Archive Review: The Zombies’ Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London (2012)

The Zombies offer up a textbook example of the magic of rock ‘n’ roll to create legend out of obscurity. Formed in the U.K. in 1961 by singer Colin Blunstone, guitarist Paul Atkinson, bassist Chris White, keyboardist Rod Argent, and drummer Hugh Grundy, the band was signed by Decca Records after winning a local music competition. They scored a hit single right out of the gate when the Argent-penned “She’s Not There” charted in both the U.K. and the U.S. in August 1964. The Zombies rode the British Invasion wave into the U.S. Top Ten with Argent’s “Tell Her No” later in ‘64, but half a dozen or so subsequent single releases failed to match the band’s earlier chart success, and Decca dropped the band in early 1967.

The Zombies had spent a couple years of hard touring across the United States, performing alongside folks like Dusty Springfield and the Searchers when they signed a last-gasp deal with CBS Records which resulted in what has since become known as the band’s magnum opus, the wonderful Odessey and Oracle. An inspired mix of the band’s British R&B roots and contemporary late 1960s psychedelic pop/rock with symphonic overtones, support by the label for the making of Odessey and Oracle was virtually non-existent. This forced the band to use a then-novel Mellotron to mimic orchestral passages because they couldn’t afford studio musicians on the miniscule recording budget provided by CBS. When the label demanded a stereo mix of the album (which was recorded in mono), Argent and White footed the cost themselves.

Odessey and Oracle

The album sank like a stone in the band’s homeland, and was only released in the U.S. because of support from Columbia Records A&R man Al Kooper, a talented musician and songwriter in his own right, who had bought a copy of Odessey and Oracle during a trip to London and recognized its brilliance. By the time of the album’s late 1968 U.S. release, the Zombies had already broken up and Rod Argent had begun forming his self-named hard rock band with Zombies bandmate Chris White…all of which made the unexpected success of “Time of the Season,” which would rise to #3 on the U.S. charts in late 1969, all the more awkward. The band members declined to tour in support of the album and hit single, resulting in at least three counterfeit versions of the band touring the states as “the Zombies” well into the 1980s.

Somewhere along the line, though, that ol’ rock ‘n’ roll magic kicked in, and as new audiences discovered Odessey and Oracle, the album became a bona fide record collectors’ dream, a holy grail of 1960s-era psychedelic pop that commanded hundreds of dollars for an original vinyl copy. Music historians connected the dots between the Zombies and like-minded “sunshine pop” bands like Left Banke and the Millennium, while musicians like Paul Weller and Dave Grohl confessed their admiration for the band and its landmark album. In the wake of renewed enthusiasm for their work, three of the five original members reunited briefly during the 1990s to record a new studio album, mostly to retain their rights to the Zombies name.

In 2008, Blunstone and Argent got back together and re-formed the band with White and Grundy to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Odessey and Oracle with a series of live shows. The duo has been at it ever since, touring annually as the Zombies featuring Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, the two joined by former Argent/Kinks bassist Jim Rodford and his son, drummer Steve Rodford, along with guitarist Keith Airey, who would be replaced by Tom Toomey by the time the re-vamped Zombies recorded their critically-acclaimed 2010 album Breathe In, Breath Out.

The Zombies’ Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London

In January 2011, the Zombies were invited to perform in front of a small, albeit enthusiastic “invitation only” audience in London’s Metropolis Studios, an intimate concert that was documented for the subsequent release of Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London, a two-disc audio/visual extravaganza certain to thrill the pants off of any longtime fans of the band. The CD and DVD offer up 19 tunes, most of ‘em bona fide classics, including six from Odessey and Oracle as well as the earlier hits, and even a couple of cuts from the Zombies’ most recent, Breathe In, Breath Out.

The show starts out with “I Love You,” a popular but failed 1965 single that features a distinctive riff and forceful melody. How can a “failed single” be popular, you ask? Well, it was originally released as the B-side to a meager U.S. single, “Whenever You’re Ready.” But the song would become a hit when it was later recorded by the California pop band People! in 1968, rising to #14 in the U.S. and working its way into the top ten in Japan (twice!), Mexico, Israel, the Philippines, and elsewhere. Decca reissued the Zombies’ original as a single in late ‘68 but it sank like a stone. Still, it’s remained one of the band’s more popular live songs, and here it’s provided a strong performance, with solid vocal harmonies, psychedelic fretwork, and plenty of Argent’s manic keyboard-pounding.

