The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle 1968

Odessey and Oracle was one of the flukiest (and best) albums of the 1960s, and one of the most enduring long players to come out of the entire British psychedelic boom, mixing trippy melodies, ornate choruses, and lush Mellotron sounds with a solid hard rock base. But it was overlooked completely in England and barely got out in America (with a big push by Al Kooper, who was then a Columbia Records producer); and it was neglected in the U.S. until the single "Time of the Season," culled from the album, topped the charts nearly two years after it was recorded, by which time the group was long disbanded. Ironically, at the time of its recording in the summer of 1967, permanency was not much on the minds of the bandmembers. Odessey and Oracle was intended as a final statement, a bold last hurrah, having worked hard for three years only to see the quality of their gigs decline as the hits stopped coming. The results are consistently pleasing, surprising, and challenging: "Hung Up on a Dream" and "Changes" are some of the most powerful psychedelic pop/rock ever heard out of England, with a solid rhythm section, a hot Mellotron sound, and chiming, hard guitar, as well as highly melodic piano. "Changes" also benefits from radiant singing. "This Will Be Our Year" makes use of trumpets (one of the very few instances of real overdubbing) in a manner reminiscent of "Penny Lane"; and then there's "Time of the Season," the most well-known song in their output and a white soul classic. Not all of the album is that inspired, but it's all consistently interesting and very good listening, and superior to most other psychedelic albums this side of the Beatles' best and Pink Floyd's early work. Indeed, the only complaint one might have about the original LP is its relatively short running time, barely over 30 minutes, but even that's refreshing in an era where most musicians took their time making their point. AMG.

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The Zombies - Begin Here 1965

The Zombies were one of the best and most original pop groups to rise from the British Beat scene of the early to mid-'60s, with striking harmonies, gorgeous melodies, a gifted and nuanced lead singer in Colin Blunstone, and a keyboard player, Rod Argent, who was just as comfortable with jazz and blues as he was with rock, and not afraid to blend his influences in the course of a song. Given all this, the Zombies' first album, 1965's Begin Here, is a bit of a disappointment; while it's an inarguably fine set of songs, half of the tunes are covers, mostly of R&B standards, and while the band plays them with genuine passion and impressive skill, the truth is there were plenty of bands on the U.K. Beat scene who could play "I Got My Mojo Working," "Road Runner," or "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" at least as well if not better. It's on the originals, written by Argent and guitarist Chris White, where one hears what really made the Zombies special. "She's Not There" was an international hit, and the slightly ominous rumble of Argent's electric piano, the emphatic lead vocal from Blunstone, and the melodic lift of the harmonies give it a sound not quite like anyone else around at the time, while "I Can't Make Up My Mind" and "I Don't Want to Know" are similarly well-crafted and thoughtful. "Woman" and "What More Can I Do" are hard-driving R&B numbers that allow the group's individual personality to shine through (especially in Argent and White's forceful instrumental work), and "I Remember When I Loved Her" is a moody and atmospheric piece that anticipates the tone of the group's masterful final album Odessey and Oracle. Given the wealth of fine original tunes that the Zombies released on various non-LP singles and EPs during this period, it's a shame that so much of Begin Here was given over to covers; it's still a fine album and certainly better than what most of their peers had to offer in 1965, but what could have been achieved on a par with the Kinks' Face to Face or the Beatles' Rubber Soul ended up being something quite good instead of an unqualified triumph. AMG,

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The Zombies - Begin Here 1965

The Zombies were one of the best and most original pop groups to rise from the British Beat scene of the early to mid-'60s, with striking harmonies, gorgeous melodies, a gifted and nuanced lead singer inColin Blunstone, and a keyboard player, Rod Argent, who was just as comfortable with jazz and blues as he was with rock, and not afraid to blend his influences in the course of a song. Given all this, The Zombies' first album, 1965's Begin Here, is a bit of a disappointment; while it's an inarguably fine set of songs, half of the tunes are covers, mostly of R&B standards, and while the band plays them with genuine passion and impressive skill, the truth is there were plenty of bands on the U.K. Beat scene who could play "I Got My Mojo Working," "Road Runner," or "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" at least as well if not better. It's on the originals, written by Argent and guitarist Chris White, where one hears what really made The Zombies special. "She's Not There" was an international hit, and the slightly ominous rumble of Argent's electric piano, the emphatic lead vocal from Blunstone, and the melodic lift of the harmonies give it a sound not quite like anyone else around at the time, while "I Can't Make Up My Mind" and "I Don't Want to Know" are similarly well-crafted and thoughtful. "Woman" and "What More Can I Do" are hard-driving R&B numbers that allow the group's individual personality to shine through (especially in Argent and White's forceful instrumental work), and "I Remember When I Loved Her" is a moody and atmospheric piece that anticipates the tone of the group's masterful final albumOdessey and Oracle. Given the wealth of fine original tunes that The Zombies released on various non-LP singles and EPs during this period, it's a shame that so much of Begin Here was given over to covers; it's still a fine album and certainly better than what most of their peers had to offer in 1965, but what could have been an achievement on a par with the Kinks' Face to Face or the Beatles' Rubber Soul ended up being something quite good instead of an unqualified triumph. AMG.

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