It's the time of the season.
November 3, 2015 12:07 PM Subscribe
"Imagine creating the best work of your life, some of the best music of its day, and no one cares. Now imagine playing those songs 47 years later to a screaming and loving bunch of fans and getting what seems like a hero's welcome. That's part of the story of The Zombies, who played the classic 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, along with a set of other hits and brand new songs, live in Washington, D.C. last month." Listen to the full concert here.
Awesome ... took me back.
posted by Falling_Saint at 12:20 PM on November 3, 2015
posted by Falling_Saint at 12:20 PM on November 3, 2015
I got to see The Zombies about a year or so ago here in LA. Good mix of Zombies songs, a couple Argent ones, some Motown covers. It was kinda weird how much they kept mentioning their merch table though. Normally you see that with bands just starting out. I wonder how much they see from their old albums these days.
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:26 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:26 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Argent & Blunstone have been keeping the Zombies going as a touring act, but what's cool is that, after the first set, they are joined here by fellow original Zombies Chris White and Hugh Grundy for the Oracle set. This seemed to be an ill-publicized aspect of this tour, I didn't even realize that was going on until I got a first-hand report from somebody who was similarly suprised.
posted by anazgnos at 12:32 PM on November 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by anazgnos at 12:32 PM on November 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yes!!! I saw them live at a SXSW show in the Waterloo Records parking lot a couple years ago. It was so surreal to hear those songs. I never thought I'd get to see them.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:35 PM on November 3, 2015
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:35 PM on November 3, 2015
My wife and I saw them in LA a couple of weeks ago. I've never been a fan. Great, great show. See it if you can.
posted by infinitewindow at 12:36 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 12:36 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
My wife and I half-jokingly figured the reason for the sudden reformation and tour is the Cameron government preparing to privatize the NHS.
posted by infinitewindow at 12:39 PM on November 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by infinitewindow at 12:39 PM on November 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Saw them couple years back. Huge Zombies fan here.
The Zombie Heaven box set is pretty complete and shows how few duds they recorded - so many great tunes.
posted by parki at 12:40 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Zombie Heaven box set is pretty complete and shows how few duds they recorded - so many great tunes.
posted by parki at 12:40 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
"We were trying to transcribe the lyrics of 'Tracks of My Tears,' because we were going to do it on stage. Rod had written down, 'At the close of the season.' We said, 'What a great phrase.' Then we discovered it was really, 'If you look closer it's easy to see.' So we'd misheard it, but we thought we'd use it anyway and changed it into 'Time of the Season'!" -- Colin Blunstone [source]
posted by blucevalo at 1:00 PM on November 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by blucevalo at 1:00 PM on November 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
I accidentally started listening to The Zombies, when I was looking for The Cranberries and got the name of the song and the band mixed up.
posted by Braeburn at 1:06 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Braeburn at 1:06 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Odessey and Oracle is an absolute knock-out of an album. Not a dud on the record. It doesn't seem to garner the same level of esteem as some of the other classic late-60s rock albums, however, which is a shame.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:10 PM on November 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:10 PM on November 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
Geez. Does everything have to be all zombies these days?
posted by sourwookie at 1:23 PM on November 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by sourwookie at 1:23 PM on November 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
Every weekend I go for a long 6 mile walk by myself. Near the end, I always sit in a park and listen to a few songs on my iPad. Just this past Sunday, I sat in the sun, watching leaves fall while listening to "Hung Up on a Dream". It was magical.
posted by davebush at 1:29 PM on November 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by davebush at 1:29 PM on November 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Saw Argent and Blunstone on Colbert Friday night, performing with the house band in the bumpers. It was nice to see/hear them again, I had no idea they were touring.
On a related note I saw a Love cover band play the other night who were much, much better than the actual Arthur Lee-fronted Love I saw 10 or 12 years back.
Well, cake the snot against my pants and call me Snoopy!
I've never heard of a Love cover band. Who? Where?
Bom bip bip bom bip bip, yeah!
posted by Herodios at 2:12 PM on November 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Grew up hearing the usual singles ("Time of the Season," mainly) on oldies radio, but it wasn't until I was finally turned on to Odessey and Oracle (much later than I should have been), that I came to appreciate how fantastic these guys were. It's such a solid album, start-to-finish. Glad to see them gaining some wider recognition.
Our first dance at our wedding was to "This Will Be Our Year."
posted by Xavier Xavier at 2:12 PM on November 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Our first dance at our wedding was to "This Will Be Our Year."
posted by Xavier Xavier at 2:12 PM on November 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Herodios, it has turned into crystal.
posted by parki at 2:20 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by parki at 2:20 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Unfortunately the O&O tour is finished in the States but there are loads of dates coming up in Europe and the UK. The part of the show where "Brief Candles" slides into "Hung Up On a Dream," that just gave me chills, it's so great. And it was lovely to get to see Colin sing "Caroline Goodbye" (currently listening a lot to Colin's terrific first solo LP One Year).