The band acquits itself nicely on the Jimmy Ruffin smash “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted,” which was a U.K. hit for Blunstone and keyboardist Dave Stewart (not the Eurythmics guy) back in 1981. With the band providing Motown-styled backing harmonies, Blunstone imbues the song with a longing and wistfulness that falls just short of Ruffin’s original. An odd instrumental interlude mid-song detracts somewhat from the performance, but Argent’s soulful keyboard riffing hits just the right note. Toomey’s guitar solo near the end is elegant and tasteful, extending the song to its short, discordant ending. “A Rose For Emily” is the first of a half-dozen songs pulled from Odessey and Oracle, a wan pastoral ballad that displays moments of Beatlesque melodic brilliance and interesting vocal harmonies.

Time of the Season

The audience is preternaturally patient waiting for the hits, and they get the first in the form of “Time of the Season,” an uncharacteristic song in light of the rest of the band’s more sedate psyche-pop milieu. With its familiar riff, unusual melody, chiming keyboards, and oblique lyrics it’s an instantly accessible tune and while it originally flopped as a 1968 single in the U.K. it would hit #3 in the U.S. and top the charts in Canada a year later. “Tell Her No” suffered a similar fate previously when released in 1964, hitting big in North America while the band’s hometown audience largely yawned. “Tell Her No” offers a similar syncopated melody and chorus, and the 21st century Zombies do it well, Blunstone’s soft lead vocals providing a counterpoint to the band’s almost overwhelming backing harmonies. It’s an engaging moment that thrills the audience.

The last of the Zombies’ hit U.S. singles to be performed this night was also the band’s first, “She’s Not There” hitting #2 in the U.S. and Canada while charting at #12 in the U.K. In many ways, it would set the standard by which subsequent releases would be measured, which is why, perhaps, “Tell Her No” and “Time of the Season” rose above the band’s other singles in that they all share a distinctive harmonic vibe that stood out as different and innovative at the time. Performed here, the song lends itself to a lively Argent keyboard solo, with great vocal harmonies lending to the larger-than-life sound of the song. The classic rock radio standard “Hold Your Head Up” was Rod Argent’s biggest hit with his self-named band, the 1972 single hitting #5 in the U.S. and receiving constant radio airplay ever since.

The Zombies’ version here of “Hold Your Head Up” is stretched out and definitely over-the-top, allowing Argent to bang away at the keyboards with reckless abandon, his vocals assisted by the band’s harmonies on the chorus while Toomey delivers the song’s timeless guitar lick. Although the audience came to hear the hits, the Zombies had a lot of good-to-great songs that never received their due. “I Don’t Believe In Miracles,” from the band’s 1991 reunion album, is a bittersweet ballad that features a strong vocal turn, beautiful harmonies, a melancholy melody, and finely-crafted lyrics. “Care of Cell 44” is a deceptively catching slice of sunshine pop with a uniquely British ambience and instrumentation similar to colleagues the Kinks while “Beechwood Park,” at times, reminds of Procol Harum with classical-tinged baroque instrumentation and somber yet effective vocals.            

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

While some 1960s-era bands touring the oldies circuit these days are living entirely on past glories, you can’t say the same of the Zombies. Sure, Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London strikes all the highlights of the band’s career for an appreciative audience, but the hits are a small part of the 19 inspired performances caught on audio and video that night. There’s a reason why Odessey and Oracle is considered a rock ‘n’ roll classic, and it has a lot to do with the depth of the band’s songwriting chops, their instrumental prowess, and their often whimsical imagination, all of which are on full display on both the CD and DVD of Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London. (Convexe Entertainment, released May 24th, 2012)

Review originally published by Blurt magazine, 2012

It’s Election Day! Vote for your Rock & Roll of Fame nominees!

