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The Zombies: Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: The Zombies
Title: Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London
Format: CD/DVD
Genre: Pop-Rock
Label: Rhino
Website: www.rodargent.com
Purchase this CD: Amazon

Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone are two names that reach back into the 60’s that have found a way to remain in the minds of the masses over the years. They never went away, their legendary status and continuing work has kept their music and reputation alive to this day. The Zombies were a stellar pop machine with a relatively short-lived career that exited with a magnum opus titled Odyssey and The Oracle (1968). That particular title ranks high on the list for gaining momentum and continued critical acclaim with the passing of time just as their contemporaries.

Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London is packaged as a two CD set or one DVD. Both presentations are excellent. The DVD features 16 performances with no interviews or bonuses, and the double CD gives you 25 tracks. Both are great for the quality of production and entertainment value. The only misgiving is that this could have been packaged as a three disc set rather than splitting up the formats and cutting back on the performances on the DVD. Why not offer it all in one set for a decent price? I suppose it is all about marketing and making money when you get right down to it, the consumer always has to pay, sometimes repeatedly. Labels wonder why there is so much pirating and downloading going on. A few months from now, you may see this very package hit the shelves again repackaged. This puts people off and their buying habits change because of the anticipation of the next round coming. You may find a remastered version in a few months from now with bonus material or better yet a suddenly rare import of the same performance. This is a collector’s nirvana but the average consumer feels frustration with these marketing ploys.

Regardless of some of tactics labels employ to recycle music, the bottom line for me is this is great music, which sounds fantastic in a live setting. Argent and Blunstone are in great form on this set. Blunstone is in fine voice and Argent remains one the best at his craft, animated and pumping the organ and bouncing around just as if he had the energy of someone 20 years younger. Although he does not do much of the lead vocal chores, he does sound good when the opportunity presents itself.

I admit I was excited about this release but in the back of my mind wondered if these old dudes still had what it takes. I was not disappointed, they do, and you will enjoy a fine performance by a band that is still thriving on their past catalog and some recently released material. For the first time some songs are performed time live and with strings added, and it all comes out sounding just wonderful.

Reviewed - April 29, 2007

Tracks:

Disc 1

01. Andorra
02. This Will Be Our Year
03. I Love You
04. What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted
05. Mystified
06. A Rose For Emily
07. Beechwood Park
08. Time Of The Season
09. I Want To Fly
10. In My Mind A Miracle
11. Keep On Rolling
12. Hold Your Head Up

Disc 2

01. Sanctuary
02. Pleasure
03. Say You Don't Mind
04. Misty Roses
05. I Don't Believe In Miracles
06. Old & Wise
07. Care Of Cell 44
08. Indication
09. Tell Her No
10. She's Not There
11. Just Out Of Reach
12. God Gave Rock 'N Roll To You
13. Summertime

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.