photo by Dave Lichterman ( view set ) There are few moments in rock 'n' roll as iconic as the opening drum-and-breath line in " Time of the Season ." Yet unlike many of their British Invasion co-horts (like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Moody Blues), The Zombies never reached the same level of success. Maybe it was that while these other hitmakers were mining American music and repackaging it for us, The Zombies were creating a new sound -- jazzier, darker and quite often more dynamic. Whatever the case, [...]
For a bunch of seasoned performers (or "old guys" if you want to be less PC about it), The Zombies sure were hustling around SXSW like a band of newcomers. I think the band played about 5 or 6 shows around Austin during the week, and this show, a free instore at Waterloo Records, was the first of three on this day alone. No big deal for a bunch of hungry kids in their early 20s, but remember, Zombies main guys Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent are in their late 60s. And I'm happy to report these guys have [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , Exclusive The Zombies Facebook The Zombies -- a British band that broke up before the release of belatedly heralded second album Odessey and Oracle 45 years ago -- have returned from the proverbial dead in recent years. The act has experienced a renewed wave of popularity as it arrives for several appearances at the South by Southwest Music festival this [...]
Much of the Zombies' music, even early on, was original material mostly written by Rod Argent and Chris White. It's something that Blunstone still marvels at today. "Our first album was going t... Continue reading "When Zombies Attack: The Colin Blunstone Interview, Part 2" >
In today's pop culture, zombies are hot. Their lumbering, slack-jawed forms are moving (albeit slowly) on TV and in movies, video games, and off the pages of books. So it's sort of appropriate ... Continue reading "When Zombies Attack: The Colin Blunstone Interview, Part 1" >
This year will be my first at SXSW. I'm excited to see what will happen, but I'm even more excited to be a part of a great party/showcase. My buddy Zach over at the incredible We Listen For You is teaming up with sonaBLAST! to give us one hell of a free unofficial party. The show will feature an acoustic set from Rod Argent & Colin Blunstone of The Zombies, Et Tu Brucé, Dent May, Nerves Junior, Shugo Tokumaru, The Pass, Royal Bangs, Conveyor, and Miracles Of Modern Science. Hip Hatchet & Christopher Denny [...]
Colin Blunstone has enjoyed a serendipitous career in music. When he met Rod Argent in 1961 and formed what would become The Zombies, he couldn't have imagined they'd win a Decca recording contract and write some of the most memorable music of the era. Equally surprising to some is that Blunstone and Argent continue to write music as The Zombies, and have released more albums in the last twenty years or so than they did during their '60s heyday. Their latest LP, 20112s Breathe Out, Breathe In , has been a critical benchmark, rivaling the praise received for their [...]
![The Zombies featuring Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent - [CD & DVD]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4376110_lg.jpg)
ARTIST: The Zombies featuring Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent - [CD & DVD] DATE: 07-08-12 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams It's remarkable when you really think about it – with the release of the CD/DVD set captured live at Metropolis Studios in London, singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent marked their fiftieth anniversary of playing together under the Zombies moniker. In that time, they had some successes which few could even hope to [view more]
As the aroma of elaborate stodge pummels the nostrils upon entrance, cascading down from the sterile balconies above the ambience within this slipshod Camden haunt is incontestably more Café than it is in any way Jazzy. The 'Jazz Café' represents a pseudo-plush, plastic-floored temple of nothingness geared toward a generic nondescription and on a night upon which Elvis Costello almost sells out the Royal Albert Hall and the impatiently awaiting here conglomerated stutter stilted qualms over a lack of programmes as Billy Ocean blares over the PA, it's one belonging to some remote aeon and a rather inspiring one at [...]
I'm of an age where Tim Hardin 's Reason To Believe is heard first and foremost in the voice of a late-career Rod Stewart - an inauspicious echo for a song so powerful, and so well-covered. But a good coverwatcher learns to spot trends among the liner notes as he gathers in the sheaves. And so, with today's culminating feature, we come to honor a gradual and growing awareness of the work of the sixties and seventies singer-songwriter among a generation of artists and fans born after his rise and fall from grace [...]
