Dan's Papers - July 4, 2008 - Blast from the Past, the Zombies are There

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their classic album Odessey and the Oracle - which weighs in at number 80 on "Rolling Stone's" list of top 500 albums of all time - England's The Zombies will be making a stop at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on July 13 as it tours across America.

Of course, there are only two original members of the band left in the group. But, the instantly recognizable vocals of singer Colin Blunstone, and keyboardist, as well as one of the original songwriters, Rod Argent, are more than enough for The Zombies to retain their original sound. However, all four remaining members of the group did grace the stage together for the first time in years in London this past May, performing Odessey and the Oracle in its entirety, from start to finish, as Blunstone and Argent will do backed by their version of The Zombies at the PAC.

"It was very interesting to play all of Odessey and the Oracle, beginning to end, in the order on the album, as it's never been done before," Blunstone said. "The band split up before it was originally released. We've never played these songs, except in the studio."

The Zombies, known for such hits as "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There," came over to America in the '60s, and were considered to be a part of the British Invasion, heralded by The Beatles. "We weren't aware we were part of that movement," Blunstone said. "But the media was very aware and that made our careers much stronger in America."

They didn't get to enjoy the initial success of Odessey, as they had already broken because of financial troubles due to mismanagement. Still, at the time, the record's major single, "Time of the Season," became a huge hit in America, hitting number 3 on the Billboard charts. "It's really, really exciting," Blunsworth said of the album's anniversary, as well as its continued relevance to today's fans of classic rock music. "At the time, it did get some very good critical acclaim, but it wasn't the commercial success we had hoped for. The band ended in quite a sad way, really. We hadn't achieved anything we'd hoped for. Over the years, interest in Odessey grew stronger and stronger. It validates what we were doing. We did have doubts about whether we had made the right choices in our career. Now we see we have done the right thing. We have done a good job."

Ironically, what were hits for The Zombies in America, didn't make as much of an impression in the United Kingdom. Eventually, after the group broke up, several of its members slowly got back into the music business - Blunstone even worked an ordinary 9-5 job for a year after the split - performing as solo artists or forming new bands. Some of the songs by these later outfits became hits in England and Europe, more so than their work that's more popular in America. "'Time of the Season,' our big hit, was never a hit in the UK," Blunstone said. "Quite perversely, my first solo single was big in the UK, but 'Say You Don't Mind' never sold a copy in America."

This means that when The Zombies come to Westhampton, they'll tweak their set list to reflect the taste of American fans. "The backbone of what we'll be playing is from The Zombies repertoire," Blunstone said. "Though we'll try to give some kind of representation of some of our other projects from over the years."

The Zombies will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. on July 13. Tickets cost $75, $65 and $55 and can be purchased at www.whbpac.org or by calling the box office at 631-288-1500.