The Zombies – Feeling Something (1967) Album Edit (Take 1)

 

The new, two part version:

The Zombies – Sunrise (1967) Album Edit

The Zombies – White & Dandy (1967) Album Edit

We’re back with another what-if album. What if a year before Odessey and Oracle was released, the Zombies released an album of material that showed the transition from their previous album Begin Here to Odessey and Oracle? It would’ve been really nice to have this be a real album as it’s kind of jarring jumping from Begin to Odessey. They’re basically night and day, but Feeling Something shows how that happened. It’s like Rubber Soul by the Beatles, it’s a little of the pop end and psychedelic end.

This album also features songs about feelings, which was present in the past, but is emphasized more here. You can tell that becoming more experienced musicians has made the band less innocent, for lack of a better term. The name of this album, Feeling Something, refers to a few things. It refers to the more emotional songs, plus the fact that the band was tired of a lack of success and were “feeling like” quitting unless they hit it big. Finally, just like with The Zombies Are Missing, I like when the album title can be its own title and also continue on from the band name. This album features The Zombies Feeling Something. The cover should show the group rejecting their clean-cut, everyone dresses the same outfits and show more individuality as the 60’s progressed, so I picked a picture with mid-60’s “hipper” clothes. The runner-up photo is a nice pic, but it’s in black and white, and it doesn’t fit the aesthetic of the group getting more psychedelic, i.e., “colorful”.

There were really only two songs that could start the album. The better opener is “Gotta Get a Hold of Myself”. It’s a good rocker with a great bit of organ playing at the beginning. It really warms you up for the experience. The track lights up quickly and you’re in the flow of the album. The other song that could start the album is “Is This the Dream?”. It’s a little slower, but excellently follows Hold. Especially as Hold ends with a cool fade, which goes nicely with Dream’s drum intro. It’s a very sharp rocker with especially good drumming and keyboard playing. “Don’t Go Away”, also known as “You’ll Go From Me” was what seemed like a good second track. It’s a relaxing tune to hear after two harder songs. “Don’t Go Away” ends with a little banter from the band. It seems fitting to have the next song feature a little banter at the start.

“Whenever You’re Ready” is a jazzy ballad with great keys and drums. The jazz songs here feel very fun and like something interesting and different. The song goes more towards being a rocker later in it. We get another ballad from “How We Were Before”. It fits well after something with more muscle, but it also works that it also follows something soft-esque, like Whenever, as if we’re leaving the harder rocker territory. We continue the ballad and rock lights with “I Love You”. This one is “preparation” for the more emotional second side with a great keyboard solo with lots of feeling carrying the listener to the last song of Side A. We tie off Side A with “Goin’ Out of My Head”, another ballad that packs a lot of punch, satisfying the listener as these first seven songs feel like their own experience, but enticing the people for more. It was tempting to have it end the album, but it works better as setting up the rest.

“Indication” is one of the album’s best songs. It’s a great rocker with a slow start, mirroring the beginning. Also mirroring Side A is that only two songs seemed appropriate to start us off. The other is… In 1966, the band recorded four demos that are really good, but are sadly in lower quality than the rest. The best way to implement them is to have them be consecutive, to give the impression that they were intentionally this way, plus it’d be more jarring to have stray songs throughout the album be in lower quality. It’d be nice to start this album with the four demos, but their low quality would be off-putting. The order they appear in on the Zombie Heaven compilation album is a great ordering. The flow is incredible. “One Day I’ll Say Goodbye” is a warm ballad that has great momentum from “Indication”. Goodbye feels like a hit single. We get two introspective ballads, “I Don’t Want to Worry” and “A Love That Never Was”, which help add to this experience of emotion and heartache.

The last demo takes us out of ballad city. “Out of the Day” is another moderate rocker. We then get a preparer for the finale, “I Want You Back Again”, which has a great jazz feel. The drums and bass are especially strong. It was hard to pick a final track. “Goin’ Out of My Head” was a good choice, but it doesn’t feel like it caps everything off. “She Does Everything for Me” summarizes it all. It’s a rocker with a great keyboard opening, as many of these songs have, and is just a blast all throughout. It ends with a strong final keyboard note and the song fading out.

