b_hodges's Full Review: The Greatest Hits by The Zombies
When great bands in the history of Rock n' Roll are mentioned, of course the standards -- The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Electric Prunes (okay, maybe not to everyone) -- take the forefront. But there are a slew of bands that fell into nebulous categories -- there were those who imitated a certain sound almost exactly, those who tried a new sound that didn't quite catch on, and those who made music that was quick to be categorized at the time, but over time is realized to have a sound that is all its own. The Zombies, I believe, have the distinction of being placed in the latter category.
With three great hits that have endured the test of time and defined the band -- "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", and "Time of the Season" -- the Zombies sound could only be most closely classified as British Pop. This assumes that much British Pop sounded generally the same. In the 1960s, much of it did -- many bands tried to sound exactly like the Beatles for years (i.e. the Dave Clark Five who had a number of hits). The result was a lot of self indulgent fluff that was hopefully good enough to score a band a record contract -- which resulted in a lot of one-hit wonders.
The Zombies are rarely mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but their trademark sound, heavily influenced by Rod Argent's virtuoso electric piano playing, left an impression that inspired many bands. The distinction of "Zombies-esque" has become a proud moniker for the band and immortalized them in the annals of rock n' roll as part of its roots.
"Tell Her No" is probably the most contemporary song the Zombies wrote. A rather dissonant song, it has enough of the Zombies sound without giving in too much to the "cut-and-paste" British pop songs of the 60s. "Time of the Season" and "She's Not There" were pioneers in British pop, as the yearning and dissonance these songs emoted showed they were obviously more intelligently written than many of the songs coming out
during that time. Argent's extended, brilliant keyboard solos rarely heard in rock before then laid the groundwork for many keyboard-heavy rock bands that arose in the late 60s and early 70s (i.e. Steppenwolf, Vanilla Fudge, Deep Purple). (Argent would later form his own band and write probably the most organ-heavy rock n' roll song of all time, "Hold Your Head Up"). It is these two songs that help bridge the gap between formulaic British Pop and heavier, free-form rock that bands like the Yardbirds had begun experimenting with at the time.
For an important and well-aged piece of rock n' roll, I suggest buying the Zombies Greatest Hits and just listen to their great sound that was never quite duplicated, but paved the way for a new sound in rock n' roll.
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