Rod Argent and The Zombies. Rock History – Part Three

Breathe Out, Breathe In is The Zombies new album. Something which Rod Argent is proud of. He and Blunstone, according to Rod – have captured the sound of the Original group in the 1960’s. The spontaneity the band had which produced great songs …

” I have produced a lot of records in my time and have been through the techniques of layering and one thing or another. We ( Blunstone and I ), had just finished playing live and I had just finished mixing the live tracks.”

Argent goes on …

” When we were starting the tracks for the new record, I said to Colin – why don’t we re -visit the way we used to record. I don’t mean in an old-fashioned dated way, I meant more by laying the rhythm tracks first and going from there. That is the way we did it back then. Typically, we would record the rhythm for each track in three hours, then I would give Colin the piano and voice demos so he could learn it. After that, we would take a relaxing day putting the vocals on and then a third day we would work on the harmonies. That is typically how we would do it. Each track took about three days …”

One thing Argent did realize when he turned back Father Time, aside from the modern day equipment making thing easier, Rod also realized he had his own way of doing things …

” On the songs I wrote with The Zombies, in the early days, I realized that I would write the bass parts as part of the song. I did that on Breathe Out as well – giving the bass parts to Jim to play and he would play it the way I had written. In the old days it was an unusual way of doing things but it seemed to have worked ..”

Argent, Blunstone, Jim and Steve Rodford and Tim Tooney – the current Zombies, also focused on the harmonies. Something which was crucial in the original group. Something which immediately jumps out when ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’ is listened to.

“It was part of the criteria for this album.” Says Rod. ‘ We thought how great it was to do harmonies and let’s explore that again …! I have always loved doing harmonies and this band is so good live – we wanted to capture the freshness of the old days. If someone recognizes the ‘Zombie’ sound, it is because Colin and I are there and a lot of the same elements are there. I am glad if someone can tell it is The Zombies right away. That makes me feel good …!”

Rod Argent, by his own admission, does not listen to much of today’s music. Something he blames on ‘old age‘. Two bands which Argent has heard and thinks are great are The Kings of Leon and The Killers. Argent thinks what they do are interesting …

” I tend to listen to a variety of music as I always used to. I listen to a lot of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans from the Jazz side of things. Time to time – I listen to Ray Charles, I tend to like things that are Blues oriented. Whether it be musically or vocally. A lot of the bands from the sixties would have those same habits and incorporated that into their music. Not long ago I was speaking to John Steel from The Animals and he said when he was playing ‘House of the Rising Sun‘ on record, in his head he was playing ‘ Walk on Wild’ side by Jimmy Smith.”

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“Those rhythm and blues factors were often a starting point for the English bands but not as much anymore. I tend to like it when those feelings are still there. The Blues also has to be natural – they can’t be contrived …”

Argent once more thanks The Beatles for introducing him to the likes of Big Mama Thornton, Robert Johnson and Elmore James. Elvis, the ‘Fab Four’ and later – The Rolling Stones helped introduce a generation to the Blues …

The Zombies will be in Montreal on the 28th of February at Metropolis. According to Argent, the audience will hear all The Zombies’ hits from the past, five or six songs from Argent including ‘Hold Your Head Up’ and about five new songs from the record ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In.”

A show drenched in nostalgia with a hint of the future. In complete harmony of course …