There’s a lot to love here. The songs are meaningful and more experimental in nature. It primes, but doesn’t spoil the next album which will be the peak of the Zombie’s acclaim.

THE ZOMBIES – FEELING SOMETHING

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Gotta Get a Hold of Myself”
2. “Is This the Dream?”
3. “Don’t Go Away”
4. “Whenever You’re Ready”
5. “How We Were Before”
6. “I Love You”
7. “Goin’ Out of My Head”

SIDE B

1. “Indication”
2. “One Day I’ll Say Goodbye”
3. “I Don’t Want to Worry”
4. “A Love That Never Was”
5. “Out of the Day”
6. “I Want You Back Again”
7. “She Does Everything for Me”

PERSONNEL

• Colin Blunstone – lead vocals
• Rod Argent – keyboards, backing vocals
• Paul Atkinson – guitar
• Chris White – bass, backing vocals
• Hugh Grundy – drums

Feeling Something on YouTube:

Feeling Something on Spotify:

And the next album, Odessey and Oracle on YouTube:

Odessey and Oracle on Spotify:

The Zombies – Are Missing (1964) Album Edit (Take 1)

New version of this material:

Have Returned (1965)

On The Run (1966)

The Zombies are rightfully remembered as not only one of the greatest bands of the 60’s, but one of the least appreciated in their time. The classic line-up are only represented on two full albums and half the songs on another. Fortunately, there were conveniently thirteen songs cut before their first album and fourteen between their first and second, so we can easily make a little what if that fits well. What if these stray songs were put in albums? Let’s say that before the band’s actual first album, Begin Here, they were asked to release a first album. Afterwards, they’d then release Begin Here as it’s known in the UK. Are Missing is that hypothetical first album. The songs have not been edited by me as the versions they exist in was probably how they were supposed to be enjoyed. Originally, this album would’ve been named after one of its songs, “Come On Time”, but upon realizing that none of the other albums by the band are named after a song on it, I decided not to break that. The title is inspired by a film that the Zombies’ music appears in, Bunny Lake Is Missing. The meaning prescribed here is that the band is missing from the zeitgeist of culture as they’ve never made an album before and it subtly promotes the movie, which might’ve been a concern in 1964.

The only songs saved from my versions are songs on UK studio albums. All of the band’s 1960s tunes will be represented on Begin Here, their second album; Odessey and Oracle; their third, R.I.P.; or my two albums. The American album, the EP, the compilations, etc. aren’t counted as albums for the sake of this project, with those songs appearing somewhere on the five albums. However, the American album, an alternate version of Begin Here, has a nice cover, so my cover is inspired by it.

“Come On Time” is the opener. There’s a few seconds of studio banter to hopefully confuse people before the proper vocals and instrumentation starts. This song is one of the album’s hardest rockers (though it’s not very hard) and makes a great opener and great song in its own right. Unfortunately, I can’t have a perfect Spotify playlist of this album as this song is the only 60’s Zombies song not on Spotify. A shortened version of it is included on the Spotify playlist, while the full version that I greatly prefer is on YouTube. We then get a quaint little ballad called, “Leave Me Be”, it fits pretty well after Time and is probably the closest this album offers to a ballad. It also ends suddenly, adding to the question of “What is this album?” that was started at the beginning. I would’ve liked to continue with another rocker, but unfortunately there’s not a ton of rockers on this album, mainly soft rockers. “Tell Her No” continues the energy of the album well with a hard to miss keyboard part.

