Albums similar to the middle era Beatles, Pet Sounds and/or Odessey & Oracle

The Buckinghams
Portraits (1968) Genre : Sunshine Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Baroque Pop

If everyone on the northwest side of Chicago who claims to have hung out with the Buckinghams during their heyday had faithfully bought all their releases, the rock group might have sold more records than the Beatles. Popular attractions while still in high school, the quintet changed its name from the Pulsations to the Buckinghams to reflect the British Invasion craze and signed with Chicago's USA Records in 1966. Backing Dennis Tufano's buoyant lead vocals with prominent harmonies and punchy soul-styled brass, the group came across the wistful "Kind of a Drag," and in short order, the Buckinghams had a million-selling pop chart-topper on their hands. They quickly graduated to recording for Columbia. As long as songwriter Jim Holvay supplied more material of the same high quality as "Kind of a Drag," the Buckinghams were sitting pretty. Holvay cowrote "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and the pseudo-psychedelic "Susan," and they all proved to be major hits for the band. The group's R&B roots surfaced on a vocal adaptation of Cannonball Adderley's jazz standard "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," their second-biggest hit. But the Buckinghams' fortunes soon changed drastically -- one of the top-selling rock groups of 1967, they managed only one hit after early 1968, and by 1970 the group was kaput. Two original members, guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna, have since revived the Buckinghams for oldies tours. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

"So if 'Time & Charges' wasn't enough to prove that The Buckinghams were for real, they came up with this, the finest pop-rock '60s album of all time (in my humble opinion, that is). If I had to go to a desert island for the rest of my life, this is the first album I would grab. Perfection from first to last track."-

The Left Banke
Walk Away Renée / Pretty Ballerina Released February 1967

This New York group pioneered "Baroque'n'Roll" in the '60s with their mix of pop/rock and grand, quasi-classical arrangements and melodies. Featuring teenage prodigy Michael Brown as keyboardist and chief songwriter, the group scored two quick hits with "Walk Away Renee" (number five) and "Pretty Ballerina (number 15). Chamber-like string arrangements, Steve Martin's soaring, near-falsetto lead vocals, and tight harmonies that borrowed from British Invasion bands like the Beatles and the Zombies were also key elements of the Left Banke sound. Though their two hits are their only well-remembered efforts, their debut album (Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina) was a strong, near-classic work that matched the quality of their hit singles in songwriting and production. - Richie Unterberger, AllMusicGuide

The Smoke
The Smoke (1968)

AMG review :

"Copies of Smoke's self-titled album are highly valued by collectors of West Coast soft rock and psychedelic music. The album certainly deserves its reputation as one of the masterpieces of 1968. It opens with the organ-driven "Cowboys and Indians," which was producer/songwriter Michael Lloyd's personal homage to Brian Wilson's "Heroes and Villains" and lyrically makes mention of war (obviously the Vietnam war was very much on everyone's minds at the time). Lloyd had met Wilson after Beach Boy Bruce Johnston invited him to the recording sessions for "Good Vibrations." In addition to Beach Boys-style production values, there are also references to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band throughout. The chorus to "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" is even quoted in the fade to Lloyd's "Fogbound." Other references pop up in the warm "Gold Is the Colour of Thought," which features an amazing arrangement encompassing Sgt. Pepper's-esque bursts of trumpet, strings, harpsichord, and sweet harmonies. The harpsichord-driven "October Country," a song previously recorded by the Lloyd-produced group of the same name earlier that year, reappears here with Lloyd handling the vocal lead chores this time, wrapped around bright strings. The album is dedicated to Stuart Sutcliffe. Fans of post-Pet Sounds West Coast psych-pop or Curt Boettcher-produced groups (the Millennium, Sagittarius) will love this album, which is not available on compact disc."