The Zombies' 10 greatest songs, ranked

19 July 2024, 10:15 | Updated: 19 July 2024, 10:40

The Zombies in 1965. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki/ASP/Getty Images). Picture: Getty

By Thomas Curtis-Horsfall

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They were one of the British Invasion's biggest success stories.

But like most bands that sought US fame and fortune on the tailcoats of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Zombies' story faded fairly swiftly.

The five-piece baroque pop band were together less than a decade before deciding to call it a day, due to a perceived lack of interest in their music.

Nowadays, that couldn't be further from the case - The Zombies are one of psychedelic pop's most enduring and influential acts.

Appropriately, their legacy came to life after the band's death in 1967, though they reanimated in 2004 when bandleaders Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent rekindled their creative spark.

The Zombies' heyday lineup featured the aforementioned singer and keyboardist alongside bassist Chris White, drummer Hugh Grundy, and guitarist Paul Atkinson, who sadly died in 2004 shortly after the band's reunion.

In 2019, The Zombies cemented their musical impact having been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the fourth time they were nominated.

Their baroque and very British brand of psychedelic pop is as immaculate now as it was throughout the sixties, with the band still pulling in generations of new audiences today.

That said, we've ranked The Zombies' ten greatest songs from top to bottom:

'Imagine The Swan'

Imagine The Swan

The final ever song of The Zombies to enter the top 100 of the US Cashbox charts (a rival to the US Billboard charts back in the day), 'Imagine The Swan' serves as a sort of swansong for the band.
Having called it a day long before their lauded album Odessey and Oracle became a sleeper hit, Rod Argent and Chris White were persuaded to release an album compiled of previously unreleased material.
As it didn't fare too well in the charts the album was sadly shelved. Based on 'Imagine The Swan', who knows what a success it could've potentially become?
'Friends Of Mine'

The Zombies - Friends Of Mine (Lyric Video)

'Friends Of Mine' was the first single The Zombies released from 1968's Odessey and Oracle yet failed to make a dent in any charts anywhere in the world, perhaps due to its overly saccharine sentiment of celebrating other people's relationships.
Reeling off names of couples they knew - befitting of the 'Summer Of Love' the previous year - Chris White recalled to Mojo magazine: "We sat around and came up with different friends at rehearsal to see if we could fit them all in."
Blunstone's endearing delivery sells 'Friends Of Mine', despite most of the couples having broken up by the time the album came out. Some are still going today however, with White adding: "Jim and Jean are still together. And Jim and Christine."
'She’s Coming Home'

She's Coming Home

'She's Coming Home' signalled the start of the end of The Zombies' commercial success, likely because it sounds like a Phil Spector-produced doo-wop number than the gentle British baroque pop stylings that the band showcased until this point.
But in many ways it opened up possibilities to where their songwriting could've ventured, if they hadn't experimented with the Mellotron, setting the groundwork for what would evolve into progressive rock.
It's an outlier that irked the band themselves - released on the same day as their debut album, Begin Here, 'She's Coming Home' commercially missed the mark, yet received plenty of critical respect.
'Tell Her No'

Tell Her No - The Zombies

The breezy 'Tell Her No' doesn't contain such laidback subject matter, with Colin Blunstone singing about his girl cheating on him, imploring another guy to spurn her advances.
"They put out a song called 'Leave Me Be,' which we all thought was absolutely the wrong choice, and absolutely not a hit," songwriter Rod Argent later recalled about his label cocking up by delaying the release of 'Tell Her No' in the UK. "But the producer and all the people that were making the decisions wouldn't listen to us, and just sort of threw it out there."
'Tell Her No' did well in the US after its initial release however, giving The Zombies their second US top ten hit.
'A Rose For Emily'

The Zombies - A Rose For Emily (Lyric Video)

If you think The Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby' was morose or melancholic, then get an earful of 'A Rose For Emily'.
Inspired by a William Faulkner short story, the chord progression on the piano plunks through bright sunshine to rainy grey clouds, but doesn't disguise the titular Emily eventually meeting her demise - and a lonely one at that.
"And as the years go by / She will grow old and die / The roses in her garden fade away / Not one left for her grave," Blunstone coos toward the end of the song.
Sorry Emily, but it's a superb song nonetheless.
'The Way I Feel Inside'

