Listen: You Make Me Feel So Good / The Zombies ZombiesGood.mp3

The fact that my blog is pushing the two year mark, and I’ve yet to write about The Zombies is pathetic. Thought about it often, so in case I croak, now I’ll rest easier.

Luckily much praise and appreciation, despite years of delay, has been afforded this band – to the point whereby they can tour the world consistently and get the admiration for ODESSEY AND ORACLE they deserve.

‘You Make Me Feel So Good’, the B side to ‘She’s Not There’, may indeed be the first seed planted that years later would spawn androgynous 70′s rock and 90′s Britpop, who can say. But the swish and swagger in Colin Blunstone’s delivery is not deniable. At the end of the day, it was basically his normal vocal styling and not too much needed to be read into it. There’s something about the combination of his voice and Rod Argent’s hollow electric keyboard tones that are as magical as Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek’s.

In ’65, The Zombies played The Brooklyn Fox Theater with The Nashville Teens and The Hullaballoos. Way too young to even know it was happening, my parents lucked out, because I would have tortured them into taking me.

Listen: Indication / The Zombies ZombiesIndication.mp3

Of their several overlooked later Parrot / Decca singles, ‘Indication’ was my favorite, an indeed hard call to make. Subsequent anthologies and reissues all use the longer, stereo take with an extended keyboard solo at the end. This US mono 7″ version (streamed above), I think, works best.

Above: Jukebox Tab signed by Colin Blunstone

Listen: A Groovy Kind Of Love / The Mindbenders
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Listening to BBC2 a few weeks back, I was loving that ‘Days’ by The Kinks just normally got a spin. Immediately followed by The Mindbenders ‘A Groovy Kind Of Love’, I realized once again, England was always a natural habitat for me. Had I been a native, I could’ve simply turned on the radio in the car for musical bliss.

Despite ‘A Groovy Kind Of Love’ becoming a massive mainstream hit, reaching #2 in both the US and England, it still sounds freaking great every time. Talk about an intro. I was on the phone with Duane when the above Kinks/Mindbenders segue went down and had to take a breather for a brief moment as it happened.

Listen: : Ashes To Ashes / The Mindbenders
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Beginning with ‘Ashes To Ashes’, The Mindbenders’ success began an unfair linear downward erosion, with each single being played less and achieving lower and lower chart numbers each time, then no chart placings at all. The trajectory was softer in the UK, but more severe here, with this single being the big hit’s followup and doubling as The Mindbenders’ last US chart entry (#44. ’66). It worked out fine in the end for the fellows. Basically, they turned into 10cc.

Listen: : I Want Her, She Wants Me / The Mindbenders
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Most obscure is their US pressing of ‘I Want Her, She Wants Me’, Rod Argent’s’ song from The Zombies’ ODDYSSEY AND ORACLE. They deserve an A+ for cover choice, this version being as equally necessary to a full, healthy life as the original. Admittedly, the band suffer from the lack of Colin Blunstone’s angelic voice on this one, a set back not only for The Mindbenders, as well, for every other musical combo till the end of time.

Listen: : It’s Getting Harder All The Time / The Mindbenders
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Listen: : Off And Running / The Mindbenders
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They landed a two song technicolor spot in the classic TO SIR WITH LOVE film, performing ‘It’s Getting Harder All The Time’ and ‘Off And Running’. But despite the movie’s success, and character lead, Lulu, achieving her US #1 as a result, unbelievably it did The Mindbenders zero good in ressurecting their US presence.

Almost cookie cutter in beat group song perfection, Fontana US issued both tracks as a double A side. Promos occasionally turn up, but stock copies are very thin on the ground. Despite my constant search through the years for such a pressing, I only found one a recently, pictured above.