The Zombies were the also-rans of the ’60s. While the Beatles got the accolades and the Rolling Stones got the cool reputation, the Zombies were emblematic of the exploited second string. They had a great song that went to the top of the pops, so their management wrung from them what they could get and set them out to dry. It’s a tragic story, except it happened to a group of genuinely nice men who would not allow their lives to become tragic. They wrung out a triumph of their own from unfortunate circumstances.
Buy The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle CDHung Up on a Dream starts as a very typical music documentary (I would call the first 40 minutes essentially a very good Behind the Music-style story.) The Zombies all met as teenagers who’d fallen in love with American blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Rod Argent was going to do lead vocals and Colin Blunstone rhythm guitar, initially. But Colin heard Rod on piano, and Rod heard Colin singing, and it was clear where their real talents lay. Rounding out the band was Chris White on bass, Hugh Grundy on drums, and Paul Atkinson on lead guitar.
After touring as much as they possibly could, they won a local band contest (beating out 99 other bands), and found themselves with a record deal. This led to some great recordings in the ’60s, including “She’s Not There”, which is one of the best rock songs of the ’60s, and one of my personal favorites. Amazingly, it was the first original ever written by Zombies keyboard player Rod Argent. It went to number one, but despite their apparent success, the boys in the band made no money. They had other hits and successful tours, including a 10-day residence in the Philippines in what was then the second largest stadium in the world, but their managers got money. The band could barely feed themselves.
They had one last chance, to record an album on their own, which became Odessey & the Oracle. It’s one of the best examples of ‘60s British psychedelic pop and a world-class album. However, the failure of the first single, “Care of Cell 44” led the band to a breakup.
Rod Argent and Christ Wright formed the band Argent, while the rest of the band got odd jobs. In the meantime, “Time of the Season” from the album became a major hit in the United States, but too late to help the band. In fact, several fake Zombies bands began to tour the states on the strength of that one song, including a band that would eventually become ZZ Top.
As I said, the first part of this documentary seems pretty typical, Behind the Music fare. After that, the film becomes, essentially, a bunch of aging men talking to each other. Here, it becomes much more engaging. When discussing the album Odessey & the Oracle, songwriters Chris Wright and Rod Argent spend a lot of time messing around with a mixing board, listening to the bare audio stems of this amazing album. I could have watched an entire film about this interaction, these great songwriters and producers going over their decisions about what should happen with their brilliant music.
And their decisions led to, to my mind, one of the best albums of the ’60s. I’m listening to it while writing this review. Considering the extreme constraints the Zombies were under makes it an even more amazing accomplishment. It’s not overstating it to say every track on this album would be a lifetime achievement for most other bands. It’s really good. And it flopped.
So, the various members of the Zombies went on with their lives. Meanwhile, a cult of admirers slowly grew around the album, many of whom became musicians themselves. And since they no longer existed in any official capacity, the Zombies built up a kind of mystique that might have dispersed had they stuck it out and potentially failed to live up to the album’s potential.
Hung Up on a Dream follows the tried-and-true path of such documentaries, following the inevitable downfall with an eventually resurgence and triumph. And the Zombies experienced a real triumph, culminating with a 40th anniversary reunion tour of Odessey & the Oracle. The band, with original members Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, still occasionally tours. I saw them live in 2019. When these two pretty wizened-looking men came out to stage, I was concerned they’d keel over before the show started. But Blunstone still has his voice, and Argent is as masterful on the keys as ever. The Zombies mystique continues.
And while I appreciate the arc of the documentary’s story, what I took from it more strongly was the camaraderie between these men. Even 50 years later (and one band member short) when meeting, they fall into an easy banter. I love the music, of course, and I love that the Zombies got a second chance to show their power, and Hung Up On a Dream tells that story. But I love most that it shows it couldn’t have happened to more deserving blokes.
Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary will be in limited release: in L.A. at the Landmark NuArt Theatre on May 15th and in New York at the Quad Cinema on May 16th.