The Way I Feel Inside

'The Way I Feel Inside' clocks in at under just two minutes, but it packs the emotional gut-punch of a full-blown concerto.
Colin Blunstone's isolated a-cappella vocal plays the heartstrings gorgeously, with the song receiving somewhat of a reappraisal after it featured in Wes Anderson's 2004 kitsch oddball dramedy, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou starring Bill Murray.
Penned by Rod Argent, Chris White later recalled: "Rod wrote one of the songs on the toilet on the Isley Brothers tour, and I think it was 'The Way I Feel Inside,' ironically enough! He was late for the bus; it was always 'You have to be on time for the bus' on that tour."
'This Will Be Our Year'

The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year (Lyric Video)

Rod Argent and Chris White split songwriting duties on The Zombies' celebrated cult album Odessey and Oracle, with White truly pulling it out of the bag with 'This Will Be Our Year', arguably one of the album's most enduring songs.
"You don’t have to worry, all your worried days are gone," Blunstone's narrator promises the listener, a welcome tonic whose optimism aligned with the Summer Of Love that unfolded the year prior.
Brimming with hope and heart, 'This Will Be Our Year' has become something of a wedding favourite, according to White at least: "We met Graham Nash at the [Rock and Roll] Hall of Fame, and he said his girlfriend wants 'This Will Be Our Year' played at his wedding - and not one of his songs!"
'Care Of Cell 44'

The Zombies - Care Of Cell 44 (Lyric Video)

The sun-drenched psych-pop symphony of 'Care Of Cell 44' details a lover imagining his reunion with a woman who's waiting to be released from prison.
"It just appealed to me," songwriter Argent told Mojo magazine. "That twist on a common scenario, I just can't wait for you to come home to me again."
A glittering Mellotron shapes the symphonic sound, ensuring there's nothing sad about the scenario the narrator finds himself in. Though the song's poor commercial performance both surprised and saddened the band.
"It's a wonderfully crafted song. I think it's got an incredible lyric, wonderful chord sequences and a great melody - it's just got everything," a bemused Blunstone later shrugged.
'She’s Not There'

The Zombies - She's Not There, Full HD (Digitally Remastered and Upscaled)

The song that started it all for The Zombies, and saw them break through into the US charts amid the swell of the British Invasion bands.
'She's Not There' was written by Rod Argent when the band were mere teenagers, entering a talent competition which bagged them a record contract with Decca Records, and subsequent chart success.
Whilst much of The Zombies' lyrics deal with love and its wide-eyed joyousness, 'She's Not There' details the narrator confessing his love for a woman who refuses to be tied down to one person - ie, "she's not there".
Blunstone's soft delivery in the verse and anguished cry throughout the chorus ensure the dynamic psych-pop song is an emotional rollercoaster from the moment it unfolds.
No wonder it peaked at number two in the US charts, and considered by many to be the band's signature song.
'Time Of The Season'

The Zombies - Time Of The Season (Lyric Video)

The drum intro punctuated with claps, the laidback bassline, and the hushed "aahs" as the song saunters away - there's a reason why 'Time Of The Season' became The Zombies' most iconic song.
Showcasing effortless countercultural cool, the band tapped into the youth frame of mind when the swinging sixties and hippie America came to fruition.
That's despite the band breaking up at the very tail end of 1967, 'Time Of The Season' was a sleeper hit in the US, swooning mainstream audiences too with plenty of finger-clicking as it peaked at number three in the charts two years later.
Due to the song's success, The Zombies became somewhat of a cult phenomenon, especially the album it featured on, Odessey and Oracle, which has since been lauded by the likes of Paul Weller, Foo Fighters, and Tom Petty, as well as being included in numerous 'Best Albums' lists.
At a period of political and social turmoil in the US, the message of love and frivolity in 'Time Of The Season' resonated deeply. Though the band's in-fighting was ironically at loggerheads with the song's positive outlook.
Blunstone revealed in a 2015 interview: "It was written in the morning before we went into the studio in the afternoon, and I kind of struggled on the melody. Rod and I had quite a heated discussion - he being in the control room and me singing the song - and we were just doing it through my headphones. Because it had only just been written, I was struggling with the melody."
"It makes me laugh, because at the same time I'm singing, 'It's the time of the season for loving,' we're really going at one another."