The MC5 photo by Leni Sinclair

The nominees were chosen a month or so ago, but today is election day across the U.S.A. so after you’ve gone and do your civic duty, log onto the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website and register to vote for your favorite artists to be inducted into the “mistake on the lake.” Fan voting doesn’t ensure that an artist gets honored, but it seems to reflect the zeitgeist of the HoF insiders.

I voted for the five artists listed below, each with a brief reason why I picked the Zombies, MC5, John Prine, Roxy Music, and Todd Rundgren for my ballot. Other artists included on this year’s HoF slate include Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard, the Cure, Rage Against the Machine, Kraftwerk, Devo, and Radiohead as well as non-rock oriented artists like Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Janet Jackson, and LL Cool J.

The Rev is only going to bang his head against this wall one more time – it’s either the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or it’s not, and pop and R&B artists like Jackson, Rufus, and rapper LL Cool J shouldn’t be inducted unless it’s really a “pop culture” HoF, in which case they should change the damn name of the institution. Right now Def Leppard and Stevie Nicks lead the fan voting, with Todd Rundgren (surprisingly) in third place. Sadly, the most influential of all these artists, Detroit’s MC5, are currently in last place in fan voting. I’m gonna predict that Nicks, Def Leppard, Radiohead, the Zombies, and Rundgren get the nod tho’ Jackson and Rufus are outside choices. 

The Zombies
They’ve received three previous nominations so if they don’t get in this year I don’t think that they ever will. The influential British band is an overlooked British Invasion participant that scored Top 10 charting hit singles in the U.S. and the U.K. with songs like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time of the Season.” Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle is widely considered a classic of 1960s rock and their influence can be heard in the music of followers like Game Theory, XTC, and even fellow nominee Todd Rundgren.

Todd Rundgren
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Todd Rundgren is a bona fide music genius but while he’s been eligible for Hall of Fame induction for nearly a quarter-century, this is his first nomination. Todd isn’t the most commercially successful nominee on this list, but he’s undeniably one of the most influential, and over the past 50 years he’s released almost two-dozen studio and live albums, pioneered the use of video in music, and was one of the first to incorporate computers into his work to create interactive multimedia…and that’s just as a solo artist. His work with the prog/electronic/pop outfit Utopia has been widely acclaimed, and Rundgren is also an acclaimed producer who has helmed albums by artists as diverse as XTC, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, Meatloaf, and the New York Dolls, among others. He’s earned his spot… 

Roxy Music
The 1970s-era “glam-rock” outfit Roxy Music is another first-time HoF nominee and they should be inducted immediately, if only for giving the world Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera, and Brian Eno. They were big stars in their British homeland, less so in the states, but their eight studio albums circa 1972 to 1982 would become a major influence on “new wave” bands of the 1980s like Duran Duran, the Smiths, Magazine, and Tears For Fears. Roxy songs like “The Thrill of It All,” “Love Is the Drug,” “Both Ends Burning,” and “Avalon” remain classics of suave style and musical substance.

John Prine
Another deserving artist just now receiving his first HoF nomination although he’s been eligible for 22 years, singer/songwriter John Prine is the missing link between Bob Dylan’s 1960s-era albums and Bruce Springsteen’s early 1970s work. Prine has released nearly two-dozen critically-acclaimed albums since his self-titled 1971 debut album, and his original songs like “Sam Stone,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Hello In There,” and “Sweet Revenge” changed the rules of songwriting like nobody since Dylan himself. A master at blending roots-rock, country, and folk music Prine has won three Grammy® Awards and inspired songwriters like John Hiatt, Todd Snider, and Jason Isbell, among many others.

MC5
Sadly, while the legacy of Motor City sonic terrorists MC5 is safe, the Detroit band’s induction into the HoF is unlikely. This is their fourth nomination to the institution since becoming eligible in 1991 and it’s a real tragedy that they haven’t already been voted in…MC5 may be the most important band on this whole damn list, and although they only released three albums during their brief three-year tenure, they were massively influential, inspiring punks from the Clash and the Sex Pistols to the Dead Boys and Patti Smith as well as more contemporary artists like the White Stripes and Soundgarden. The MC5’s explosive, original mix of hard rock, blues, and jazz delivered with punkish fury continues to find a new audience among disaffected youth decades after the band’s break-up.