Colin Blunstone: Say You Don't Mind [ Buy The Album ] Former Zombies vocalist Colin Blunstone returned from a few years of selling insurance to hit UK #15 in mid February of 1972 with this gorgeous string laden cover of Denny Laine's 1967 single. Yes, that Denny Laine. Former Moodys. Future Wings. ( see Denny's version below). The string quartet was arranged by Chris Gunning who would go on to win awards for composing film and TV soundtracks. "Say You Don't Mind" comes from the 1971 album One Year , which also [...]
The Zombies Bring Their Timeless British Psych-Pop To NYC.
“You’ve just got to live in that moment in time. Everything we’ve ever done has led us to this point here talking to you,” explains Rod Argent. It’s not a bad point to have come to. TGTF is joined by Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of iconic St. Albans rock band the Zombies in the top floor restaurant and bar of a central London hotel. Sat, relaxedly sipping from their porcelain tea cups, it’s only Rod’s ever flamboyant hairdo and leather jacket that really notes the duo as rock stars, past and [...]
Via Italy Dumbo Gets Dog's Elphant At The Door ALBUM REVIEW: If you like psychedelic rock too much then ignore this because you'll be addicted to Dumbo Gets Mad's sounds from tail to snout on Elephant At The Door from the first walk. Wedging itself on the wake of some big bass riff from the get go on "Plumy Tale" the undertow will drag you right in. What makes this record believable is that no computer chips were used in the raw recording of this music. It's not laptop rock [...]
Via Italy Dumbo Gets Dog's Elphant At The Door ALBUM REVIEW: If you like psychedelic rock too much then ignore this because you'll be addicted to Dumbo Gets Mad's sounds from tail to snout on Elephant At The Door from the first walk. Wedging itself on the wake of some big bass riff from the get go on "Plumy Tale" the undertow will drag you right in. What makes this record believable is that no computer chips were used in the raw recording of this music. It's not laptop rock [...]
As the lead singer of The Zombies , Colin Blunstone, who turns 65 today, is responsible for some the most spectacular psychedelically tinged pop rock. Though the British group first became known for singles like “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No,” both of which made it to the U.S. Top 10 in 1964, the group has since become revered for its lone studio album, Odyssey and Oracle , generally regarded as a classic on par with Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s . While “Care of Cell 44” and “Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914)” were [...]
Parfois les filles me plaisent parce qu'elles m'excitent. Parfois elles sont tellement belles que je n'ose pas les toucher. Comme si elles venaient d'un monde parfait où je n'avais pas ma place. C'est le propos de ces chansons de Je suis Animal et de Colin Blunstone, le chanteur des Zombies. Rousseau World - Je suis Animal Misty Roses - Colin Blunstone
One of the most distinctive voices of the British Invasion belonged to Colin Blunstone, lead singer of the Zombies. Hits like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and the international smash “Time Of The Season” were perfect showcases for Blunstone’s soaring, soulful singing. In addition to Blunstone, the Zombies included drummer Hugh Grundy, guitarist Paul Atkinson, bassist Chris White and keyboardist Rod Argent. Argent wrote “She’s Not There” (1964), as well as the U.S. hit “Tell Her No” (1965), which brought the group stateside in the wake of Beatlemania. [...]
It's been a bit quiet here but like the Simple Minds, i'm still alive and kicking. Drop in your comments, they are well appriciated. And do check the archive. Loads of links, even the oldest ones, are still up and running. And if you stumble upon a dead link, just drop in a comment and it will be replaced with a new one!1. Ghost Of You And Me, The2. Follow3. Dance With Life4. Second Avenue5.
I'm off to Killarney tomorrow in advance of a flight to Germany from Kerry Airport the following morning. It's my second time flying from Kerry, although it's a bit of an exaggeration to call it an airport; I've seen taxi ranks that are bigger! It's the only airport I know that's beside the road and where there's more danger of stepping on cow shit than there is of terrorism. On Wednesday, I'll be flying into Frankfurt Hahn where I'll be collected by my friend Pia who has promised to take me on a tour of the beer gardens where I'll [...]
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