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So am i really thinking about buying this album soon.  I've heard so much praise for it that i couldn't help but listen to some tunes on youtube. I was pretty blown away. Really beautiful melodies. I had such a reaction to the music that i would almost compare it to the first time i heard Pet Sounds. (almost).  How is this album not as well known as Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds? Any fans of this masterpiece out there?

I think it's great. I only heard of it through some covers: Of Montreal did "Friends of Mine" and Great Lakes did "This Will Be Our Year." Of course I know "Time of the Season," but actually never liked it much (still don't, in fact) and had no idea where it came from. But once I heard those other tunes and saw they were written by the Zombies, I looked them up and saw they were on the same album. Bought it and it became a real favorite for a while.

The Zombies are one of my favorites; I don't think you will be dissapointed if you dive into their history/catalog.  I think they were an immensely talented band that just got swamped/overshadowed/overlooked as just (unfairly) another "british invasion band." 

I love every track on Odessey and Oracle.    On youtube, there are clips of their past reunion gig with Darian on keyboards.   Just type in Zombies reunion...

My advice: get it, you'll love it. A masterpiece. Really.

One thing though: there's several different reissues of the album going around, one has the album in stereo and mono, then there's the inevitable "40th Anniversary Edition" (stereo & mono versions of the album plus a handful of extra tracks) but there also a version that has 16 extra tracks (mostly songs recorded shortly after the release of "Odessey & Oracle" and intended for the never-released follow-up "R.I.P.", on the Repertoire label, German import I think), and that's probably the best of the three.

I didn't know about that--that's interesting. I might have to keep my eyes open. Since I'm off to the record store ("record" store ... music store, I guess) Tuesday for POB, I'll see if they've got that one. Usually they're loaded with decent imports.

And, if you like O&O, try also the Left Banke collection "There's gonna Be A Storm", which, if you dump about half the tracks, will get you the equivalent of another O&O!

Lots of great baroque pop on there!

If anyone has further suggestions along these lines, please do tell...

Mid-to-late-'60s Walker Brothers/Scott Walker, Sagittarius, the first Bee Gees album, UK Nirvana and "King Midas in Reverse" by the Hollies.

Suggestion- spring for the Zombies' box set and get the whole enchilada on four discs.  Zero risk factor, I assure you. Their whole career is sprinkled with gems that you shouldn't live without. You can thank me in your memoirs.

Needless to add, (I hope), if we're talking about more suggestions, and the Left Banke is a very good one, make sure you have The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, which is usually listed alongside Pet Sounds and O & O.

The Who Sell Out is a must. A good collection of the Turtles is a must. The Bacharach box is a must.

And a great semi-hidden gem is the Guess Who's Canned Wheat.  Nothing but great gems on that album (and one long drum solo).  I wish I could post a few samples. Joe Bob sez check it out.

Here's all I could find on YouTube- the incredibly great original version of "No Time"- well worth the price of the album (eight bucks or so):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqeSUAlI5uI

LOVE Randy Bachman's sound...

...and a nice (anti-war) album cut called "Minstrel Boy", with shaky audio here, but you can get the idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bDQD8OFjgc

OK, so i finally got this album today....and it's brilliant! I went with the German import with the 16 bonus tracks. I can't believe i went this long without owning this album. The only song that doesn't completely do it for me is "i want her she wants me", but it's still a good tune.

You would probably enjoy the following:
The Rascals - Once Upon A Dream
Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
Great Speckled Bird - S/T
The Association - And then...along comes The Association
The Millennium - Begin
Margo Guryan - Take A Picture
Os Mutantes - S/T
The Moon - Without Earth & S/T
Harpers Bizarre - Secret Life Of... & 4
Harry Nilsson - The Point! & Schmilsson
..and if you like the over the top orchestrated British thing, these are definitely recommended:
Electric Light Orchestra - El Dorado
Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe
Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Pretty Things - SF Sorrow
Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy

....Who - Sell Out and Guess Who - Canned Wheat are also both top notch. Kinks - Village Green is great too, as is Arthur, or The Decline of the British Empire. But yeah, pretty random list, but those are all fairly rad psychedelic concept albums with cool vocal work and orchestration (and trippy sounds)

Cool, thanks for the advice.

O&O great album

May I recommend Genuine Imitation Life Gazette by The 4 seasons too.
It's been a while since I bigged it up on this board :-)