The next song is one of my favorites, “Sometimes”. It starts as a ballad, but quickly becomes one of the hardest rockers, adding to the misdirection angle. It’s a very effective piece. One of the most effective blends of half ballad, half rocker, is “She’s Coming Home”, which feels like a refreshing way to progress after “Sometimes”. We get some effective drumming from the great Hugh Grundy. I was tempted to continue “Sometimes” with its successor on the EP, “It’s Alright with Me”, but Home works better. “I Must Move” is a solid prelude before the end of Side A. While catchy, it’s easy to miss due to its short length, which makes it effective here. It’s the kind of thing that should be after a ballad or soft rocker. “She’s Coming Home” and “I Must Move” were released the same day as Begin Here. Perhaps they make more sense on my second album, but having them here makes all the album’s more even in length. “Kind of Girl” has another very sharp drum performance. It’s the kind of thing that could be the end of the album, which makes it a good choice for the end of Side A. It would probably fit well in a lot of placements on the album, though.

“I’m Going Home” is the start of Side B, but it’s arguably more of a prelude-esque track. It’s a ballad that turns into a rocker. It’s basically a warm-up for the end. “It’s Alright with Me” is another short tune. It’s a rocker which propels from “I’m Going Home”, which progressively rocked more. Alright is basically a continuation. In my notes, I said it could be an opener to a side. It’s basically an opener here. “You Make Me Feel Good” is the second Zombies song ever. The first is the fan favorite, “She’s Not There”, which was their first single and featured on Begin Here. “You Make Me Feel Good” was the B-side. It’s a moderate boppable song and while not bad, is probably the weakest on the album. It fits well here as the tenth song. You’re getting ready for the end and want to move a little. It also works with Side B, which leans more into ballads and more emotional lyrics, but we get sprinkles of rockers.

The band recorded three songs for the film, Bunny Lake Is Missing. The three songs are among the strongest of these early recordings and Bunny Lake’s soundtrack has a very good tracklisting for them. The ordering of the three songs on that album are how this one ends. “Nothing’s Changed” feels like the start of the end. It’s picking up speed, though being more of a ballad. It builds off of the rest of the album, mainly “You Make Me Feel Good”. In my notes, I said it should be the second song on a side. I feel like that’s maintained in spirit. We then get a rocker, “Just Out of Reach”. It continues to warm up for more, but also feels satisfying. It features killer keyboard playing by Rod Argent. The song could’ve also been the end of the album, but it’s also a good lead into “Remember You”. Remember wraps up the album with a slow rocker and leaves things on a good note, satisfied from the experience.

All things considered, I actually prefer Are Missing to Begin Here. Hopefully this will help fill an itch that I certainly have for more Zombies albums.

THE ZOMBIES ARE MISSING

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Come On Time” (Colin Blunstone/Harold Bunbrim)
2. “Leave Me Be” (Chris White)
3. “Tell Her No” (Rod Argent)
4. “Sometimes” (Argent)
5. “She’s Coming Home” (Argent)
6. “I Must Move” (White)
7. “Kind of Girl” (Argent)

SIDE B

1. “I’m Going Home” (Bob Bain)
2. “It’s Alright with Me” (Argent)
3. “You Make Me Feel Good” (White)
4. “Nothing’s Changed” (White)
5. “Just Out of Reach” (Blunstone)
6. “Remember You” (White)

PERSONNEL

• Colin Blunstone – lead vocals
• Rod Argent – keyboards, backing vocals
• Paul Atkinson – guitar
• Chris White – bass, backing vocals
• Hugh Grundy – drums

Are Missing on YouTube (Including the intended version of “Come On Time”):

Are Missing on Spotify:

And for the “second album”:

Begin Here on YouTube:

Begin Here on Spotify:

What’s so great about The Ready Men – Get Ready!! (1995)?

Get Ready’s cover

A little gem was discovered by me on the internet. A little 90s album called, “The Ready Men – Get Ready!!” It sounded like a throwback to the 60s. Turns out, it’s a 60s album that was ahead of its time, implementing a garage band sound that was more common in the 90s. This is accomplished by most of the album consisting of demos they may not have been intended for release. Presumably all of, but at least an album’s worth of recordings by The Ready Men have been compiled here. I would’ve loved to find this at a music shop in 1995, which is more alluring than finding it on YouTube.

