Odessey & Oracle (the spelling of the first word is deliberate, though it may have been based on a mistake somewhere in the production process) is perhaps the finest "contractually obligated" album ever released. Normally that phrase prompts dread in the form of empty-hearted endeavors like Love Beach by ELP and other regrettable quasi-legal releases from various bands.
By 1967 the Zombies were on the ropes. The early successes of hits like "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" were not being replicated. Actually, they were, but it wasn't panning out financially. Throw in some intra-group squabbles and it was clear the band was nearing breakup. In fact, by some accounts they were de facto finished, but they had just changed labels and CBS wasn't about to let them go so easily.
The enthusiasm for another album was centered mostly on the writers Chris White and Rod Argent. Argent and singer Colin Blunstone were the traditional nexus of the group (keyboards and vocals set the Zombies apart from their contemporaries), but Blunstone, along with guitarist Paul Atkinson and drummer Hugh Grundy, were at the virtual breaking point, leading to plenty of drama in the studio. In
It would have been so easy if the album flopped. In fact, most of the songs slipped away just like the rest of the catalog. The album finally in the can, the band finally busted apart, but wouldn't you know it, one song somehow squeaked through and became a gigantic hit. "Time of the Season" represented everything the band had blossomed into, from just another British Invasion trooper into a breezy psych outfit. But it was too late. The band was gone.
To battle a multitude of impostors creeping up in the wake of the song's unexpected success, Chris White and Rod Argent formalized the notion that the Zombies were becoming Rod Argent's solo career by forming Argent. That would be the most legitimate vehicle for satisfying the sudden need to see this rediscovered band perform their greatest hit live. The last bonus track, "Imagine the Swan" gives an inkling of the new direction and new era for the band (I'm not 100% sure about who is actually playing on this song, but it's not the five original members).
These days the Zombies are sort-of back, reformed around Blunstone and Argent, who seemed to have buried the hatchet long ago and assembled a new band with includes Argent (and Kinks!) bassist Jim Rodford. Paul Atkinson died in 2004, but his real successes came from behind the scenes, signing numerous bands to MCA during the 1970's and 1980's.
I've been meaning for years to resolve the whole mess of collecting the works of the Zombies by investing in the box set Zombie Heaven which helps manage the tangle of early non-album recordings, many of which missed out on being collected anywhere else.
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