Zombies Reaching Across Decades. NRP Tiny Desk Concert.

August 12, 2012

The Zombies' third studio album, Odessey and Oracle, spawned what may be the band's best-known song, "Time of the Season." But the record wasn't a big success when it first came out in 1968. In fact, The Zombies' original lineup disbanded before Odessey and Oracle even came out.

It wasn't until 12 years after the album's release that it really started generating praise. Paul Weller of the English new-wave band The Jam called it his favorite album of all time — he maintains as much to this day — which helped bring in successive generations of younger fans. Founding members Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone say the record's influence continues to reach across decades.

"The record sells more every year now than it did when it first came out," Argent says. "We almost always have young bands come see us. We almost always have a young component in the audience. It's such a privilege to be at this stage in our careers and to get that energy back."

After hiatuses, solo jaunts and lineup changes, Argent and Blunstone keep coming back to make music together. The two have played together since they were teenagers; Blunstone says that from the start of The Zombies, the music was made to complement the members' abilities.

"If you analyze the individual players in The Zombies — with the exception of Rod, who is an absolutely exceptional keyboard player — we were all quite modest musicians individually," he says. "But when we played together, something happened."