The Zombies are often remembered almost exclusively as a British Invasion 1960s pop group, best known for such delightful hits as “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time of the Season.” The group’s full career, however, reveals a much more varied and fascinating story.
For starters, “Time of the Season” was from what would turn out to be a highly influential album, Odessey and Oracle, released in 1968. The album was to be the group’s swansong, and on initial release, while garnering some good press, it didn’t really catch on. It took a while for “Time of the Season” to finally become a hit, and the album has gone on to become one of the cult ’60s masterpieces whose stature has only grown over the years.
After The Zombies broke up, the group’s lead singer, Colin Blunstone, released some fine solo albums, and keyboardist Rod Argent had success with his band Argent, whose music received considerable FM airplay during their heyday. In the late 1970s, the group Santana scored big with a cover of “She’s Not There,” turning the catchy pop tune into a sizzling rocker. Finally, in 1989, various members of the group reformed in different iterations, leading to a full-fledged reunion that tentatively kicked off in the early 1990s and became even more regular in 2004, with continued touring and their first fully realized new albums since the 1960s.
While the group has now wound down due to Rod Argent’s inability to tour, they have, through their Beachwood Park Records, been involved in an ambitious and successful series of reissues of their albums. The latest reissue, Begin Here, like all the rest so far, is an excellent release. While there have been reissues of their 1964 debut album before, this new one is presented in glorious mono.
While the UK version of this album did not include two of the group’s biggest ’60s hits, “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No,” it did include plenty of other good music. There are many covers of American R&B and Blues, and even a cover of Gershwin’s “Summertime.” Still, it’s the songs written by the members of The Zombies that work best and showcase the group’s unique songwriting approach, which greatly contributed to their sound. Of the 17 tracks on this reissue, there are seven songs written by Rod Argent and three written by bassist Chris White.
While most of the early British Invasion groups were strictly guitar-based, The Zombies were among the first to feature keyboards, which gave their sound a jazzier swing. Manfred Mann also had a jazzy keyboard side, The Animals were more bluesy, with the Dave Clark Five almost exclusively using keyboards to pump up the rock power. Later on, the Small Faces and the Spencer Davis Group would also make keyboards an integral part of their sound.
Recorded at Decca in London with future Elton John producer Gus Dudgeon manning the controls, the album was recorded in three days. Released in April of 1964 in the UK, oddly enough, a version with a slightly altered track list had already been released in the States in February of that year, entitled The Zombies.
This reissue features the UK track listing plus three tracks not on the original release, which were included on the original US edition. This reissue faithfully reproduces the original album jacket, and an insert includes the original album notes, new credits, and a period photo. The back of the album jacket features new liner notes by David Fricke. The vinyl album comes in a poly-lined sleeve.
The surviving members of The Zombies are doing an excellent job overseeing the curating of their catalog through an ambitious and successful reissue program, with this release being one of the best.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
