On Friday, September 26, The Zombies released a newly remastered mono version of their acclaimed 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. The reissue is available now on CD, as a vinyl LP, and via digital formats. A limited-edition blue-vinyl LP, signed by The Zombies’ four surviving original members—lead singer Colin Blunstone, keyboardist Rod Argent, bassist Chris White, and drummer Hugh Grundy—can be purchased at the band’s official online store.
Coinciding with the release, CBS Sunday Morning aired a feature about The Zombies, featuring new interviews with Blunstone, Argent, White, and Grundy. The segment looked at The Zombies’ brief initial heyday, and how the group and Odessey & Oracle enjoyed a resurgence of popularity long after the original band broke up in 1968.
The Zombies recorded much of Odessey and Oracle at Abbey Road Studios in London, and produced the album themselves. In the CBS Sunday Morning segment, Blunstone and Argent visit the famous studio, and reminisce about working there.
“You do get this really emotional feeling walking into Abbey Road,” Blunstone maintained. “’Cause, I mean, there’s so much history in these walls.”
Unfortunately, by the time Odessey and Oracle was released in the U.K. in April 1968, the band had decided to call it quits since most of the members were in poor financial shape and little commercial attention was being paid to the album.
“There was no real interest in it,” Argent commented. Added Blunstone, “I thought we had a chance, but it became fairly clear, fairly quickly, that the industry pretty much ignored it, really.”
The band members proceeded to move on to other careers, and/or musical endeavors. In 1969, though, one of the album’s tracks unexpectedly became a huge hit.
About “Time of the Season” and The Zombies’ Resurgence
In the CBS Sunday Morning piece, Blunstone explained what happened.
“Famously, there was one DJ in Boise, Idaho, who kept playing ‘Time of the Season,’” Colin noted. “It spread to other radio stations. It took months for it to be a hit, but … it went to No. 1 in Cashbox. The single also peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune has gone on to become one of the most iconic and enduring tunes of the late 1960s.
In addition, Odessey and Oracle is now considered to be one of the great all-time albums of the rock era. The Zombies eventually reunited with a lineup led by Blunstone and Argent that toured regularly for decades, and also released several new albums.
White and Grundy also took part in a few tours. The Zombies were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Unfortunately, Argent suffered a serious stroke in 2024, and the band subsequently retired from touring.
During the CBS Sunday Morning interview, the band members discussed their longstanding friendship.
“We were friends really right from the very start,” Argent said.
“It just clicked. It really did,” noted Grundy. White then added, “And we’re still friends.”
Reflecting on Odessey and Oracle’s unlikely and enduring musical impact, Blunstone said, “It gets namechecked as a major influence in so many people’s careers. … It’s a very strange story.”
More About the Odessey and Oracle Reissue
Odessey and Oracle originally was released in mono. When the album was remixed for release in stereo, some musical elements of the original version were lost.
The new mono mix includes a version of the group’s enduring pop ballad “This Will Be Our Year” featuring a horn part that wasn’t heard in the stereo mix.
This Wednesday, October 1, Blunstone and White will be on hand for a special Odessey and Oracle listening party. The event will be held at The Pioneer Club in The Zombies’ hometown of St Albans, U.K. Blunstone and White will take part in a Q&A session at the listening party.
(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)