The Zombies have had one of the more unusual career arcs in popular music. The group formed in 1962, when the founding members were still in high school, and strolled onto the U.K. and U.S. pop charts as part of the British Invasion with the 1964 hit “She’s Not There.” They returned to the U.S. Top Ten the following year with “Tell Her No,” but subsequent singles had little success. After recording the Odessey and Oracle album in late 1967, the band broke up. To the group’s great surprise, “Time of the Season” became a major hit in 1969. In the early 1980s, Odessey and Oracle started receiving retroactive critical recognition and is now universally recognized as a classic album. After going on separate career paths in the 1970s and 1980s, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone have been working in a reformed version of the Zombies since 2001.
The current tour is both a celebration of the music of the Zombies and an overview of career legacies that includes songs by Argent, a solo Colin Blunstone European hit (“I Don’t Believe in Miracles”), and a track that Blunstone sang with the Alan Parsons Project (“Old and Wise”). Lead singer Blunstone has an odd wax museum type of quality to his appearance and speaks in a wonderfully understated British manner. Argent had dual roles, serving as band historian in song introductions and encouraging crowd participation throughout the night. It’s a sharp band. Longtime Lonnie Donegan and Kinks bassist Jim Rodford handled the diverse material with winning aplomb. Drummer Steve Rodford was powerful enough to drive the music, yet tasteful enough to never become the focal point. Guitarist Tom Toomey made the most of his spotlight opportunities on the acoustic guitar solo on “Any Other Way” and the classic rock, flick your bic fretwork on “Old and Wise.”
Blunstone and Argent really haven’t lost a step; Blunstone still sounds more like a rock star than a man pushing 70. Argent gave the original hits “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No” a jazzier feel with his signature keyboard style. There were plenty of pleasures in the nineteen-song set. The band opened with the melodic “I Love You,” which the band People! covered in 1968 for a Top 20 hit and segued into a swaying groove on the Solomon Burke cover “Can’t Nobody Love You.” The 2011 album title track “Breathe Out, Breathe In” was a modern take on sunshine pop and the elaborate intro to “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” reminded me of Queen. The only true misstep of the evening was a protracted version of Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up,” that was an uncharacteristically self-indulgent number for an otherwise very disciplined band. Argent actually included the chorus of (“I Wish I Was In) Dixie” into the elongated keyboard solo.
The highlight of the evening was a marvelous five-song set from the Odessey and Oracle album. The band started with a beautiful rendition of the heartbreaking baroque pop song “A Rose for Emily,” then followed that with the jaunty, Beach Boys inspired “Care of Cell 44.” The buoyantly optimistic “This Will Be Our Year,” which Argent noted is often used as a wedding song, preceded the Beatles inspired “I Want Her, She Wants Me.” The mini-set ended with the standing ovation generating “Time of the Season.” Those five songs were an expert display of pop craftsmanship – sharp key changes, knowing how to use space within a song, and carefully constructed harmonies. This was a band not simply celebrating their legacy, but also displaying their continued command of the form.
Simply put, over fifty years into their career, the Zombies are pop music legends and on this evening, they confidently affirmed their legendary status. It was a night that I will fondly remember for a long, long time.
Grade – A-
Setlist:
I Love You
Can’t Nobody Love You (Solomon Burke cover)
Breathe Out, Breathe In
I Want You Back Again
She’s Coming Home
I Don’t Believe in Miracles (Colin Blunstone solo)
Show Me the Way
Any Other Way
A Rose for Emily
Care of Cell 44
This Will Be Our Year
I Want Her, She Wants Me
Time of the Season
Tell Her No
You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
Old and Wise (Alan Parsons Project)
Hold Your Head Up (Argent)
She’s Not There
God Gave Rock and Roll to You (Argent)