This album is weird and a lot of fun. It’s so weird because it’s like it was found from another world. It starts with this band with a unique grunge-style and loud, busy guitar playing, topped off with a bass vocalist with a very outlandish voice that makes the recording feel so special. And what are they singing about of all things? Not about a girl or a car, but Shortenin’ Bread! One might wonder why’d they care? The song is surprisingly great, they seem to be really invested in this little ditty from the early 1900s, now with a rock and roll twist. All the singers have distinctive voices which carry the song. It’s not quite from the 90s and not quite from the 60s. The album continues with these little surf rock numbers. A highlight is “Wine Wine Wine”, written by The Nightcaps. Just like how they really like Shortenin’ Bread, they especially like wine. We get that great bass singer who really loves wine. This is such a weird concept for a song, which makes it better. It’s all part of an experience.

Two negatives of the album are that the bass vocalist is suddenly gone. I wonder if he left the band. Secondly, over half the songs are instrumentals. The group singing about odd topics with odd voices is captivating. They are good instrumentalists, especially the guitarist, who gets solos, but the lack of lyrics make the songs not as good as they could’ve been. Throughout the album, you get insignificant questions in your head about who these people are, especially when the quality of the recordings is bad, suggesting these songs weren’t recorded professionally, then on track 9 of 19, we get “Bull Session With The Big Daddy”. I wasn’t looking forward to it as there’s a track of the same name on The Beach Boys Today!, which is an interview that interrupts the excellent flow of the album. Here, it serves more of a purpose and fits with the flow. This track answers some questions we have, such as what the names of the band members are and some little things about them. They discuss that “Shortenin’ Bread” is their first single and they picked it as people at their shows would recommend it as they liked hearing it. This is part of a radio spot and when it ends, the song will play. The band also says that they’re looking forward to making another single, which never happened. They have lots of fans, tons of girls screaming in the background. This track satisfied some, but not all of the questions I had.

It’s good that this wasn’t the first track of the album as starting with their claim to fame is a much stronger opener, a rocker instead of an interview about people we don’t care about. Halfway through, we do care. We’ve had a chance to learn about them through this music. The track ends with the Big Daddy saying that “Shortenin’ Bread” is about to play and the album listener is prepared for the second side with some juicy info under the belt.

The album continues with famous rockers that are performed well, “Misirlou”, “Pipeline”, and “Jack The Ripper”, to name a few. A personal favorite moment is when the band talks for a few seconds before a song starts, giving us a smidge more of their personalities. Also very endearing is that some of the songs, such as “Misirlou” and “Kuk”, are in really bad quality. They’re still listenable and the bad quality gives an otherworldly feeling to them. It all feels dirty and incomplete and like it’s not supposed to be. The mixed quality creates a fun experience. 

The album is bookended with “Disintegration #2”. It’s the second last track on the album, with “Disintegration” being the second track on the album. Both are solid tunes with “Disintegration” being a favorite. #2 leaves you on a good note, being the end of the album… except it’s not the end. When you think it’s over, the Big Daddy comes back for “Big Daddy Outro”. This aired immediately after “Shortenin’ Bread”’s radio appearance. Here, the Big Daddy praises “Shortenin’ Bread”, which everyone apparently just danced to and speaks of what they’ll be up to next. He sees off the band, with the insinuation that they’ll be back for more records that never were by saying, “Remember that name, The Ready Men!” Then it ends. The music replaced by silence.

OVERVIEW

This forty-four minute experience of this unknown band with little known about them is over. It’s back off into the universe with nothing current to remind you of it, probably never to be heard of again as more music comes and goes. With this work being an obscure little thing to be dusted off a little and then left for the next discoverer, with few avid listeners of this music. It’s a strange feeling that probably almost no one is interested in finding out more about the band, that something can basically just go away. It leaves you almost amazed that people in the 90s bothered to create this compilation, but thank goodness they did. The fact that this is real and has been put together leaves you wondering what could’ve been and perhaps itching for a second album. Could The Ready Men have been legendary? Who knows. As a person finding this music in the ruff, it’s especially trippy as it’s something so nothing, yet so special. While more obscure records will be found, the specific Ready Men experience is gone and can never be experienced for the first time again.