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| From | "bryan" <munki100@pacbell.net> |
| Subject | Zombies Reunion Album |
| Date | Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:29:40 -0800 |
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My apologies if this has already been posted
on this list --
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Coinciding with the
40th-anniversary observance of the Beatles
landing in America, one original British invasion
band, the Zombies, was touring the United
States ahead of its first album since the 1968
classic "Odessey & Oracle."
"For the first time in 37 years, I was writing
songs in the context of having a band and with
Colin's voice in my mind," says Rod Argent,
the Zombies' keyboardist/songwriter, of vocalist
Colin Blunstone, with whom he fortuitously
reteamed three years ago.
The two ex-Zombies released "Out of the
Shadows" in 2002, forgoing the Zombies name
because the material was written largely before
the reunion.
The pair are Zombies again after 2 1/2 years
on the road with a new band. "As Far As I Can
See ...," which comes out April 30 in the United
Kingdom, logically shows "so many resonances
of the old stuff without trying to," Argent notes.
"But it's a many-faceted album because of the
new guys," he adds, citing guitarist/vocalist Keith
Airie, bassist/vocalist Jim Rodford and his son
Steve Rodford on drums.
Argent also hears similarities to the more recent
writing he did for his band Argent, which scored
a No. 5 single in 1972 with "Hold Your Head
Up."
"It quite naturally has some elements" of Argent,
he says. But he notes that Argent lead singer Russ
Ballard had "a darker and more-vibrato voice"
than Blunstone.
"I'm the sort of writer that writes for particular
people," Argent explains.
He also notes the importance of lyrics. The new
album's lead track "In My Mind a Miracle" alludes
to the "Odessey & Oracle" album title.
As with that album and the preceding Zombies
material, "As Far As I Can See ..." -- which
Argent hopes to release in the United States this
summer -- shows the uncommon musical depth
of the '60s British band.
"It covers a large area with a 21-piece string
section on seven tracks, and songs like 'Time to
Move' come straight out of a '60s Zombies album,"
he says. Tellingly, he notes that the first Zombie
recording was George Gershwin's "Summertime,"
in 1962.
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