I Got Zombies Tickets!!!!

[jazzy mary]

I'm so excited!! The Zombies Colin and Rod are coming to Town Hall on Oct. 13. Through a lot of running around (Town Hall doesn't sell tickets at the box office until 3 weeks before the date ), and they're not at Ticket master outlets, I finally was reduced to ordering them over the phone. I was extremely dismayed to find out they had been on sale since Aug. 25th. HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING?? I wouldn't have known about it at all if it hadn't been in last Friday's NYT!!

At any rate, I got tickets in Row T for Liz and I. We can't wait. We know every Zombie song on their "greatest Hits" cd which I got in S.F. completely!! We listen to it all the time. Liz is determined to get their autograph. I guesss we'll hang out outside the stage door. She's learning "Time of the Season" on guitar now.

Yeah, I can't wait. It's weird though, I guess Rod and Colin must be in their late 50s now??

BTW, Arthur Love is the opening act. Anyone know anything about him?

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

BTW, Arthur Love is the opening act. Anyone know anything about him?

You must mean Arthur Lee & Love.

I'm tempted to go too.

From AMG:

"Biography by Richie Unterberger
One of the best West Coast folk-rock/psychedelic bands, Love may have also been the first widely acclaimed cult/underground group. During their brief heyday — lasting all of three albums — they drew from Byrds-ish folk-rock, Stones-ish hard rock, blues, jazz, flamenco, and even light orchestral pop to create a heady stew of their own. They were also one of the first integrated rock groups, led by genius singer/songwriter Arthur Lee, one of the most idiosyncratic and enigmatic talents of the 1960s. Stars in their native Los Angeles, and an early inspiration to the Doors, they perversely refused to tour until well past their peak. This ensured their failure to land a hit single or album, though in truth the band's vision may have been too elusive to attract mass success anyway..."

[Chris D]

Are you sure it's not Arthur Lee of Love?

[jazzy mary]

There you go, Chris!! Thanks. Who is that?

[jazzy mary]

Thanks, Pete! It sounds like we'll love (hah,hah) him!! Pete, you should go!!

Oh, btw, the Zombies have a new album coming out on Rhino. I'm sure the topur is to promote that. The'd beter do, at least, some of their hits. Any would do as I love them all!!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

There you go, Chris!! Thanks. Who is that?

Love was one of the stellar bands in the 60's, making one of the best albums ever recorded, "Forever Changes". I'm not sure who's playing with Lee now, but I saw Love a couple of years ago. It wasn't a reunion in the traditional way as Lee had employed an already existing band (I think they're called Baby Lemonade when not playing with Lee). However, they played only Love classics plus a song or two off Lee's solo debut "Vindicator". The show felt surprisingly fresh though which delighted me as I usually genuinely dislike reunions.

[jazzy mary]

After doing some searching, I see that the Zombies new album came out in April. I'm really looking forward to seeing Arthur Lee too.

[Richardo Caerleoni]

J/M - THE ZOMBIES IN CONCERT TODAY ( or near!)- ENJOY!

They had a very good "live" review in the Guardian (UK) c. May this year.

[jazzy mary]

I'm so excited!! Any chance of cutting & pasting that review here?

[mjb]

The Zombies

Bloomsbury Theatre, London

Dorian Lynskey
Wednesday May 5, 2004
The Guardian

The Zombies' return, like their premature dissolution 36 years ago, has been met with little fanfare. The band's last album, Odessey [sic] & Oracle, was an inspired British response to the melodic opulence of Pet Sounds, but they split before it was released. Their success has thus been posthumous.



Though not a full-scale reunion, this tour is the first time singer Colin Blunstone and arranger Rod Argent have resuscitated the Zombies name. The set attempts to survey both men's careers, taking in Blunstone's solo work and Argent's eponymous art-rock band, and this creates some strange bedfellows: Argent's bombastic God Gave Rock'n'Roll to You cheek by jowl with an elegant string quartet recital of Gershwin's Summertime.

Blunstone is an unorthodox frontman and his breathy, choral voice has lost some of its delicacy but none of its power. Accompanied only by Argent's plaintive keyboards on Rose for Emily, or a string quartet on Misty Roses, he evokes the sighing melancholy of red-and-gold autumn afternoons. More conventional rock'n'roll moves, however, leave Blunstone looking nonplussed, and an otherwise hair-raising rendition of She's Not There is gatecrashed by a hideous cock-rock guitar solo that even the Darkness might regard as overheated. One day, hopefully, Odessey & Oracle will be deemed worthy of the same full-scale treatment as Brian Wilson's Smile. The Zombies deserve a little reverence.