I believe this is my first Metafilter post. So hello, everybody.
posted by plasticpalacealice at 2:59 PM on November 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
I believe this is my first Metafilter post. So hello, everybody.
posted by plasticpalacealice at 2:59 PM on November 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
The band "Zombie Love" and their hit "Maybe the People are the Times of the Season"
posted by librosegretti at 3:01 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by librosegretti at 3:01 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
they were called Forever Changes
Oh, of course.
I'll watch out for them. Thanks!
posted by Herodios at 3:46 PM on November 3, 2015
Oh, of course.
I'll watch out for them. Thanks!
posted by Herodios at 3:46 PM on November 3, 2015
Whenever I think of the sixties the soundtrack that plays in my head is Time of the Season, even though the song wasn't released until the tail end of the decade. It's an awesome song.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:06 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:06 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
> Geez. Does everything have to be all zombies these days?Buck up, sourwookie. Maybe after they're gone we'll come back, love you again..
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:04 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd thought the members died in the 1990s until I saw their Tiny Desk Concert with just Argent and Blunstone three years back. Good stuff, and I'm really happy that a few acts from those days are still actively touring and creating.
posted by sandswipe at 5:17 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sandswipe at 5:17 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
The band broke up so quickly after "Time of the Season" became a big hit that there was untapped market demand for fake Zombies.
Imposter Zombies
I Was a Teenage Fake Zombie
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard of ZZ Top as Fake Zombies
posted by jonp72 at 5:22 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Imposter Zombies
I Was a Teenage Fake Zombie
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard of ZZ Top as Fake Zombies
posted by jonp72 at 5:22 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Our first dance at our wedding was to "This Will Be Our Year"
We had a couple of friends -- one a keyboard player I have played on and off with for decades, one a fantastic singer who is my stepdaughter's BFF -- perform this as the processional at our wedding. It was well-received.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:09 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
We had a couple of friends -- one a keyboard player I have played on and off with for decades, one a fantastic singer who is my stepdaughter's BFF -- perform this as the processional at our wedding. It was well-received.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:09 PM on November 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Zombies harmonies are sublime. I think my fav Zombies song is This Will Be Our Year.
posted by persona au gratin at 1:39 AM on November 4, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 1:39 AM on November 4, 2015
Wow, Xavier Xavier. That's really wonderful.
posted by persona au gratin at 1:40 AM on November 4, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 1:40 AM on November 4, 2015
seems like a challenging set of vocal arrangements to do live
posted by thelonius at 6:37 AM on November 4, 2015
posted by thelonius at 6:37 AM on November 4, 2015
Also, while we speak of Zombies:
I have always loved Wikipedia's concise summary of The Zombies' song "She's Not There," and also every film noir ever.
"The narrator has unsatisfactory dealings with an untrustworthy female. He reproaches unspecified associates for failing to warn him of her unsavoury character."
I enjoy the prose style that can work "unsatisfactory," "untrustworthy," "unspecified," and "unsavoury" into the span of 22 words. That is awfully negative for an entry that is not even about "Tell Her No," a song with 63 instances of the word "no" in a two-minute song.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:23 AM on November 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have always loved Wikipedia's concise summary of The Zombies' song "She's Not There," and also every film noir ever.
"The narrator has unsatisfactory dealings with an untrustworthy female. He reproaches unspecified associates for failing to warn him of her unsavoury character."
I enjoy the prose style that can work "unsatisfactory," "untrustworthy," "unspecified," and "unsavoury" into the span of 22 words. That is awfully negative for an entry that is not even about "Tell Her No," a song with 63 instances of the word "no" in a two-minute song.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:23 AM on November 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
That is awfully negative for an entry that is not even about "Tell Her No," a song with 63 instances of the word "no" in a two-minute song.
"Tell Her No" isn't a patch on the Human Beinz cover of the Isleys' "Nobody But Me".
The first thirty words on the record are all "no". The word "no" is sung over a hundred times (including ad libs and fades up to 2:20) and the word "nobody" is sung over forty times.
And not one "yeah".
posted by Herodios at 3:09 PM on November 4, 2015
"Tell Her No" isn't a patch on the Human Beinz cover of the Isleys' "Nobody But Me".
The first thirty words on the record are all "no". The word "no" is sung over a hundred times (including ad libs and fades up to 2:20) and the word "nobody" is sung over forty times.
And not one "yeah".
posted by Herodios at 3:09 PM on November 4, 2015
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