New World [CD]

Not exactly "The Zombies" circa 1965, but an attempt to legally reclaim the Zombies name in early 1991 from bogus groups who were touring under the Zombies name. This resulted in Chris White pulling together Colin Blunstone, Chilean keyboardist Sebastian Santa Maria, and a couple of session musicians under the Zombies name to produce an album and do a limited tour in the States.

That sounds like a rather cold-hearted reason to make a record, but as an album, "New World" is redeemed by good songwriting, neat harmonies, and of course Colin's still-entrancing voice. The updating of the sound is kept finely organic, which means this album still sounds fresh, despite the use of synthesizers on most tracks (most distractingly on the jazzy "Moonday Morning Dance"). There are also some wonderfully delicate songs for Colin: "Nights on Fire," and "I Can't Be Wrong" which are quite beautiful, and worth hearing.

Boiled down, the CD sounds just like what it is: an album by middle-aged rockers who have always had the good taste and talent to craft good songs. Unfortunately, the record label demanded that a remake of "Time of the Season" be included, which is an almost note-for-note recreation, and while not an embarassment, adds nothing to the Zombies legacy.

So, while the paranoic freneticism of "Tell Her No" or the amazing experimentation of "Odessey & Oracle" is gone, what's left is sheer melodic songcraft and some very pleasant songs that may or may not linger in your memory after you've heard them. It's a good album, and worth picking up if you're a fan.

This reissue by Big Beat adds two bonus demo tracks to the original lineup: "Hold My Hand" (aka Lula Lula), and "When My Boat Comes In," both recorded in 1978 for an aborted "Zombies" project. The short booklet also contains an interview with Chris White who describes the genesis of the album.

"New World" is a 1990 Zombies reunion album. The three original members Chris White, Hugh Grundy and Colin Blunstone reformed the band for a short period with keyboardist/guitarist Sebastian Santa Maria. Actually all five originals are featured on the album. Rod Argent plays his well-known keyboard lines on the re-make of "Time of the Season", and guitarist Paul Atkinson is also credited as "special guest"

Chris White was one of the two great songwriters in the original band, and here he has written three fine new songs; among them the title-track and one of the album's highlights, "Lula Lula". Lead vocalist Colin Blunstone only wrote very few songs to the band in the sixties, though the few he did write were very strong. Here he contributes no less than five songs, of which "Losing You" and "Alone in Paradise" are other highlights.

New member Santa Maria also wrote material for the album, and his "I Can't Be Wrong" is another fine track.

The Zombies' sound was always clean and polished. This was originally one of their strengths. Today, when so much clean (sterile) pop-music is produced, this is not necessarily an advantage. Though, containing many fine well-produced pop-songs, the album suffers a little from sounding too nice. A few more rough ends here and there would have been refreshing.

This does not mean that the album is not worthwhile; far from it. Blunstone's vocals sound as strong as ever and the playing is impeccable

Between the original release of Odessey & Oracle and last year's full-fledged reunion of the surviving Zombies members to reproduce it on stage, there have been two studio albums released under the band's name. 2004's As Far As I Can See, which reunites Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, and (sporadically) Chris White, is your best bet for something vaguely Zombies-esque in sound, but this 1990 album is certainly of note to hardcore fans. While the production sounds sterile and dated, it has flashes of the warm familiar that will reward repeat listenings, no mean feat considering it was recorded in order to re-establish the legal rights to the band name.

The band's original guitarist and keyboardist were substituted for this album with Sebastain Santa Maria (due to practical, rather than acrimonious reasons), who also contributes four songs, though only "I Can't Be Wrong" really sticks in the head, and "Moonday Morning Dance" is a creaky 80's refugee if ever I heard one. Chris White adds the decent "Lula Lula" and "Heaven's Gate", and the cover of Paddy McAloon's "When Love Breaks Down" comes off fairly well. Colin really steps up, writing or co-writing almost the whole back-half of the record, "Losing You" being the highlight. The best song is one of the least Zombie-like, the anthemic opening title track co-written by Chris White and his nephew. It's wonderfully catchy and optimistic, and features some guitar work courtesy of original Zombie Paul Atkinson, who was otherwise unavailable due to his work as an Artists & Repertoire man.

The main ingredient missing here is obviously the singing, songwriting, and immaculate keyboard skills of Mr. Rod Argent, who appears only to recreate his distinctive soloing on a remake of Time of the Season. Pointless, but pleasant nostalgia on an album that doesn't otherwise re-invent the wheel anyway.

Thankfully, Rod's presence is beefed up (and the rating boosted a whole star) by the inclusion of two 1978 bonus tracks recorded by Chris White with Colin and Rod on harmonies. One of these is an early, haunting demo of Lula Lula (then titled "Hold My Hand") while the other is the pretty, elegic "When My Boat Comes In," which has a gorgeous middle-eight. While these tracks add a lot of value to the album, there was room for additional material, particularly the stripped-down Time of the Season that is mentioned in the liner notes and was included on the German version of the album. Including the live recordings (if they exist) of "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season" from the group's one-off 1997 reunion at a Colin Blunstone show would also have made this a more comprehensive document of the group's post-1968 activities. As it is, a worthwhile chronology-filler for hardcore Zombies fans, passable for everyone else.