Eye of the Zombie [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

John Fogerty | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Dreamworks
• ASIN: B00005B7FG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,125 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Underrated Effort - and a Different Sound for Fogerty, October 17, 2004

By 

L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eye of the Zombie (Audio CD)

The music business is a strange business. Sometimes it's so hard to predict when an album will be a hit or miss. John Fogerty's work in the mid 1980s is as good an example of this as any. In 1985, Fogerty's album "Centerfield" shocked the industry by becoming a #1 album on the charts helping Fogerty mark a an incredible comeback. Thus when John Fogerty was ready to release his follow-up to "Centerfield" called "Eye of the Zombie", many expected the momentum of the comeback to continue. This was natural because "Eye of the Zombie" was produced only a little over a year following "Centerfield". At the same time, the music industry seemed ripe for another Fogerty album - this is because 80s music was clearly moving away from synth-pop to a more natural sound (which was a trademark of Fogerty's). However, the music industry is as unpredictable as any - "Eye of the Zombie" not only didn't succeed - it crashed and burned without many people even noticing. However, looking back at "Eye of the Zombie" I find this very hard to understand - this was a terrific album that really didn't get its due justice.

"Eye of the Zombie" isn't "Centerfield II". In fact, when you look at the two title tracks - you can contrast - "Centerfield"'s title track was full of optimism while "Eye of the Zombie" takes a more "darker" theme. The sound of this album is very different than "Centerfield". On "Eye of the Zombie", Fogerty seems to introduce a harder rock sound than he did on "Centerfield". This was consistent with a lot of what was going on in the mid 1980s as hard rock was gaining some momentum in the industry. In addition to the hard rock sound, Fogerty incorporated a lot of elements of synth-pop and this alienated many of his fans (this could be the reason for the crash and burn since 80s music was moving away from this). However, I think the formula works well. Combining a hard rock sound, some synth-pop with Fogerty's unique style of vocals - the result is something special. Fogerty also brings in some studio musician background vocalists (Bobby King, Willie Green Jr., and Terry Evans) who contribute on 6 of the nine tracks. Fogerty will wear multiple hats on several songs as he plays guitars, keyboards, and of course vocals.

There is some good music on this collection. Here is a quick look at things song by song:

"Goin Back Home": This is a true solo instrumental. Fogerty plays both guitars and keyboards. The "darker" theme that this album brings immediately comes to the forefront. There are some terrific guitar rifts in this song.

"Eye of the Zombie": This is the title track and is worthy of being the title track. This is another song with a "dark theme". You will hear a lot more of the synth-pop elements in this song. The song actually starts with a bit of "dance" beat, but then there is some terrific guitar work by Fogerty. Fogerty's vocals are classic throughout the whole song.

"Headlines": This is John Fogerty's look at the media and radio. It's a theme that's been covered by many artists. Great stuff as Fogerty complains "My head is throbbin man; Man, I'm looking for a song; The radio depress me". This song has a harder edge than the stuff on "Centerfield". Again, this works well.

"Knockin On Your Door": This song while having some synth-pop elements does kind of take me back to CCR days. While there is an infusion of keyboards on this song, I do think its Fogerty's guitar and vocals that make this a pretty good song.

"Change in the Weather": This song has much more of a Classic Fogerty feel. This is a very good blues tune. Up until this song, Fogerty had really been the star of this album (after all it's his album), but on this album the background vocalists of Bobby King, Willie Green Jr, and Terry Evans make this one terrific track.

"Violence is Golden": From a lyrical standpoint - this might be the best track on the album. This is a darker theme as indicated by "Violence" in the title. This song is sung from a mercenary's point of view of selling weapons. Fogerty brings his "A" game to this song.

"Wasn't That a Woman": This is another bluesy song in which Fogerty gets a lot of help from his vocal trio. While not one of the stronger tracks on "Eye of the Zombie", it still is a pretty good track.

"Soda Pop": Another strong piece of lyrics. In this song, Fogerty looks at the soft-drink industry - this was the age when pop stars were doing soft drink commercials (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Madonna, etc). Fogerty looks at how these stars have sold out to commercialism. This song has a very catchy beat. As I listen to this song - this is the one place on "Eye of the Zombie" I hear sounds similar to "Centerfield"'s "Vanz Kant Danz".

"Sail Away": This is the final track. This song has more synth-pop elements in it. There almost is a folksy element overlayed on top of this song. This is a song in which Fogerty lets a lot of the anger go that he had when his comeback began (his feud over his music with Saul Zaentz) - it is almost the perfect ending to this album.

