Out of the Shadows [Import]

Colin Blunstone | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Absol
• ASIN: B00005B16B
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,849 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Home

2. A Girl Like That

3. Helpless

4. Sanctuary

5. Living in the Real World

6. Mystified

7. Only the Rain

8. Baby Don't You Cry No More

9. Danger Zone

10. Love Can Heal the Pain

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MOST ADDICTIVE, November 14, 2002

By 

Amy Ronayne (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Shadows (Audio CD)

Since I got this a couple of weeks ago, it's one in a rotation of 3 CDs I listen to regularly (the other two being Blunstone's "Greatest Hits" and Argent's "Hold Your Head Up- The Best of Argent"). These days my other CDs are simply palette-cleansers, and it's not long before this one goes back in the player. If you truly appreciate the music of the Zombies, you'll thank your lucky stars Blunstone and Argent have gotten back together and found an excellent troupe of musicians to play with them. Colin's voice is smooth as ever, and more versatile than I'd realized. I suppose such versatility is necessary with the wide range of moods Argent has created in this diverse group of compositions. (He wrote everything himself except "A Girl Like That," which was co-written with Russ Ballard and "Only the Rain," which was a poem written by Rod's son Mark and put to music.) Don't expect The Zombies of the 60s though. This is current, and the influences of music they've heard over the past 30 years is apparent in these songs. At first listen you might be tempted to say "Living in the Real World" sounds like Sting or "Danger Zone" sounds like Hall & Oates, but if you listen more than once you'll find it's truly original work. Though one might hear influences of other musicians, I wouldn't call it derivative. I believe it was Lenny Kaye who once said The Zombies wore their hearts as well as their intelligence on their sleeves. The same is true of Blunstone & Argent in their present-day form, and it shows in the honesty and emotion you'll find in these songs. If you're seeking more Zombie-esque work, you'll find it in tracks like "Sanctuary," "A Girl Like That" and "Home," but what makes this CD such a joy to listen to is the fact that the songs are not all the same. Some of the tracks are bluesy, some poppy and some unidentifiable as anything other than present-day Zombie-esque.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Thing Missing is Chris White, December 3, 2001

By 

Randall E. Adams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of the Shadows (Audio CD)

If, like me, you find it incomprehensible that "She's Coming Home" was not a huge hit in 1965, this album is for you.

At long last, Colin Blunstone is coupled with his old partner Rod Argent for an album that is at least as satisfying as "Ennismore" and possibly even "One Year."

The voice? It's totally there, unbelievably so. The songs are fine Argent pennings. "Home" kicks the album off as convincingly as "Care of Cell 44." "Helpless" is reminiscent of synth-romance bands like Tears for Fears, but is so much better. "Sanctuary" is entertainingly suggestive of "Andorra." As another listener on here observed, "Living in the Real World" is suggestive of Yes, but then weren't Yes heavily influenced by the Zombies in the first place? I am also reminded of Thomas Dolby, another person I'll wager listened to the Zombies in his youth. The clunker for me is "Mystified," a dull bluesy number once again exposing Argent's lack of pedigree for that particular form. But who can complain about only one clunker? "Only the Rain" also suggests Thomas Dolby. "Baby Don't You Cry No More" serves up a vaguely loungish dose of rhythm and blues. The backing is largely by Argent alumni. Rod occasionally delights with his period electric piano, sounding as if he's taking off directly where "Time of the Season" left off. Elsewhere his piano provides a more modern but still busy sparkle. The production is sensitive and sophisticated, not surprising in light of Rod Argent's productions for Tanita Tikaram and Nancy Griffith.

To be the Zombies circa 2001, all this record really needs is Chris White filling in the harmonies and contributing his trademark minor key tunes. Well, you can't have absolutely EVERYTHING can you? But buy this record, marvel at the continued relevance of St. Albans' finest and be grateful. I sure am.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Of the Zombies, May 18, 2001

By 

Bongo Point (Lindale, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Shadows (Audio CD)

On this new release these two former Zombies members did just about everything right. To start with they played to their strengths; Colin's voice and Rod's compositional and arragement skills. Their versatility was always one of the things I loved, and one of the things record companies hate. "Where do we pidgeon hole them for marketing purposes?" You don't! Just like where they left of with "Odessy and Oracle" they break new ground as well as borrowing from their own early influences. There are as many styles as there are songs.

The album contains new tunes penned by Rod plus one written with ex-Argent member Russ Ballard. Oddly enough this appears to be the only song they ever wrote together. They also cover two Rod Argent originals from his 1988 solo album, "Red House."

Fans of the Zombies, Rod Argent, or Colin Blunstone should all be thrilled. In fact, if they had called this the Zombies you would believed it. It seems like the natural progression of their music into the twenty-first century. I only hope they continue to do this about once a year from now on.