Do your duty as a music fan and vote for your favorites for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! 

Artist photos courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Thoughts On The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2017 Nominees

Yes

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation released its 2017 list of nominees for possible induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio next spring. As usual, the list elicits a tsunami of hot takes as people debate the merits of each of the otherwise worthy nominees. The Reverend has taken a pretty firm stance on the Hall of Fame in years past, and this new list of nominees is no different.

I’ve offered my own takes below on who should get inducted – and who shouldn’t be inducted – into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; if you think differently, please feel free to state your case in the comments section below. Keep in mind that beyond the performers listed below, a number of worthy artists remain unconsidered for the Rock Hall, including the Moody Blues, Humble Pie, Motörhead, Jason & the Scorchers, Roxy Music, and King Crimson, to name a few. Also remember that the Reverend is a lifelong rockist and an old fart raised during the classic rock era of the 1970s…the music really was better back in the day, and this perspective is reflected in my picks below...

Yes to Yes!

What makes an artist or band “worthy” for induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? I’m not sure what Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s guidelines are (the Foundation has little to do with the physical Hall of Fame in Cleveland but chooses who is inducted), but here’s my take. A Hall of Fame artist should possess agreed-upon talent (by industry, critics, and fans); exerted influence on the evolution of the genre; push the musical envelope creatively; and while commercial success isn’t a necessity, in combination with the above traits, it adds to an artist’s legacy. By these standards, there’s really no damn good reason why British prog-rock legends Yes aren’t already in the Hall of Fame.

Now, my friend and colleague Martin Popoff has literally written the book on Yes and has previously argued in favor of their induction, so it’s unlikely that I’ll add much to this discussion. For both their groundbreaking creative endeavors in progressive rock, and their amazing commercial run of Top 10 albums during the 1970s (Fragile, Close To The Edge, Relayer, and Going For The One remain enduring, influential works), Yes has earned their induction. The band’s virtuoso musical talents through the years – singer Jon Anderson; guitarists Peter Banks, Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin; bassists Chris Squire and Trevor Horn; keyboardists Tony Kaye, Rick Wakeman, and Patrick Moraz; and drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White – defined a genre and inspired several generations of musicians to follow.

Detroit’s almighty MC5 are a conundrum, another band that should have already received induction into the Rock Hall. Yes, they only released three albums during their fast-burning career, but they made a lot of noise and arguably helped create both punk rock and heavy metal. If fellow Motor City madman the Stooges are in (inducted 2010), so too should the MC5. Pearl Jam’s nomination was a gimmee, and the band’s status and importance during the Grunge era are unparalleled. Pearl Jam brought arena-conquering muscle and sinew back to rock ‘n’ roll after the (mostly) wimpy ‘80s, and their pro-consumer actions on behalf of their fans is the icing on the cake.

The Zombies deserve induction, not only for their outstanding early body of work, but also for the enduring influence of those albums. The J. Geils Band are on the bubble for me – I love the band, and those early albums (their 1970 self-titled debut, 1971’s The Morning After, 1972’s Live: Full House, and 1973’s Bloodshot) offer a high-octane fusion of blues and rock that was as influential at the time as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was a decade earlier. Sensing changes in the musical currents, the J. Geils crew beat fellow travelers ZZ Top to the line, albums like 1978’s Sanctuary, 1980’s Love Stinks, and 1981’s Freeze-Frame mixing radio-friendly synth-pop into the band’s heady brew of R&B and blues influences and scoring on the charts. Call ‘em the “poor man’s Aerosmith” if you will, but I’d put ‘em in...

The MC5

No to Hip-Hop & Pop

As I’ve argued many times, it’s called the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” for a reason, and no matter their contributions to art, music, or film, hip-hop and pop artists should never be inducted. If it’s a “pop culture” hall of fame, then drop the pretense and call it such. Otherwise, cut out these gratuitous nominations made in the name of some sort of false diversity. For instance, somebody on the nominating committee really wants to see Chic inducted so they’re back on the ballot again this year. They shouldn’t be inducted for the sole reason that they aren’t a rock band by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, main man Nile Rodgers produced a great record for David Bowie, but that’s just not enough to make the cut. Sorry, Chic lovers...

