{"id":15221,"date":"2018-09-25T05:30:20","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T09:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=15221"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:15:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T12:15:51","slug":"album-review-the-zombies-greatest-hits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/25\/album-review-the-zombies-greatest-hits\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: The Zombies — Greatest Hits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Zombies have a sterling and well-deserved reputation. That reputation is built primarily on three things: a couple of early singles, a final album of staggering quality, and a latter-day, 21st<\/sup> century renaissance in which the group finally capitalizes on those first two things, while proving it has plenty more to offer.<\/p>\n

And its that final idea \u2013 more to offer \u2013 that is spotlighted in a new CD collection called The Zombies Greatest Hits<\/i>. The title is something of a misnomer; while the group did achieve hit-single status a few times in the UK during its initial run, the Zombies wouldn\u2019t chalk up an 80-minute compact disc\u2019s worth of hits (an LP\u2019s worth, maybe just).<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no disputing the \u201cgreatest\u201d part of this collection’s title. This 16-track set brings together the group\u2019s monaural 45rpm singles. Some of them charted, certainly; other didn\u2019t. Still others achieved some success in other countries across Europe, in cover versions by far lesser-known acts. The material is uniformly first-rate.<\/p>\n

Most fans of pop music will be familiar with \u201cShe\u2019s Not There\u201d and \u201cTime of the Season.\u201d A subset of that group will know \u201cTell Her No\u201d and the original version of \u201cI Love You,\u201d the latter charting in the U.S. in a cover version by one-hit-wonders People. But most of the remaining tunes will be unfamiliar to most, especially those outside of England.<\/p>\n

But the Zombies\u2019 high standard of songwriting, arrangement, musicianship and production is on brilliant display throughout this set. Many of the songs \u2013 especially the earlier ones \u2013 fit into the then-prevailing beat\/pop group style, but every one has a significant twist: Colin Blunstone\u2019s lead vocals that are at once more subtle than the usual fare, and more fully-developed; Rod Argent\u2019s virtuosic keyboard solos that are steeped in jazz and r&b. Sometimes \u2013 nearly always, in fact \u2013 both of those qualities.<\/p>\n

And the songwriting (mostly, but not exclusively by Rod Argent or bassist Chris White) is superb, displaying a sophistication for its era uncommon outside the Beatles or Kinks. Listening now, many of these songs sound like hits. In a just world they would have been.<\/p>\n

Kudos to Var\u00e8se Sarabande for compiling this set of songs, and to famed archivist Andrew Sandoval for overseeing the project. For those wanting to dip into the Zombies\u2019 slim 60s body of work (believe it or not, they released only one album prior to Oddesey and Oracle<\/i>), The Zombies Greatest Hits<\/i> is essential. For the more hardcore fans, it\u2019s \u2026 essential as well.<\/p>\n

There have been various low-budget albums calling themselves The Zombies Greatest Hits<\/i>. Accept no substitute.<\/p>\n

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