Odessa is the sixth studio album by the Bee Gees, a double vinyl LP released in February 1969, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering.

An ambitious project, originally intended as a concept album on the loss of a fictional ship in 1899, it created tension and disagreements in the band regarding the work's direction; finally, a dispute over which song to release as a single led to Robin Gibb temporarily leaving the group.

37) and notable tracks such as "Lamplight", "Marley Purt Drive" and "Melody Fair", the latter of which features on the 1973 compilation Best of Bee Gees Vol.

The album was reissued as a single disc in September 1976 when interest was revived in the Bee Gees' career.

Their manager Robert Stigwood said, "Barry is the Bee Gees coordinator, I used the word advisedly, as there is no leader of the group as such.

He has a tremendous feel for soul music a la his composing work for The Marbles, but he is also a fantastic solo singer in his own right".

Therefore, about as soon as they returned to the studio, they were with Bill Shepherd arranging and conducting orchestral tracks to complete the album.

[2] Odessa was initially released on Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Atco Records in the United States in a red flocked cover with a gold lettering to the group's name and label symbol stamped in gold on the front and nothing but the flocking on the back.

[9] In July 1969, "Marley Purt Drive" was released as a single, backed with "Melody Fair" only in South Africa.

[16] The album was not well received by the public or the music press on release, and led to a decline in the band's fortunes.

[22][23] The album has since received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many reviewers as their most significant Sixties release, and has been re-released in a deluxe three CD set.

The third disc, entitled Sketches for Odessa featured demos of the songs plus a vocal take of "With All Nations (International Anthem)" and the previously unissued tracks "Nobody's Someone" and "Pity".

To date, Odessa was the last album to receive the deluxe remaster treatment with extensive sleeve notes, and the status of the re-release program is unknown.