[jazzy mary]

Imho, Blunstone is way underrated as a vocalist. He has a wonderful voice and real emotional depth. I love him soooo much!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

Imho, Blunstone is way underrated as a vocalist.

Make sure to check out his first solo album, "One Year", unless you've done so already!

[jazzy mary]

Antmanbee, I just got done ordering that and Echo Park plus two Love albums. Btw, your Kandinsky avatar is the Sept. art on my calendar at home!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

Antmanbee, I just got done ordering that and Echo Park plus two Love albums.

I haven't heard "Echo Park", but congrats to "One Year"! The sepia colour of the cover matches the autumnal mood of the music perfectly. Blunstone's vocals are so good on that album, smokey, passionate, genuine. And the arrangements for a small string ensemble on many of the tracks only add to the reflective mood. Do you know whether the CD you ordered is remastered by chance?

Which Love albums did you choose?

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

Btw, your Kandinsky avatar is the Sept. art on my calendar at home!

Great calendar!

[steve(thelil)]

I wanna (and might) go too. This is the band, btw, that the Alley concensus said was most minty.

[jazzy mary]

very, very , oh so minty!!!!!!!!!! If you all come out, you can meet my wonderful (one of them) daughter. She'll be the youngest person in the audience.

The Love album were "Forever Changes" and Best of. I'm not sure about the Colin Blunstone albums now. I got a notice that there was a problem w/ my credit card. I hadn't ordered from Amazon in a long time and my credit card was one I had cancelled several months ago. I was able to change payment for the Love albums but now I'm having prob;ems w/ the Blunstone ones. I've been trying for a while and Amazon doesn't let me change. I hope there isn't another problem like "out of stock". I'll just die if I don't get "Echo Park" and "One Year" and yes, I want the remastered ones!!

[Deke]

We went to see Arthur Lee & Love twice in short order recently. The first time around was at the Forum, which, although it looks like a dive, is without a doubt the best live music venue I've ever been to, soundwise. They were supported by The Seeds featuring Sky Saxon, who were even worse than I remembered. Love, on the other hand, were quite surprisingly excellent.

The 2nd time was at some place in Shepherd's Bush that I've never been to before, and probably will never go to again. They were supported by two new-wave-psychedelic bands. One was OK in a U2 sort of way, the other was just retreading what had already been... er... retreaded (?- ). Then on came Love, this time with three violins and three horns, courtesy of the Stockholm Symphony, and played right through 'Forever changes'. They were even better than before, but the sound wasn't.

Have you ever watched a show, and pictured wet letuce?

It was one of those.

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

The Love album were "Forever Changes" and Best of.

Good starting point!

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

yes, I want the remastered ones!!

Good news that "One Year" is remastered. The old CD of it didn't sound too good. Must make sure to get a copy of it myself then. I hope your credit card confusion straightens out!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by Deke

Then on came Love, this time with three violins and three horns, courtesy of the Stockholm Symphony, and played right through 'Forever changes'. They were even better than before, but the sound wasn't.

Too bad about the sound. I was told these strings shows were good but I never caught any of them. When I saw them, it was the plain rock band line-up. On the other hand, I managed to exchange a couple of words with Arthur Lee which was one peculiar encounter...

[jazzy mary]

oooh, tell us about it!! Yes, I just did another credit card. Finally, today, I was able to do it--I was having problems with the web site on Friday.

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

oooh, tell us about it!!

My Arthur Lee encounter, well... it's actually a bit embarrassing because I wanted to ask him for an autograph. I never do that because I think it's just silly and I'm way past the age when you think it's cool. But hey, it's Arthur Lee and I couldn't resist it. So my way he comes, and I stop him politely and say, "excuse me, this is something I rarely do, but can I have your autograph please?". Arthur Lee has this way of looking at you that could make a mountain nervous, and he stares at me for a cold second and then say, "This is something I rarely do but I've lost my maracca" and off he wanders. He was still prowling around the stage looking for his maracca when we left. OK, so I don't blame him for not wanting to give some idiotic stranger his autograph, but he had this weird aura around him, there was just something eerie about him that made the whole situation stranger than it sounds.

[jazzy mary]

What's a maracca? Is that one of those shaky thiings vocalists shake? Is that how it's spelled? He probably is an eccentric guy!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

What's a maracca? Is that one of those shaky thiings vocalists shake? Is that how it's spelled?

It's one of those, yes. I'm not sure how it's spelled to be honest, I've seen many variants of it so I'm just confused!

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

He probably is an eccentric guy!

That, however, I'm sure of!

[Dr Dave]

Yeah, eccentric.

