Colin and Rod's recent performances on the "Hippiefest" tour in the U.S garnered some fantastic reactions and reviews.

Retro-Active correspondent Ken Sharp
caught a recent electrifying set by the '60s phenoms and walked out a true believer. Blessed with one of the most dynamic and  versatile singers in Rock & Roll, Blunstone is a marvel of vocal virtuosity, embracing the band's Poppier material ("Tell Her No," "Rose For Emily," "Time Of The Season") with a fine honed delicacy and immaculate interpretive skills while attacking the more rock-oriented material (Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," "God Gave Rock & