They are probably still pinching themselves now, but when Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone initially reformed THE ZOMBIES (as ‘The Zombies featuring Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent’) around the turn of the new millennium it was only supposed to be for a handful of gigs.
Fast forward a decade and The Zombies (for many years one of the 60s most under-rated bands) have since made two new studio albums, received serious critical accolades off everyone from Paul Weller to Dave Grohl for their masterpiece (1967’s ‘Odessey & Oracle’) and toured said album with the band’s original line-up save for guitarist Paul Atkinson who sadly succumbed to Cancer a few years back.
Consequently, there’s a frisson of excitement surrounding the release of the third album of all-new Zombies material since Y2K. The band may still be billed as The Zombies (featuring Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent), but the band’s touring line-up of father and son rhythm section Jim and Steve Rodford are now well-established and tasteful new guitarist Tom Toomey has also integrated seamlessly.
Speaking to Colin Blunstone recently, he confessed that he had only recently begun to accept (after a trifling 50 years in the business) that singing was his vocation, yet the idea of The Zombies producing anything less than consummately professional and melodically superior seems ludicrous at this stage and so it proves once again with ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In.’
With production overseen by a typically hands-on Rod Argent, the album is highly polished, yet the gloss rarely gets in the way of yet another batch of sublime songs. The laid-back and rather showbizzy-sounding title track throws something of a curve, but from there onwards, they struggle to put a foot wrong.
Just occasionally it rocks hard. Intentionally or not, the swaggering ‘Play It For Real’ takes a swipe at The Beatles’ ‘Hey Bulldog’ while ‘Another Day’ reminds me a little of John Miles’ ‘Music Was my First Love’ before turning into a dramatic power anthem pulled off with typical Zombies panache.
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Primarily, though, it’s slow-burning pop and sumptuous ballads The Zombies excel at, and ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’ is blessed with its fair share of both. Both the Blunstone-penned ‘Any Other Day’ and the Spanish Civil War-influenced ‘A Moment in Time’ feature superior four-way harmonies, heavenly Blunstone vocals and dramatic choruses. The old Argent standard ‘Christmas for the Free’ gets a sensitive makeover and the dreamy, mellotron-assisted ‘Shine on Sunshine’ harks back to the band’s sumptuous, but enigmatic ‘Odessey & Oracle’ heyday.
The album also finishes strongly. The show-stopping ‘I Do Believe’ harnesses quality harmonies, a truly stunning vocal from Blunstone and a Gospel-tinged chorus, although it’s topped by the closing ‘Let It Go’: a beautiful hymnal affair with Classical-style piano motifs from Argent, angelic vocals from Blunstone and a truly restrained performance from the band. To turn what could easily sound like a lumpen flag-waver into something so sublime takes a real talent and the song is surely the record’s crowning glory.
The Zombies, then, are enjoying a remarkable second life. ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’ finds them playing with a freshness, vitality and skill most bands a third of their age would re-mortgage their Hampstead hideaways for and shows how far ahead of the game they remain a reality-defying 50 years down the line. Long may they enrich our lives.
The Zombies online
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