The legend of Tupac Shakur has undeniably grown in the years since his death, and although the rapper released four acclaimed, influential albums during his lifetime, he wasn’t a rock artist and his influence on rock music was minimal (and I’m not even discussing the posthumous flood of dodgy album releases). I’d also include Janet Jackson under this category – a talented and popular dance-pop artist with one foot in the R&B grooves of the ‘90s – but she’s not a rocker, no matter Wenner’s fever dreams.

Joe Tex’s nomination is problematic in that while he was a great R&B singer, I don’t consider him to be a great artist and don’t feel that his influence extended to rock musicians the way that, for instance, the work of James Brown, Ray Charles, and Little Richard did. Tex’s career was almost entirely played out on the R&B charts, and he had only a pair of crossover hits stateside and only one single ever charted in the U.K. The nomination of folk music legend Joan Baez is some sort of joke, because beyond her brief flirtation as Dylan’s muse, there’s nothing in her career that even remotely “rocks.”

Willing to risk pissing off what little punk readership we have, I’d also nix Bad Brains from induction into the Rock Hall, and I’m kind of surprised that the band was nominated in the first place. Moderately influential on the ‘80s rock scene, the bulk of Bad Brains’ artistic output came via indie labels like ROIR, SST Records, and PVC Records – which, in itself, doesn’t disqualify them for induction – but much of the band’s music just isn’t notable and wasn’t distributed widely enough to have made a big difference. Quick, name a single Bad Brains album beyond their self-titled 1982 debut...yeah, I thought so. Sure, they influenced the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone, but I’d rather induct the latter and forget about the former.

Electric Light Orchestra

Not This Year (Or Any Other)

Sheesh, is there a more overrated band on the planet than Jane’s Addiction (save for maybe Smashing Pumpkins)? Yes, Perry Farrell and gang have a loyal and vocal following, but they released a mere three over-hyped albums during their short heyday (1987-90), hitting the upper region of the charts but once, which is not a Hall of Fame worthy career in my mind. Sure, they made some innovative music before spiraling into addiction and pretentiousness, and kudos to Farrell for traveling freakshow that was Lollapalooza (at least before the event became as bloated as Farrell’s bands), but we also have JA to thank for rap-metal outfits like Korn and Limp Bizkit. Yikes!

Never, never, never for Journey, a rock band in name only. Through their arena-rockin’ years during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, they were closer to the pop world than true rockers. Former Santana guitarist Neal Schon squandered his talents on this horrible band, and Steve Perry was a grating, faux soulful vocalist fronting a bunch of career opportunists. Synth-pop new wavers Depeche Mode were hot shit in their U.K. homeland, but their commercial peak in the U.S. came late in the game, and while they chalked up four RIAA sales awards, they never really made any waves stateside and their influence is restricted to a bunch of electronic-rock wankers and dance-pop outfits.

I could make a similar argument with Kraftwerk, who were an undeniably influential band in the very narrow sphere of electronic rock (a/k/a “Krautrock”), but the band literally disappeared early in the 1980s, and only scored one commercial and critically acclaimed album stateside with 1974’s Autobahn. I’d also question the merits of electronic rock and its place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but I’d promote artists like Brian Eno, Keith Emerson (ELP), or Rick Wakeman (Yes) – all of whom pioneered the use of synthesizers and Mellotrons in rock ‘n’ roll – before I’d induct Kraftwerk.

The nomination of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is also a hard one as I’m a fan of the band, but although they had a sweet commercial run in the mid-to-late ‘70s with four Top Ten albums and a pair of Top 20s, I can’t readily argue their overall importance to rock ‘n’ roll music. If anything, I’d rather induct ELO frontman Jeff Lynne’s earlier band, the Move, and even Lynne’s side gig as a superstar producer (Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Brian Wilson), where he often coaxed great performances out of the artists he was recording, has more real potential for Rock Hall induction than does ELO.

As for 2017 nominees that I haven’t mentioned in this rant, well, it’s because they aren’t much worth mentioning. You have until December 5th, 2016 to vote for your favorite artists, so hit up the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website to register your choices.