Music

The Zombies on ‘Time of the Season,’ Borrowing Beatles’ Gear, New LP

"We were getting excited about music and ideas, and that's something that's never left," says co-founder Rod Argent, gearing up for 'Odessey and Oracle' reunion tour

August 26, 2015

zombies — The current Zombies lineup — Jim Rodford, Rod Argent, Steve Rodford, Colin Blunstone and Tom Toomey (from left) — heads out on tour September 30th. Andrew Eccles

“We were sitting in Abbey Road in the morning. They were mixing. As they discussed [album] names and things, I sketched out the idea in my kind of visual style at the time. Of course, the big thing was the spelling mistake on ‘Odessey.’ I was so engaged with the visuals and thinking about the context of the songs and how the album art reflected that feeling, so I didn’t realize until about two thirds of the way through that there was an ‘e’ where there should have been a ‘y.’ But it was too late then, with the deadlines. So, to be honest, we blagged it. We said, ‘This is a time when lots of people are playing around with words.’ For a while, everybody believed it. A long time later, I was teaching art in university, and a colleague walked in and said, ‘Oh, Terry Quirk, you’re the one we come to for spelling,’ but having said that, probably the best thing I ever did.”

“Of course, the big thing was the spelling mistake on ‘Odessey.’ I was so engaged with the visuals and thinking about the context of the songs and how the album art reflected that feeling, so I didn’t realize until about two thirds of the way through that there was an ‘e’ where there should have been a ‘y.'” —Terry Quirk

His follow-up effort harkens back to the original design, with its sea of psychedelic imagery and mottled blues, but with some of the visual vernacular of graffiti artists to lend a contemporary aspect that dovetails nicely with the band’s perpetually fresh approach to recording.

“Each complete take on the new album was performed live,” Blunstone enthuses. “We had the luxury of touching up some things, but in essence, it’s live in the studio. Some of my guide vocals became the vocals.”

“It’s funny,” Argent offers. “We rehearsed so much so long ago, and you have to wonder if the things you don’t get, the limitations you have to work around, maybe make you better, maybe set you up for some kind of very good things that you wouldn’t have had without having to work around those limitations.”