Turn your volume up. Hear that song? "Time of the Season" by The Zombies. And I saw them Saturday night.

"Eclectic – jazz, classical, blues, rock and roll. That was a big strength of The Zombies. We couldn't be pigeon-holed and our music came from a wide range of influences." – Colin Blunstone

"Drop dead gorgeous melodies and slinky hooks" – Mojo

Above: Original Zombie members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent.

The British press said, "One of the finest bands of the sixties, The Zombies paired Rod Argent's songwriting and dazzling keyboards with Colin Blunstone's distinctive high-ranging vocals. Famous in the UK for the pop classic "She's Not There", "Tell Her Now" and "The Time of the Season". Always something of a cult band, they fared better in the USA. Rod later secured chart success with "Hold Your Head Up" with his own band, Argent, whilst Blunstone forged a solo career with songs like "Say You Don't Mind" and "I Don't Believe in Miracles" as well as his eighties hit "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" with Dave Stewart."

Agora Hills, Cali - I saw The Zombies last night and it was undoubtedly one of the finest concert experiences of my life. My friend Val and I tooled up the 101 in her Mini Cooper (get it...British car/Zombies - British Invasion??) and had dinner and drinks before the show.

The Canyon Club is an outstanding venue, holding around 1200 people. It's outstanding because our table was maybe 30 yards from the stage, the food was great (though expensive but large portions - our lemon chicken w/capers was a half a chicken) and obviously held in high regard by a number of top bands who've played there and will play there this year - Berlin, Air Supply, Gordon Lightfoot, America, Blue Oyster Cult, Hootie and the Blowfish, Toad the Wet Sprockets, Pat Benator, Johnny Winter, Eddie Money, and Heart, just to name a few (as well as comedy acts like Don Rickles and The Smothers Brothers).

(WAIT! Learn more about The Zombies...there's more!)

The only photo I snapped. A bit blurry, but psychedelic nonetheless. You're really not supposed to take photos, you know - professional courtesy. So I was content with the memories the show left in my head. And I swear The Zombies sounded EXACTLY as they did back in 1968 - we were totally sucked in.

If you'd like to see what I saw, watch here. And, if you're a Zombie fan, check out this interview with Colin and Rod from somewhere in Europe. And, here's some vintage Zombies with "She's Not There".

The Zombies' "Time of the Season" is a favorite with some of the guys I fish and hunt with. One of the first things we do when we grab stools at a bar is plug the jukebox with dollar bills - Elvis, Lightfoot, Eagles, Stones, Sinatra, The Beach Boys...and "Time of the Season". As a matter of fact, we'll be fishing in a boat - I'll be in one boat and my Uncle Fran and Gary Schmidt are in another...or we're just standing around the fire on shore having a beer - and one guy will break out into, "What's your name?" and someone else will answer, "What's your name?". Then "Who's your daddy?" "Who's your daddy? - Be rich". "Is he rich like me?". Back and forth. Awesome.

Washington Post, Friday, July 18, 2008 - "It's hard to imagine a more gracious band than The Zombies. Several times during their thrilling, inspired performance Tuesday night at the Birchmere, they stopped the show to thank the audience not for the applause and the several standing ovations but just for being there in the first place."

The Zombies formed in 1961 in St Albans, England, while all five members were attending school and gained their initial reputation playing the Old Verulamians Rugby Club in that City. The Original Zombies, above: Rod Argent (2nd from right, organ, vocals and songwriting), Paul Atkinson - (guitar, vocals - passed away April 2004), Colin Blunstone (2nd from left, lead vocals), Chris White (middle, bass, vocals and songwriting) and Hugh Grundy - (drums) .

After winning a beat-group competition sponsored by the London Evening News, The Zombies signed to Decca and recorded their first hit, "She's Not There" (Rod's second song, written specifically for this session), which was released in mid-1964 and peaked at number 12 in the UK, where it was their only UK Top 40 hit. This minor-key, jazz-tinged number, distinguished by its musicianship and Blunstone's breathy vocal, was unlike anything previously heard in British rock and would become a bona fide classic. It was first aired in the United States in early August, eventually climbing to #2.

Like many other British Invasion groups, The Zombies were sent to America to tour behind their new hit single. In early 1965, Rod Argent's "Tell Her No" became another big seller in the United States but had failed to make the Top 40 in the band's native UK. Although subsequent recordings such as "I Love You" (you know the song - it became a hit for People! in 1968), "Indication", "Whenever You're Ready", and "Is This the Dream" were of uniformly high quality but didn't achieve the success of the previous two singles. The Zombies disbanded in 1967.