SEVEN AND SEVEN IS

When I was a boy I thought about the times I'd be a man
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend I was in a can
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip, oop-ip-ip, yeah!

If I don’t stop crying it’s because that I’ve got no eyes
My dad’s in a fireplace and my dog lies hypnotized
Through a crack of light I was able to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Oop-ip-ip, oop-ip-ip, yeah!

Words & Music : Arthur Lee

[Richardo Caerleoni]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

What's a maracca? Is that one of those shaky thiings vocalists shake? Is that how it's spelled? He probably is an eccentric guy!

HEY ,NOTHING CON-CENTRIC!... THINK BO DIDDLEY!!! Think Jerome Arnold! ..."Braaang it it on home, Braaang it to Jerome". (Jerome don't want it!)

Jerome was the world's greatest blues Maracca player!

Seriously, All those great Bo Diddley tracks..."Say Man" etc.. That was Jerome and his Maraccas!

Big influence in British R&B...We used to fill tape boxes with rice!!!...That Chess/ Chicago sound!

[jazzy mary]

Dave, those are some *weird* lyrics. Eccentric, I'll say!

[Deke]

Originally Posted by Richardo Caerleoni

THINK BO DIDDLEY!!! Think Jerome Arnold! ..."Braaang it it on home, Braaang it to Jerome". (Jerome don't want it!)

Jerome was the world's greatest blues Maracca player!

Seriously, All those great Bo Diddley tracks..."Say Man" etc.. That was Jerome and his Maraccas! Big influence in British R&B...We used to fill tape boxes with rice!!!...That Chess/ Chicago sound!

Oboy... did we go to the same places or what? For my first 'proper' band, The NightWreckers (NiteWreckers if the poster wasn't big enough or the promotor cuddnt spel), I spent cash money on a pair of maraccas, then one of them got broken. One rehearsal later and one guy whose dad was a craftsman came up with a replacement. He'd carefully made a construct that was pretty much exactly the right shape, then filled it with... what? I don't know, but it had a very individual sound and weighed like a ton. Same day, the drummer, who worked on a building site, came up with a piece of pipe, sealed at both ends, and filled with gravel. Now that was a two hander! We did a load of Bo Diddley, but although I wanted to do 'Bring it to Jerome', no one else would sing it, and I wanted to be the guy going "Bring it on home... "

Doc Dave - Are those the gen-yoo-ine lyrics to '7+7=' ? Sure ain't what I used to sing, but then, back in those days, with stream-of-conciousness lyrics like those it didn't seem to matter. I once got accosted by an irate hippy because I'd sung all the wrong words to 'Spanish Harlem incident'. I reassured her that Bob Dylan had finished with the song, so now I was just using it. No offence meant. She never came to another gig, so I guess she wasn't a convert. Funny thing. In all those Dylan/Dekesville moments, people always sided with The Zim. And it's not like he was even there...

And now, a strange moment. I should really start a new thread for this, but I'm being a good boarder and keeping the thread count down

I was just downstairs, playing my Don Cunningham LP and smugly thinking of all those DJs out there who would just die to know about this, and, possibly as a result of my making that earlier post, I found myself thinking of the DJ who was at both those Love gigs (You were wondering when this would get back on track, weren't you?). He had quite a good selection of period pieces, but he also had a vast quantity of 'rare' stuff of varying quality. In particular he had one track which had my sister and brother-in-law, and, indeed, me, almost rolling on the floor. It was a pseudo sermon, complete with gospel organ, and appeared to be called 'So I said to the governer'.

Can anyone name that tune? My record collection needs it!

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

SEVEN AND SEVEN IS

When I was a boy I thought about the times I'd be a man
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend I was in a can
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip, oop-ip-ip, yeah!

If I don’t stop crying it’s because that I’ve got no eyes
My dad’s in a fireplace and my dog lies hypnotized
Through a crack of light I was able to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Oop-ip-ip, oop-ip-ip, yeah!

Words & Music : Arthur Lee

Vivid imagination. Or potent drugs. Probably both.

Funny, I've never paid much attention to these lyrics before, and "7+7 Is" is one of the best Love tracks IMO!

[Chris D]

Wow, I guess I've been mishearing "7 and 7 Is" all these years.

I always thought:
"You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip, oop-ip-ip, yeah!

was

"You can throw me if you wanna cause I'm a BOMB and I go...."

Which is a much better lyric, if you ask me, which of course you didn't and probably never would, because I'm a bomb and I go....

[AntManBee]

Originally Posted by Chris D

"You can throw me if you wanna cause I'm a BOMB and I go...."

That's a much better line than the original.