Tag Archives: Colin Blunstone

The Zombies Live at The Wolf Den

Posted on by Musicofourheart

We attended a concert by The Zombies last night at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den. Our seats were right down front in the “high roller” section ;)  Rod Argent played keyboards directly above us. Colin Blunstone sang to our immediate right.

The Zombies are associated with the British Invasion through their classic hits, “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No“. I recall seeing the 45 rpm of  ”She’s Not There” on Parrot Records way back when…

Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone spoke about their five decades history which features noteworthy and measurable accomplishments. The Zombies gave us a very balanced set of that music legacy. They did their 60′s hits, then delved deeper into Odessey and Oracle performing five tracks of this masterpiece recording. “Care of Cell 44″, “A Rose for Emily”, “I want Her, She Wants Me”, and the last song was the timeless universal hit,  ”Time of the Season“. It was a very fun sing along at  The Wolf Den :)

File:Odessey and Oracle.jpg

Rod Argent spoke as one of the proud parents of Odessey and Oracle how the rich production has influenced generations of musicians. He was quite fond of Dave Grohl’s quote in NME.

“I would have loved to have been in the studio when The Zombies recorded [their 1968 masterpiece] Odessey and Oracle,” Dave Grohl told New Musical Express in 2011, when asked which classic album he would most liked to have put his stamp on. “It’s such a simple record, and such an amazing album, but the sounds are really primal and raw because of the technical limitations of the time. So yeah, probably that.”

ArtworkThey highlighted four songs from their latest studio recording,  Breathe Out, Breathe In, the title track, “Any Other Way”, “A Moment In Time”, and “I Do Believe”. I must admit the album has sturdy legs and grew on me last night.

They also featured the Argent song, “Hold Your Head Up” which was done in rousing fashion. I loved the fact that you had two members of Argent there, Rod Argent of course who truly shines on keyboard and special effects on this rock classic. We also had Jim Rodford the original bassist for Argent. Jim has also played with The Kinks and The Animals II. Hilton Valentine formed The Animals II. He now lives in Wallingford, Ct. and was in the audience directly behind us. He smiled approvingly through much of the show. I actually saw Hilton Valentine play with The Yarbirds a few years back at The Oakdale in Wallingford.

I was taken with a song that Colin Blunstone did from his days as lead vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project. Colin appeared on six of The Alan Parsons Project recordings. The selection he sang reached inside of me, “Old and Wise”. The song reached #21 on the Billboard AC charts in the US in early 1983 and #74 in the United Kingdom.

I bought a signed copy of The Zombies, Recorded Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios London.

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The Zombies Still Going Strong

Posted on by Musicofourheart

The music of our heart is in harmony with how music affects our sense of well-being. Music is representative of an era in time that makes us happy and complete. The Zombies were part of such a time, the second wave of the British Invasion bands in the 60s. They created a unique sound led by Rod Argent on keyboards/vocals and Colin Blunstone on vocals that calls to a special place inside every time I hear their timeless hits. (She’s Not There, Time of the Season)

Thankfully, The Zombies continue to perform and they sound fantastic live. We saw The Zombies in 2004 on the first night of their U.S. Tour in Stamford, Ct. It was a magical evening. I was blown away by how crystal clear Colin Blunstone’s vocals were as he sung to us. Rod Argent was warmly genuine as he spoke to us from the stage about the evolution of The Zombies, Argent and their influence on other artists (“Liar” by Argent became a big hit for Three Dog Night …).

What was exciting to witness was how much Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone wanted to interact with their fans after the show. They manned the merchandise booth eager to sell and sign the freshly arrived copies of their first studio album since 1991, As Far As I Can See. They wouldn’t rush you past to keep the line moving. It was an intimate reward to speak with them for a while.

The reason why I am writing today about The Zombies is that they have a new concert CD/DVD package, The Zombies – Live in Concert at Metropolis Studios. Taped in January 2011, the compilation, which includes Zombies hits, interviews and post-show reception footage, will be available on August 7th, or you can pre-order it here.

The Zombies will also be playing at the Mohegan Sun Wolf’s Den on that same day August 7th, 2012. We are looking forward to that engagement, perhaps I’ll buy and have them sign The Zombies – Live in Concert at Metropolis Studios that day. ;)

Be sure to browse over to look at The Zombies Web site. It is well designed, structured by Past, Present and Future content.

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