on a dream : a biography 1962–1967 |first=Claes |last=Johansen |publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd |date=1 September 2001 |isbn=9780946719341 |access-date=28 March 2012}}</ref>