The Zombies
Begin Here - Decca 1965 Comments:The Zombies released their first album, "Begin Here" in April 1965 after having coloured the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in late 1964 with the singles "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No". In fact, the group released two more singles and an EP before the release of "Begin Here". Except for Gershwin's "Summertime" from the EP, all of the group's released tracks had been self-written. So you would thus expect a debut album would be dominated by the group originals; this is only partially the case as half of the 14 tracks are covers. This was very common at this time and especially new groups drew heavily on their live material and were probably also encouraged by managers and producers to supplement with songs by well-established songwriters.
In the case of The Zombies, however, this had not been necessary; firstly because the group had originals recorded to fill an entire album, and secondly because the group's own material is by far the most interesting.
Rod Argent and Chris White convincingly showcase their songwriting talents which measure the greatest at the time. Among the cover versions, "Summertime" is clearly the most successful. The track fits well with Colin Blunstone's vocals and overall with the group's sound. Philip Mitchel's soul ballad "Can't Nobody Love You" is also fine, and their version of the more upbeat r&b number "Sticks and Stones" also works fine.
Unfortunately, the other four are awful to varying degrees. Blunstone is no John Lennon or Mick Jagger and his vocals on tracks like "Roadrunner" and "I Got My Mojo Working" are at times shrill and hard to endure. "You Really Got a Hold on Me" is tolerable, while "Work'n Play" is a fairly ordinary instrumental.
As mentioned, it is the group's originals that make the album worthwhile. Rod Argent's "She's Not There" is a classic pop-art single. Very catchy but also different from how most of the groups sounded at time with a dominant electric piano and a slightly jazzy undertone. The group's fine vocal work is also in the spotlight.
Argent has also written the two very melodic and subdued songs "The Way I Feel Inside" and "I Remember When I Loved Here"; the latter is one of the group's finest early ballads. Finally, Argent has also wrote the upbeat r&b track, "Woman", with a fine driving bass / guitar line.
Chris White's songwriting-style is a bit more classic Mersybeat, but all of his three songs "I Can't Make Up My Mind", "I Don't Wan't To Know" and "What More Can I Do" are very melodic and catchy and confirm a songwriting talent that matches that of Rod Argent.
Too bad more originals were not included; however, this has been remedied on later CD releases where contemporary fine tracks such as "It's Alright With Me", "Sometimes", Kind of Girl "," Tell Her No "," I Know She Will "and" I'll Keep Trying ”Can be found among the bonus-tracks
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