Zombie Heaven

4-CD box set contains their entire studio output (disc 1 & 2 contains the albums Begin Here, Odessey & Oracle & their final, so-called 'lost album') + 41 never before released tracks (disc 3), including outtakes, early demos, home recordings & live material (disc 4), with 64-page full color booklet featuring new interviews.Led by the accomplished Rod Argent on piano and organ, The Zombies comprised Paul Atkinson on guitar, Chris White on bass, Hugh Grundy on drums and vocalist Colin Blunstone, the latter widely acknowledged as one of the finest singers Britain has ever produced. White and Argent wrote the group's striking, inventive original material. The group came together as school friends in the town of St Albans in 1961, purely for the love of beat, jazz and R&B music. In early 1964 just as they were about to start work or college, they took a shot at the local talent contest and won. A few months later Rod's She's Not There became the Zombies' first single and a Top 20 hit in the UK. The group were thrown into the excitement of tours, television appearances and pop stardom. Their third release, Tell Her No was a further hit in the UK, and meanwhile in the United States, She's Not There reached the coveted #l spot in October 1964. The band made the first of several trips across the Atlantic that Christmas, where they were rapturously received - Tell Her No went Top 10 - and America has subsequently always held a soft spot for the Zombies.Popular throughout the rest of the world, the Zombies spent most of 1965 and 1966 touring Europe and America and releasing a slew of impeccable pop singles: She's Coming Home, Whenever You're Ready, Is This The Dream, Remember You were all of an unswervingly high standard. The group's first album Begin Here was issued in April 1965, and later that year the combo appeared in the thriller Bunny Lake Is Missing. The group paid a visit to the Philippines in spring 1967 expecting a quiet two week residency. Instead they were thrown into a Beatle-like maelstrom of wild adulation and fan pandemonium, performing to crowds of 30,000 nightly. Upon their return to the UK, the Zombies signed to CBS and, determined to produce a record themselves, embarked on the making of the classic Odessey & Oracle album. It was during the making of Odessey however that the Zombies came to a mutual decision that they had gone as far as they wanted to and they disbanded upon the release of the album in April 1968. Almost as an afterthought, a final single, Time Of The Season, trickled out and in supremely ironic fashion became a gigantic international hit almost a year later, once again hitting #1 in the States and going on to sell well over a million copies. But having mentally moved on, the Zombies declined to reform to capitalise on this posthumous success. Colin left the music business for a period but was coaxed back into a solo career, which he has pursued ever since to critical and commercial acclaim. Paul and Hugh both became successful A&R men, and of course the group Argent, led by Rod with Chris behind the scenes, scaled commercial heights in the mid-1970s that rivalled the Zombies' own. The years since have seen the Zombies rightly become one of the most beloved and respected groups of the mid-1960s, and their groundbreaking influence continues to spread. She's Not There has been covered countless times, from Santana to the UK Subs, and Odessey and Oracle is often referred to as a work of genius. Their catalogue, which, unlike so many other artists of the era they own and benefit from, continues to bring pleasure to millions the world over. This is the first time that this catalogue has been given the respect it deserves. When this 4 CD, 119-song collection appeared, there were those who doubted anyone would want so much music by a group that only had three hits ("She's Not There," "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season"). Defying the naysayers, Zombie Heaven inspired renewed Zombie mania among pop cognoscenti. With its beautiful cover, fascinating book, and every recording the group ever made, it truly is Zombie heaven. Unlike most artists of their era whose album cuts were far inferior to their singles, Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, and company had, if anything, too much talent. From the baroque beauty of "Care of Cell 44," to the wistful pop soul of "If It Don't Work Out," and the driving "Indication," this is a treasure for all fans of pure pop. --Dawn Eden

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