Zombies - Begin Here (Great Psychedelic Pop 1965)

The Zombies, formed in 1961 in St Albans, were an English rock band. Led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season." Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, comprising twelve songs by the group's principal songwriters, Argent and Chris White, is now considered one of the best of its time and is ranked 80 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The group formed in 1961 in St Albans, England, and gained their initial reputation playing the Old Verulamians Rugby Club in that town. The group was formed whilst the members were at school. Some sources state that Argent, Atkinson and Grundy were at St Albans School, while Blunstone and White were students at St Albans Boys' Grammar School (since renamed Verulam School).[2][3] Other sources claim they were all at St Albans Boys' Grammar School;[4] however, this is not correct. After winning a beat-group competition sponsored by the London Evening News, the Zombies signed to Decca and recorded their first hit, "She's Not There" (Argent's second song, written specifically for this session), which was released in mid-1964 and peaked at number 12 in the UK, where it was their only UK Top 40 hit. This minor-key, jazz-tinged number, distinguished by its musicianship and Blunstone's breathy vocal, was unlike anything previously heard in British rock and would become a bona fide classic. It was first aired in the United States in early August 1964 on New York City rock station WINS by Stan Z. Burns, who debuted the song on his daily noontime "Hot Spot" segment during which new songs were played. The tune began to catch on in early fall and eventually climbed to #2.

Like many other British Invasion groups, the Zombies were sent to America to tour behind their new hit single. One of their most memorable early U.S. gigs were Murray the K's Christmas shows at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre, where the band played seven performances a day. Hugh Grundy later recalled also contributing to the sets by the Shangri-Las...not as a musician, but by revving a motorcycle brought backstage as a sound effect for their performance of "Leader of the Pack".

In early 1965, Rod Argent's "Tell Her No" became another big seller in the United States (where it was a hit a second time, in 1983 for American pop vocalist Juice Newton), but had failed to make the Top 40 in the band's native UK. Although subsequent recordings such as "I Love You" (which became a hit for People! in 1968), "Indication", "Whenever You're Ready", and "Is This the Dream" were of uniformly high quality, none achieved the success of the previous two singles.

In 1967, the Zombies signed to CBS Records for one final LP, only the second of their career and the first one produced as a single unit. Their previous LP, Begin Here (1965), was a collection of early singles, half a dozen original songs combined with several R&B covers. The resulting album, Odessey and Oracle, was one of the very first to utilize a Mellotron keyboard, as the band's budget did not allow for the hiring of session musicians. The band discovered too late that "odyssey" had been misspelled by the cover designers and were reportedly deeply embarrassed.

By the time Odessey and Oracle was released in April 1968, the band had broken up. The album sold little, and was only released in the U.S. because musician Al Kooper vouched for it. An album track called "Time of the Season", again written by Argent, was released as a single and eventually (1969) it became a huge nationwide hit (Billboard #3) after a radio DJ discovered it and put it on heavy rotation. Since the group declined to perform, various concocted groups tried to capitalize on the success and falsely toured under the band's name. Another such group toured in 1988, going so far as to trademark the group's name (since the band had let the mark lapse) and recruit a member named Ronald Hugh Grundy, who was passed off as being an original member, although he played bass rather than drums.

After The Zombies, Rod Argent formed a band called Argent, with Chris White as a non-performing songwriter. Colin Blunstone eventually launched a solo career after brief careers outside the music biz including one stint in the burglary claims section of an insurance company. Both Argent and White continued to provide him with new songs.

01. Road Runner
02. Summertime
03. I Can't Make Up My Mind
04. Way I Feel Inside
05. Work 'N' Play
06. Medley: You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me
07. She's Not There
08. Sticks and Stones
09. Can't Nobody Love You
10. Woman
11. I Don't Want to Know
12. I Remember When I Loved Her
13. What More Can I Do
14. I've Got My Mojo Working
15. Tell Her No [*]
16. Kind of Girl [*]
17. Sometimes [Intro Takes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
18. Sometimes
19. It's Alright with Me
20. Summertime [Demo Version]
21. Woman [Demo Version]
22. Kind of Girl [Demo Version]
23. Way I Feel Inside (Studio Chat) [False Start]
24. Way I Feel Inside [Rehearsal]
25. Sticks and Stones [Alternate Take]
26. It's Alright with Me [Alternate Take]

Post by ChrisGoesRock