Zombies Album: “Zombie Heaven”

A boxed set from a bunch of guys who only had 3 or 4 hit records at best? What could be on it? PUUULLLENTY. And is it any good? YOU BETCHA! 119 numbers from a 4 year period. These guys were PROLIFIC and just about the most hard lucked band of the Briish Invasion. Trouble with their work permits kept them from capitalizing on their fame here, when they hit right out of the box with SHE'S NOT THERE. Bad luck, bad management, trouble with unions did not stop these guys from plugging away. This set is like finding a treasure trove of GOOD British Invasion records you never heard before. Rave-ups, eerie introspective numbers (way before they were in vogue), and just plain wonderful pop songs permeate this fantastic sounding 4 disc set. That's info for the uninitiated. For those in the know, there's mono and rare stereo versions, overdubbed and pre-overdubbed versions, studio chatter and rehearsals, live at the BBC recordings, a massive 65 page booklet that goes through the band's history and track by track breakdown and commentary from the guys, a ton of photos, and just about everything this group ever recorded. Very,very few clunkers. Despite two timeless #1 hits (at the begining and end of their career) the Zombies need to be re-evaluated as one the top groups of the British Invasion. And this set is the proof.

Although always enjoying the sound of the Zombies when heard on the radio I never bought any of their recordings until this set was released. By that time I was really anxious to get a copy of Zombie Heaven and ordered it as so as a USA seller had one. (Available here in US only as an import)

Zombie Heaven is comprised of four discs eeach of which handles a certain catagory (example: disc four is live/BBC recordings). Each disc runs a healthy 70+ minutes providing a near 5 hours of total playing time. Nearly, if not all of the Zombies' recorded material is included in this package.

First of all the package is first rate, attractive and clasy. Not a box per say but a long, tall, hardcover digipack. very nice.

While naturally some songs get repeated, but with alternative versions, I'm glad it's all included here. We also get blessed with a few early but excellent Argent cuts.

One of the most appealing traits of the Zombies is the sensational three-part harmonies (not just backing vocals) they created. Not to pair one against the other, but I find Rod Argent's lead vocal contibutions equaly as appropriate as Colin's. But Colin is the man with those breathy, cool vocal chords that I often wished I possessed.

Zombie Heaven is prime example of that cool, crisp, crafty British 60's pop. The mixes are clean and uncluttered and you can realy hear the sound of the woody studio acoustics come alive prompted by these five young talents (as well as a caring producer's hand).

I have a vast music and cd collection of rock and beyond, but for some inexplicable reason Zombie Heaven, in both it's contents and package/presentation, remains the crown jewel of my collection.

The Zombies' first album, with "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" was excellent. "Odessey and Oracle" was even better, but it's only in retrospect that I realize how superior it was to almost anything else that was released during that period. And listening to it now, it's clear that it has held up well over the decades, not sounding dated at all. And the closer you listen the more you realize that these guys were really GOOD!

The Zombie Heaven box set delivers another BIG surprise. When they broke up, they still had enough unreleased material recorded to make up another album nearly as good as Odessey and Oracle. (These songs comprise "The Lost Album" in this collection). The Zombies left stuff behind that was better than nearly anything that other bands were selling. "She Loves the Way They Love Her", "Imagine the Swan", "Girl Help Me", "I Could Spend the Day" and "Smokey Day" rank with the best work the group ever produced, and if not for the release of this set, would have been all but forgotten. Likewise, "If It Don't Work Out", "Don't Cry For Me", "Walking in the Sun" and "I'll Call You Mine". These are first-rate tunes! The harmony is so good at times that it will make you weep! (She Loves the Way They Love Her). Colin Blunstone is, in fact, one of the great vocalists in pop music history, with an instantly recognizable voice.

Any fans of the band, "Argent" will love this collection, too. This collection is the "missing link" between A(rgent) and Z(ombies), since this was the transition period when keyboard wizard Rod Argent was forming "Argent", and he and bassist Chris White were solidifying their song-writing partnership. A few of the "Lost Tunes" like "Imagine the Swan" are more "Argent" tunes than Zombies, especially with Rod singing lead.

Although their early lyrics were nowhere nearly as sophisticated as their music, by the time "Odessey and Oracle" was released, they had bridged this gap. Tunes like "A Rose For Emily", "Brief Candles" and "Care of Cell 44" tell wonderful stories without resorting to cliches.

Disc one, "Begin Here and Singles" includes songs from their first album and all of the "A-side" and "B-side" of their singles released on 45's. I use the quotes because their "B-sides" were as good as the "A-sides", not just throw-away seconds. Good tune after good tune. A few, like "Road Runner" are dated, but the rest hold up amazingly well after 35 years or so, especially "Whenever You're Ready", "Leave Me Be", and "Indication". This was/is still really good music!

Don't let yourself miss out on the pleasure of this collection. It's worth every cent, because you'll discover many wonderful tunes that you may have never heard before, that you will find yourself humming at odd times, and you'll realize..."Hey, I really LIKE that song!"

Mostly dismissed in their own time as rudimentary beatsers, the Zombies were actually far more inventive than their three hits bely, as Zombie Heaven proves beyond all doubt. There were few more capable popsmiths in their time than Rod Argent or Chris White, and no vocalist could match the sweetly chilling atmosphere conjured by Colin Blunstone's frosty pipes. Their fully-rendered melodicism surpassing that of even the Beatles (John Lennon wanted to produce them, by the way), they are rivalled only by Brian Wilson's contemporaneous work with the Beach Boys, and as with that group, digging deeper than the most obvious hits in the Zombies' catalogue can only be rewarding. Zombies Heaven collects all the group's single and LP tracks in one place, including the entirety of their 1968 pet sounds Odessy and Oracle, BBC sessions, plus dozens of cuts only rumored to exist previously. Few groups warrant the fanatical kind of devotion exemplified here, and were it anybody else this would be excessive, but the Zombies were simply too good, and the ridiculous proliferation of box sets devoted to undeserving two-hit schleps is almost justified by the sheer quality of this collection, if only it means that there is more to come from such woefully overlooked acts whose master tapes are currently languishing in record company vaults.

When, I first bought this set I was a little nervous. I had only previously heard Time of the Season and She's not There and it was allot of money for this college student to spend. However, it was well worth it! This band was a true lost treasure for me! They were truly a band that tried to do everything they could do to make the typical three minute song sound fascinating! I was completely, under there spell from start to finish. The sound quality apart from the BBC disc (which is understandable considering the BBC wiped out allot of great performances) is stunning! The mono songs on disc one are suprisingly powerful and sound as fresh as any stereo mix. In fact the original mono versions are far better than the stereo versions on the "Singles A's and B's." Great time, effort, and care was placed into this collection and it shows! This is how a boxed set should be produced and add to that a great band and you have a box set taht is well worth getting! Get it and stay away from those inferior stereo mixes on other CD's. This box set has everything a Zombies fan could want. All of the CORRECT stereo and mono versions are used and it includes Odessey and Oracle plus the songs from the lost album. The book and pictures are also wonderfull and provide the listener with hours of great reading. This box set is truly heaven! There are so many great songs and it's been well stated,that this band if anything had too much talent! Sincerely, A HAPPY COLLEGE STUDENT!