It's a shame that Fogerty would take a long hiatus following this album. Perhaps he got disillusioned again with the music industry from the lack of commercial sales. But perhaps, he was disillusioned because this album wasn't promoted nearly as well as "Centerfield" was. It's also a shame that Fogerty doesn't play a lot of this music in concert. Overall, this is a very underrated collection. I think this is a better effort than "Centerfield" and highly recommend this collection.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way Underrated, October 6, 2005

By 

DRD - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eye of the Zombie (Audio CD)

When an artist makes a record outside his or her comfort zone, and it ends up being a commercial flop, they usually distance themselves from the work. It becomes almost like an official bootleg. If said record sells, it's typically regarded as a daring new direction, a "turning point" for the artist, if you will. "Eye of the Zombie" is a great record, but one that shocked fans of "Centerfield." You could almost hear the confused masses saying to themselves, "How'd he go from singing about Annette Funicello and Joe Dimaggio to singing about zombies and the military industrial complex?" How? Because he was p----d off, that's how. See, in addition to being one of the most accomplished songwriters of his generation, John Fogerty also can be a world-class crank. He's suspicious of people outside his realm. He holds grudges. He can be petty. And he doesn't like it when the jerk that owns CCR's former record label holds his publishing rights hostage. Threatens to sue him unless he changes the title of the closing track on his long-awaited comeback album. Puts him on trial for plagiarizing himself . The owner of Fantasy records did all these things to Fogerty in the wake of "Centerfield"'s success, and one imagines it left John wondering why he'd bothered with a comeback at all. This record, "Eye of the Zombie," was his reaction. Angry, swamp rock-meets-metal guitars on the title track and "Headlines" (which takes aim at media oversaturation in 1986!). Arms dealers and the governments that support them get theirs in "Violence is Golden." Aging rockers, former paragons of idealism, get taken to task for selling out to soft drink companies on "Soda Pop." It's easy to see why some people complain that this record is too negative. Me, I call it a righteous anger and enjoy the ride. There's more here than vitriol. "Change in the Weather" is the greatest CCR song of Fogerty's solo career. "Wasn't that a Woman" and "Knockin' on Your Door" are upbeat, retro, R&B numbers. "Sail Away" is a heartbreaking ballad about, yes, how boarding an alien spaceship is the only solution for escaping the world's pain. Think the guy that wrote it was sick and tired of being sick and tired? The folks who overlook this album, perhaps including Fogerty himself, are really missing out.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Swamp Thing, January 26, 2008

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Eye of the Zombie (Audio CD)

John Fogerty in the 80's was a very angry man. While the triumphant Centerfield had enough retro-charm and a hero's return back-story to make it a five star perfect record, Fogerty's demons ate away at him as he prepared for the follow up. Recalling that "Centerfield" had the vindictive "Vanz Can't Dance" (changed from the original pressings 'Zanz') and "Mr Greed," the rustic charms of "Old Man Down The Road," "Rock and Roll Girls" and the title song made it easy to mask the seething resentment that Fogerty unleashed on what remains his best solo album.

"Eye of The Zombie" was even angrier, fueled by lawsuits over self-plagiarism and a disdain for pop-sellouts, yet it is easily as good an album as any Fogerty has released over the years. I enjoy this more than I did Blue Moon Swamp, which always seemed kind of neutered to my ears. But this CD was slagged at the time, probably because everyone was still longing for good-time John to keep on chooglin', when he had some gasoline left to burn. As a result, the swamp-voodoo of the title track and the timely ferocity of "Violence is Golden" put off folks expecting the more lighthearted fare of "Centerfield."

This was also a harder rocking album, as Fogerty let go of the one man band routine and allowed guest players to add flavor to the sounds. It really kicks in on "Change In The Weather," easily the most CCR-ish song on the album. It's got a heart to it, albeit a rather venomous one, but one that pulses with righteous indignation. By the time the CD closes with "Sail Away," even Fogerty seems a bit worn out by the anger exerted, as he sings of longing for (I think) aliens to come and whisk him off to a better place. More telling is that after "Eye of The Zombie," Fogerty remained silent for another 11 years before making peace with his Creedence past and ultimately releasing a live show of career hits (1998's Premonition). Fogerty is still capable of the righteous anger exhibited here; one listen to Revival will prove that. But this under-rated CD is probably a lot better than you remember it to be, and has a special spot on my CD shelf.