Befitting their name, the Zombies were certainly the eeriest of the British Invasion bands. Like their peers, the band was enamored of American black music, but made their mark by doing something different with their inspiration. Songwriters Rod Argent and Chris White, and singer Colin Blunstone extracted the sense of mystery and loss that undergirded blues and r&b, and paired it with the hushed, cool romanticism of George Gershwin's "Summertime" to create an alluring minor-key, noir-pop hybrid. The initial success of "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" didn't translate to superstardom, however, and their next chart appearance would come posthumously four years later with "Time of the Season", cobbled together to round out their opus Odessey and Oracle. The band had been broken up for nearly two years when the song hit No. 1 in the U.S.; although it signaled a success at incorporating psychedelia into their sound, the band failed to survive the winter after the Summer of Love.
The nearly 40 years since their split have been very kind to the Zombies, though, with the 30th anniversary re-release of Odessey capping a revisionist historiography that situates the record in both the psychedelic and progressive pop canons. Their three hits mark the beginning of the British Invasion and the end of the first wave of psychedelia, and their brief catalog is completely contained within the 1960s, only adding to the sense of nostalgia and aura. And while the band is considered a longshot to make the white middle-class boomer canon (The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), an indie pop generation that worships the soundtracks to Wes Anderson's precious filmic dioramas has the band on its Mount Rushmore.
The Zombies' current incarnation is put to the test on Rhino's 2xCD Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, featuring Argent and Blunstone performing on stage for the first time in three decades. Recorded in London in 2005, the set sees the pair run through 25 songs, while expanding the group's known inventory significantly. The setlist covers hits and rarities, as well as solo efforts from Blunstone and Argent, covers, and four songs from the duo's two recent records, 2002's Out of the Shadows, and As Far as I Can See, from 2004. Questionable song selection (especially the new material) occasionally drags down the set, but otherwise Bloomsbury is a highly enjoyable live record. The band smartly sticks to the original arrangements, and more often than not proves that Argent and Blunstone not only retain their respective chops, but that their best work most definitely deserves another curtain call.
The most pleasant surprise is the remarkable preservation of Blunstone's sui generis tenor. He was the Zombies' Art Garfunkel, more or less, and without his voice, the concert would lack its most fundamental component. But instead of fading away with time, it's aged incredibly well. The initial test comes on "This Will Be Our Year", Odessey's most poignant and hopeful song, and Blunstone recaptures the strained, boyish naïveté that made the song unforgettable in the first place. "A Rose for Emily", the Zombies' own "Eleanor Rigby", sounds even more affecting and tender with maturity, and "Care of Cell 44", while definitely more earthbound than the original, still retains much of its original punch.
Odessey and the early singles are well-represented, but the set is filled out with more obscure curios. This is a welcome inclusion, if not a necessity for a band whose legacy is as much defined by its balance of classic and cult statuses. The 1966 single "Indication" is offered, but without its defining middle section, a Byrdsian raga-rumble, replaced here by Argent's keyboards to limited effect. "Just Out of Reach", their contribution to the Otto Preminger 1965 beat-mystery Bunny Lake Is Missing (in which they made a cameo) is also present, but it's overshadowed by being positioned near the end of the set. Argent and Blunstone's love for American soul is represented with a fine cover of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", but "Old and Wise", which Blunstone sang on Alan Parsons' Eye in the Sky, feels out of place, if not thematically appropriate.
While neither are especially essential, Blunstone's solo efforts have aged much better than Argent's, and both are highlighted. Blunstone's definitive interpretation of Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses" is given a six-minute, string-aided spotlight, followed by "I Don't Believe in Angels", from Ennismore. For Argent, however, "Hold Your Head Up" and the Russ Ballard-penned "God Gave Rock and Roll To You"-- despite being younger than the Zombies material-- sound dated and quaint. "Rock and Roll", known more for its covers by KISS and Christian rock band Petra, is awkwardly positioned at the end of the set, following "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There", and preceding "Summertime". While Blunstone and Argent might lump the song into the Zombies' family tree, its colossal level of evangelism and lunky fist-pumping chorus certainly suggest otherwise.
For a band that always seemed a bit out of step with their surroundings, the Zombies are taking big strides toward redefining their dimly understood catalog, aided more by a newfound appreciation by a young audience than their inclusion in the boomer canon. And although those looking for an initial inroad into the band's discography would no doubt be better suited to check out either of Big Beat's collections-- the singles compilation or the 4xCD box set-- Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre is a good example of the group's enduring relevance.
