Well, I benefited from a friend offering me a free ticket to see The Zombies at a tiny theater near me. How could I say no? I love their 3 hits (Tell Her No, She's Not There, and Time of the Season) and had always heard that the "Odessey and Oracle" album was something special. A tiny venue with great sound, not far from home, with some decent craft beer: I'm in.
Well, it exceeded my expectations. First set was greatest hits, including 2 cool covers (I'm a Roadrunner and You Really Got a Hold on Me), some relatively new stuff, plus Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" (Rod Argent is the Zombies' keyboard player), which was epic and got perhaps the most applause of the whole first set. Argent really is a terrific keyboard player. In the first set, it was the current line-up playing - singer Colin Blunstone plus Argent, and then a guitarist Tom Toomey who replaced the original player (who passed in 2004), plus a newer drummer and a bassist who apparently was with the Kinks for a lengthy stretch. Great stuff. Very intelligent pop, well crafted. Colin Blunstone REALLY can sing like a dream.
Set Two was the Odessey and Oracle album start to finish with the band's original bassist and drummer playing, plus a new guy adding Mellotron sounds (on a new keyboard) and back-up singers to fill the sound. This was what most people had come for. It was my first time through the album, and I was knocked out. What beautiful music. To my ears, I found elements of Queen, Beatles, Procol Harum, Beach Boys - again, the idea of really well crafted progressions, thoughtful vocal harmonies, guitar parts that were mini compositions - all with a great sense of joy. Cool vintage 1960s animation on the screen behind also!
I could rave on but I won't right now. If you like this band or this album, you should certainly see it. My pals, who had sworn by the album for years, were very satisfied.
Fun side note: I was wearing a Tommy Bolin t-shirt and got a compliment from a guy who frequents this board! I'm brain dead, so I'm terrible with names. Mike Wilson? I hope? I'm sorry if I got it wrong. Anyway, wonderful guy to talk music with. This board sure does good things. I was struck by that when it was down earlier this week. This is a great place to talk about and read about music, better than most places I've found on the net.
Here is a nice taste of what we saw & heard - Care of Cell 44:
Love The Zombies both old and new. I've seen the current lineup twice and they could play rings round most so called serious musicians
The DVD called Odessey and Oracle Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire is a great movie and the last two albums Breathe In Breathe Out and Still Got that Hunger are both excellent and aforementioned Odessey and Oracle is easily one of the best albums of the sixties and a match for that Beatles album everyone around here is talking about
I saw the Toronto show. Great show. If you get a chance to see it, don't hesitate. Colin Blunstone's voice is still great and so is the rest of the band. "New" bass player is Jim Rodford, who had played with Rod Argent since Argent and then had a long stint with the Kinks. The drummer is his son Steve. Additional keyboard player for Odessey and Oracle portion is Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints and Brian Wilson's band and the Beach Boys. He also did the 40th anniversary shows.
Odyssey and Oracle is a magic record, sounds new and different every time! I didn't know Rod Argent was a Zombie, once you mentioned it I recognized the sound. Damn, just missed them a couple weeks ago in the Pacific Northwest. Ouch.
Jim, yes, you got my name right! Great to meet you after appreciating your passionate and insightful posts on this board for many years. That Zombies show was special and your review nailed it. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a treasure, our own little local Beacon Theatre. It was fun to talk Tommy Bolin, the Les Brers show with you and all the great music that has come through this town. Derek and Susan, separately and together many times, Gregg, Dickey every year when he still toured, Dweezil Zappa, Lucinda, Peter Wolf, Pat Metheny and so many more! Hope to see you again at future Playhouse shows! Mike Wilson
