Zombie Heaven 4-CD Box Set [BOX SET] [COLLECTOR'S EDITION] [IMPORT]

The Zombies

Product Details

• Audio CD: 105 pages (December 12, 1997)
• 105 pages
• Original Release Date: November 18, 1997
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Collector's Edition, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Big Beat UK
• ASIN: B0000004E0
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,466 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
When this 4 CD, 119-song collection appeared, there were those who doubted anyone would want so much music by a group that only had three hits ("She's Not There," "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season"). Defying the naysayers, Zombie Heaven inspired renewed Zombie mania among pop cognoscenti. With its beautiful cover, fascinating book, and every recording the group ever made, it truly is Zombie heaven. Unlike most artists of their era whose album cuts were far inferior to their singles, Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, and company had, if anything, too much talent. From the baroque beauty of "Care of Cell 44," to the wistful pop soul of "If It Don't Work Out," and the driving "Indication," this is a treasure for all fans of pure pop. --Dawn Eden

Product Description
Thorough release covering the band's career, including 41 unissued tracks (outtakes, early demos, home recordings, etc.), a 30 track compilation of live recordings 1964-1971, top quality packaging as a four CD digipak, a 64 page booklet with rare photos and memorabilia and sleeve notes made in cooperation with all band members. A total of 119 digitally remastered tracks, including the timeless hits 'She's Not There', 'Time Of The Season' and 'Tell Her No'. 6 x 10in digi-book packaging. 1997 Big Beat release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bliss, December 12, 2004

By	The Man On The Flaming Pie (The Foothills of the Headlands) - See all my reviews

This awesome box set is by far the easiest (and probably cheapest, as long as you have the money to drop all at once) way to get all of the Zombies' released material--and then some! You really have to hand it to Big Beat--the Zombies' catalogue (particularly the singles) has been repackaged & re-released time and time again almost since their breakup...but with Zombie Heaven, Big Beat delivers the Zombies' entire works on four CD's, all of which are filled nearly to the brim (a standard CD holds 80 minutes of sound, and all four programs here are in excess of 70). That's not all you get, however. Also included is an invaluable 68-page book with information on every track and a comprehensive history of the group, told mostly by the Zombies themselves.
Disc 1 - Begin Here and Singles
As the title suggests, this disc includes the Zombies' debut album, Begin Here, and most of their A- & B-sides that did not appear on any album (the remainder are on disc 2). Begin Here has been described as a "typical" album of its time, and while that's somewhat true, I believe there's more to it than that. The album does contain a couple lukewarm covers, but those are outweighed by such gems as "I Can't Make Up My Mind," their jazzy rendition of "Summertime," "I Remember When I Loved Her," and "I Don't Want To Know," which has a 12-string guitar intro with a sound that a certain folk-rock band would popularize a year later. As for the singles, there isn't a weak one in the bunch, though only two of them ("She's Not There" & "Tell Her No") were successful, which calls into question what the public was instead listening to at the time (well, okay, the Beatles)...even George Harrison said at the time that he couldn't understand why the Zombies weren't being more successful.
Disc 2 - Odessey & Oracle and The Lost Album
This is the best of the four discs because it contains the magical Odessey & Oracle album. It also has the tracks intended for the aborted R.I.P. project--six songs recorded in the late 60's and 5 more great ones which the Zombies recorded earlier in their career but never released (plus "I'll Call You Mine"), done up with overdubbed strings & vocals. And if you don't care for the overdubbed versions, Zombie Heaven gives you the freedom of choice and you can listen to the originals on disc 3!
Disc 3 - In The Studio / Rare & Unissued
The third disc is a bit of a hodgepodge. The songs range from ones that had been officially released in formats such as EP's but are extremely hard to find to demos of songs that went (regretfully) unreleased. There are also full-band demos of songs which were later released, which hurts the disc a little because these demos usually aren't too incredibly different from the finished versions, just understandably rawer and less slick. It's too bad there weren't original home demos of these songs in their infant state available--that would have been more interesting.
Disc 4 - Live On The BBC
Good "live" stuff. If you've ever heard a "BBC" album by any other artist, you know what you're getting here. Standout tracks include previously unreleased covers of "The Look Of Love" & "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" as well as an extended version of "What More Can I Do" and an organ-dominated "She's Not There." The disc ends with an interview where Rod & Chris talk about their future plans in music.
Again, this is the ultimate release for Zombies fans. The one & only drawback: there isn't more!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TIME OF THE ZOMBIES, January 21, 2005

By	Joey D (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

A boxed set from a bunch of guys who only had 3 or 4 hit records at best? What could be on it? PUUULLLENTY. And is it any good? YOU BETCHA! 119 numbers from a 4 year period. These guys were PROLIFIC and just about the most hard lucked band of the Briish Invasion. Trouble with their work permits kept them from capitalizing on their fame here, when they hit right out of the box with SHE'S NOT THERE. Bad luck, bad management, trouble with unions did not stop these guys from plugging away. This set is like finding a treasure trove of GOOD British Invasion records you never heard before. Rave-ups, eerie introspective numbers (way before they were in vogue), and just plain wonderful pop songs permeate this fantastic sounding 4 disc set. That's info for the uninitiated. For those in the know, there's mono and rare stereo versions, overdubbed and pre-overdubbed versions, studio chatter and rehearsals, live at the BBC recordings, a massive 65 page booklet that goes through the band's history and track by track breakdown and commentary from the guys, a ton of photos, and just about everything this group ever recorded. Very,very few clunkers. Despite two timeless #1 hits (at the begining and end of their career) the Zombies need to be re-evaluated as one the top groups of the British Invasion. And this set is the proof.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If there is a Zombie heaven, I'll gladly die tomorrow, December 9, 1999

By A Customer

As with any box set, there's about a half disc's worth of material too much. But the stuff in this set that's good....is sooooooo unbelievably good. If attitude wasn't such an important trait for bands to have in the sixties, the Zombies could have been as popular as the Rolling Stones. Since they were basically a mom-friendly band, we're only left with an extremely underrated treasure of sixties pop music. The list of what's so wonderful about this music is simply too exhaustive to contain in a single review-"I'll Keep Trying", "Whenever You're Ready", "This Will Be Our Year", "If It Don't Work Out", "Sometimes" and on and on and on. "I'll Keep Trying" very well may be the first song that can ever be accused of being disgustingly catchy, and it wasn't even a single. This bands also-rans pack more punch in a three minute span than most bands entire careers are capable of. You simply will not find a greater collection of beautifully constructed, melodic-to-a-fault, choral pop music in the world than 'Zombie Heaven'. We should all thank the Zombies for finding just the right chord to play so many times. Writing great songs came naturally to these guys. It's as if McCartney was cloned as five nerdy-looking eggheads. This box set is an absolute necessity for any fan of melody and for anyone who's forgotten what a well-crafted song sounds like. If only they had been busted for drugs.....