The band anticipated the progressive rock trends of the early 70s but split before they could capitalize on it. (Progressive rock is a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility in the late 60's and early 70's, often incorporating elements drawn from classical, jazz, and world music. Instrumental songs are common, while songs with lyrics are sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy; use of concept albums that made unified statements, usually telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme; applied to the music of bands such as King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, The Moody Blues, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.)

On November 25, 1997, all five Zombies reunited at the Jazz Cafe in London's Camden Town as part of a solo show by Blunstone. Blunstone and Argent reunited for an album and tour together in 2001 under the Blunstone & Argent monicker and continued playing live shows together into 2004 when they began going out under The Zombies name again. An album of new material released in 2004, As Far as I Can See, received mixed reviews. A 120-track compilation of the original band's work, Zombie Heaven, was much better regarded. In 2005 Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent released a DVD and 2-CD album, Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, which received excellent reviews in the Times, Mojo, The Sun and other publications. Their U.S. tour of 2007 garnered stellar reviews.

"The Zombies, still led by original keyboard wizard Rod Argent and featuring the smoked-silk vocals of Colin Blunstone, is the finest British-invasion-era band still touring that doesn't have Mick Jagger as a frontman" - The Washington Times.

To mark the 40th anniversary of their album, Odessey & Oracle, the four surviving original members of The Zombies (above) participated in a three-night series of concerts at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire Theatre between 7th and 9th March 2008, playing the album in its entirety.

The current Zombie line-up: Keith Airey - lead guitar, Colin, Rod and the father-son bassist-drummer duo of Jim (one of the original members of Argent) and Steve Rodford.

"You could hardly credit it had taken 40 years to reach this seminal moment, which deserves to be ranked beside Brian Wilson's remarkable comeback for its impeccable artistry and uplifting power" - The Scotsman

"As their voices soar in the middle of "Hung Up On A Dream", it's real shivers -down-the-spine stuff.......timeless" - The Independent

"I feel privileged tonight having witnessed this faultless performance of a classic record" - Music-News

"Odessey and Oracle sounds fantastic. Some of it even gains in translation. Live the surging harmonies of Care Of Cell 44 knock you sideways..........As Time Of The Season draws to a close, they get a standing ovation. It is the triumphant reception Odessey And Oracle always deserved, 40 years after the event." - The Guardian

The Zombies kicked off a North American tour on July 3, 2008, with an outdoor festival performance at the Comerica Cityfest in Detroit, Michigan - my brother caught them at Summerfest in Milwaukee on July 5 and I saw them last night in Agora Hills last night.

EXTRA!! History of Odessey and Oracle:

"Just when I thought I'd heard the greatest songs ever written...any album I had ever listened to...I heard The Zombies' Odessey and Oracle." - Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters.

Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after The Zombies signed to the CBS label, and was only the second album they had released since 1965. It was never a big hit at the time - but it was a critical hit. The success of the album wasn't felt until years after its release. As their first LP, Begin Here, was a collection of singles, Odessey can be regarded as the only true Zombies album. While their first album included several cover versions, Odessey consisted entirely of original compositions by the group's two main songwriters, Rod Argent and Chris White.

The group began work on the album in June 1967. Some songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where earlier in the year the Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd recorded The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This was the first time Abbey Road would be used for an independently produced (non-EMI) release. By the time the recording was finished, in late 1967, The Zombies were effectively disbanded, due to lack of financial success. Odessey and Oracle was released in the UK in April 1968 and in the United States in June. The single "Time of the Season" became a surprise hit in early 1969, and Columbia Records (in the United States) re-released Odessey in February. The first song on the album, "Care of Cell 44" has been covered by a number of artists including Elliott Smith and Of Montreal .

In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Odessey in 80th place on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In addition it has appeared on a number of greatest albums lists. The Guardian placed it 77th on their Top 100 Albums That Don’t Appear In All The Other Top 100 Albums Of All Time, and Mojo named it the 97th greatest album ever made. It placed 32nd on NME's list of the greatest British albums ever Odessey consistently ranks in the top 40 on the constantly changing Rate Your Music greatest ever albums list. The famous misspelling of "odyssey" in the title was the result of a mistake by the designer of the LP cover, Terry Quirk (who was the flatmate of bass player Chris White). The band tried to cover this up at the time of release by claiming the misspelling was intentional.

The Zombies are one of only 3 or 4 bands all-time who had broken up BEFORE their eventual #1 hit song; therefore, The Zombies NEVER performed "Time of the Season" or any songs from Odessey and Oracle while in their hey-dey. With a smile on his face, Colin stated in an interview, "Hold on - the band is finished. The album (Odessey and Oracle) isn't even released yet - wouldn't it have been wise to wait for the release of the album?...The thought intriques me what might we have done next - had we not broken up."

As they say, it's never too late - and The Zombies are making up for it. I beg you to go see them if they ever visit your city. You won't regret it.