I don't watch Mad Men. I'd like to, I find the show to be very appealing, but I didn't jump on the bandwagon before the seasons piled up and it was too late. Anyway, the latest episode featured a song by The Zombies and it immediately stirred some waves between the oldies lovers. Slate wrote a nice article about it and I encourage everyone to read it. The song is called This Will Be Our Year and is taken from the band's 1968 masterpiece album, Odessey & Oracle. For today's edition of Five Star Songs, though, I chose a different song from that record, Care of Cell 44. It's the album opener and, as such, sets an incredibly high standard. Luckily enough, the rest of the LP keeps up wonderfully.
The Zombies are one of the lesser known bands from the 1960s, but also one of the very best. They released only two studio albums in their first incarnation, that lasted from 1962 to 1968. The debut is mostly significant for containing their biggest hit, She's Not There, which was recently used in a Coco Chanel commercial. But that song was only a sign of things to come, because The Zombies' vastly superior sophomore album is what they will be remembered for.
The Zombies weren't breaking any new ground with Odessey, as the psychedelic era had already been a few years underway by the time they recorded it. Originally, the album wasn't even very succesful. But time proved to be very generous to its blend of baroque pop and jazz, and it has since become one of those endearing classics. Rolling Stone has it at #100 in its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, it's included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and, above all, is a staple of my humble CD collection. I hope you enjoy it too.
