November 3, 2015

"Imagine creating the best work of your life, some of the best music of its day, and no one cares."

"Now imagine playing those songs 47 years later to a screaming and loving bunch of fans and getting what seems like a hero's welcome. That's part of the story of The Zombies, who played the classic 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, along with a set of other hits and brand new songs, live in Washington, D.C. last month. Now we have their nearly note-for-note live reproduction of Odessey and Oracle for you here."

26 comments:

chickelit said...

There's some groovy fashion nostalgia in this Zombie's video

MadisonMan said...

Some of the best music of its day according to whom?

How can it be the best music if no one cares? Doesn't that mean that the music is speaking to no one?

Ann Althouse said...

@MadisonMan It means the music received recognition in later years. A great deal of what is excellent is not greatly appreciated when it first comes out. Perhaps the text, from NPR, the part I copied, isn't good at expressing this.

JackWayne said...

The Zombies had hits that played on the reading. WTF are they saying "no recognition?"

JackWayne said...

The Zombies had hits that played on the radio. WTF are they saying "no recognition?"

Damn spellchecker

MadisonMan said...

If they're talking about it being cared about now vs. when it was released, it seems to me that the tenses are wrong. Or at least not clear.

Maybe Journalists should learn to write with precision. Crisply!

Elliott A said...

Rod Argent's solo album "Argent" was really overlooked, yet was superb. Zombies with the pop overtones removed. "Dance in the Smoke" was played frequently on FM radio, but several great songs were only heard by those who bought the album. Still one of my favorites.

Elliott A said...

While the first album technically marked the beginning of the new band, it was unlike the subsequent ones which contained more pop oriented tunes such as "Hold Your Head Up". Sorry for the confusion.

Ann Althouse said...

@jack wayne You are not thinking of Odessey and Oracle.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Ann Althouse said...

@jack wayne You are not thinking of Odessey and Oracle.

"Oddessey and Oracle" contained "Time of the Season", which was not only one of their biggest hits, but is probably one of their most remembered songs. I think what jack wayne said applies.

Wince said...

"Imagine creating the best work of your life, some of the best music of its day, and no one cares."

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know? Why should I care?


As for path breaking, can anyone cite an earlier use of the phrase: Who's Your Daddy?

jr565 said...

Tell her no no no no no no no no no no
no no no no no no no no


jr565 said...

if this were Lawrence Lessing he'd say they should have lost their copyright by now. If this were Pandora this would be the exact music they wouldn't want to pay any royalties on.

chickelit said...

The Zombies broke up before "Time Of The Season" became a hit. They were fluent in languish like so many.

Clyde said...

"Friends of Mine" is a catchy little earwig. Kind of goofy, but hard to get out of your head.

BN said...

"Imagine creating the best work of your life..."

...and it still sucked.

Just kidding, y'all go ahead and waller in it.

BN said...

"A great deal of what is excellent is not greatly appreciated when it first comes out."

Exercise 1: Define "pop" in the term "pop music." Be specific.

BN said...

And really, how many CDs or whatever are they selling now that they're being "greatly appreciated"? I'm quite sure they had a concert or two back then where they also had "a screaming and loving bunch of fans" there for them.

How many bar stools are there in the world with has-been rock stars sitting there hitting on some indifferent young sweet thing saying, "hey, I used to be a big star! No really!"

Who's yer daddy, indeed.

Etienne said...

To say that no one cares is tout à fait un autotromperie (quite a self-deceit).

Let us say, no one lifted your pride. No one gave you a trophy.

But who can say no one cared. When I listen, when I see, when I hear, it is only I who know whether I care, or whether I don't care. I am not required to stroke your wallet.

Who are these scoundrels who whimper at the moon?

Saint Croix said...

I love the Zombies! I think they were pretty well known, back in the day. Listen to those girls scream!

A band that never made it at all, and should have, is The Creation.

Emilie said...

We saw the Zombies perform the Odessey and Oracle album (as well as other songs) in Jenkintown last month. The amazing thing is that these 60 - 70+ year old men can still sing and play very, very well. They must have taken great care of themselves.

The amazing thing about the Odessey and Oracle album (in addition to the obvious misspelling in the title that has now become part of the legend) is that every single song is great. No duds.

In the show, Chris White plays a World War I camp organ (actually used on the battlefield during WW1) in "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914).

Most of us have probably heard "This Will Be Our Year" at weddings.

The album ranked #100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

That enough band members are still around to perform the album in its entirety after more than 40 years, and to perform it very well, is quite something. A great show.

Johanna Lapp said...

I met the Zombies through a showing of Otto Preminger's "Bunny Lake is Missing" (1965) on the Turner Classic Movies channel. An underrated suspense thriller, but the soundtrack superglued the movie to Swinging London in 1964, with three eerie Zombies tunes, none of them the big hits. They do appear onscreen in a club performance.

The trailer namechecks the band (who, I think, had already split up by the time the film was in theaters). Speaks to what a sensation they were at the time.

Plus Lawrence Olivier, Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley and a bit by Noel Coward.

D.D. Driver said...

The point here is that O&O is now viewed in the same strata as Pet Sounds and St. Pepper's, where as (I guess) it wasn't 40 years ago.

For the record, I cannot stand Time of the Season, and it feels out of place on the album. On the other hand, Care of Cell 44 is one of the all time great pop songs.

mikee said...

I remember the first time I heard the Rolling Stones used as elevator music.

The years do fly by, don't they?

I'll stick with the original recording from the Zombies, rather than the geriatric version.

James said...

It's discordant that the Zombies would sing "I Love You" by the band "People".
People chose their name based on all the bands around called things like The Animals, the Birds, and, I suppose, the Zombies.

eddie willers said...

For Colin Blunstone to still have a falsetto at his age is simply amazing.