The Zombies: The Singles As & Bs 2002

 

Aside from the Beatles and perhaps the Beach Boys, no mid-'60s rock group wrote melodies as gorgeous as those of the Zombies. Dominated by Colin Blunstone's breathy vocals, choral backup

harmonies, and Rod Argent's shining jazz- and classical-influenced organ and piano, the band sounded utterly unique for its era. Three members of the band, Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy, first came together to jam in 1961 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Argent wanted to form a band and initially asked his elder cousin Jim Rodford to join as a bassist. Rodford was in a successful local band, the Bluetones, at the time and so declined, but he offered to help Argent.
                  

Colin Blunstone and Paul Arnold joined the other three to form the band in 1961, while all five

members were at school. Some sources state that Argent, Atkinson, and Grundy were at St Albans School, while Blunstone and Arnold were students at St Albans Boys' Grammar School.  They held their original rehearsals at the Pioneer Club, then situated on Hatfield Road, using equipment lent to them by the Bluetones. They met outside the Blacksmiths Arms pub in St Albans before their first rehearsal and gained their initial reputation playing the Old Verulamians Rugby Club there.
                

Originally named the "Mustangs", the band soon realised that there were other groups with that

name. According to Blunstone, "Every young band wants an original name. We were just in our teens. We tried the Mustangs. To be honest, I didn’t really know what a zombie was". "It was Arnold who came up with "the Zombies". Arnold lost interest in the band, choosing to leave to become a physician; he was replaced by Chris White.
                  

            
They participated and won a beat-group competition and were signed with Decca. This was when they recorded their first hit song, “She’s Not There”, released in the middle of 1964 and reached number 12

in the UK chart, but it became number 2 in the United States. The song sold over one million copies! After their hit single, they started touring in the United States, where they had days playing seven performances. In their first in-person TV appearance in the US, they were cheered by screaming teenage girl fans in the audience, where they performed “She’s Not There” and their newer song “Tell Her No”. It is unknown why their music was not so well received in the UK at the time as it did in the US.
         

They had more songs released and were met with great success in Scandinavia and the Philippines too. This led to many concerts in 1967. Their first UK album was called Begin Here and was released in

1965. The band continued recording songs throughout 1965 and 1966, but most of them were not released at the time due to lack of chart success.  In 1967 The Zombies were unhappy with the lack of success and moved from Decca to sign with CBS Records. Their album Odessey and Oracle was recorded at EMI’s world-famous Abbey Road studios. The released singles were not received in the desired way, and their gig requests were declining, leading to the break-up of the band in the middle of December 1967.
                

Dominated by Colin Blunstone's breathy vocals, choral backup harmonies, and Rod Argent's shining jazz- and classical-influenced organ and piano, the band sounded utterly unique for its era. Perhaps too

unique to find mass mainstream success, though they scored several big hits with 1964's "She's Not There," 1965's "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season," a song that took off a year after the group disbanded in 1968. As time went on, the Zombies proved to be lastingly influential and moving, with more new listeners regularly discovering the Baroque charms of albums like 1968's Odessey and Oracle.
                    

There were multiple short-lived reunions in the '80s and '90s, and by 2004, the Zombies reunited for a

second act. From there they slowly trickled out new albums like 2011's Breathe Out, Breathe In and 2023's harder-edged Different Game, their first new tunes since a 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
            

THE SINGLES As & Bs

                     

            
This double album provides just about all the sterling Zombies music you could ever want. This CD  is

absolutely brilliant. Each and every song is highly creative, new and exciting. Small wonder that the Zombies were not a commercial success, and that they lasted but a few years as a band. It was just too much for the public at that time. I now believe, as others stated, that The Zombies could in fact, be better musically than the Beatles, or other bands of the British Invasion.
               

 
The vocals, tricky time signatures, fascinating organ, and everything else, makes this a virtual music

paradise. The name, The Zombies, does not seem to be a good choice, and the earlier appearance of the guys, was in fact, somewhat square. But this CD is a gem, from beginning to end.  If there was any way to revive this, and other styles of that era, as today's sounds, that would be a breath of fresh air, to be sure.
               

The Zombies – The Singles As & Bs
Label: Repertoire Records – REP 4985
Format: 2 x CD, Compilation, Stereo, Mono, Digipak
Country: Germany
Released: 2002
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Pop  Rock, Psychedelic Rock
        

 

 

CD 1.

 

               
01. She's Not There    2:23
02. You Make Me Feel Good    2:37
03. Leave Me Be    2:06
04. Woman    2:24
05. Tell Her No    2:05
06. What More Can I Do    1:36
07. She's Coming Home    2:35
08. I Must Move    1:54
09. I Want You Back Again    2:12
10. I Remember When I Loved Her    1:58
11. Whenever You're Ready    2:40
12. I Love You    3:20
13. Is This The Dream    2:42
14. Don't Go Away    2:31
15. Remember You    1:57
16. Just Out Of Reach    2:07
17. Indication    2:58
18. How We Were Before    2:03
19. Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself    2:26
20. The Way I Feel Inside    1:47
21. Goin' Out Of My Head    3:00
22. She Does Everything For Me    2:15

CD 2.

                

01. Friends Of Mine    2:16
02. Beechwood Park    2:42
03. This Will Be Our Year    2:06
04. Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)    2:44
05. Care Of Cell 44    3:52
06. Maybe After He's Gone    2:31
07. Time Of The Season    3:30
08. I'll Call You Mine    2:32
09. Imagine The Swan    3:09
10. Conversation Off Floral Street    2:39
11. If It Don't Work Out    2:25
12. I Know She Will    2:32
13. Don't Cry For Me    2:13
14. I'll Call You Mine (Overdubbed Version)    2:35
15. Kind Of Girl    2:08
16. Sometimes    2:02
17. It's Alright With Me    1:49
18. Summertime    2:14
19. Nothing's Changed    2:29
20. Remember You (Soundtrack Version)    2:08
              

Total Size: 585 MB
Flac CD 1.
Flac CD 2.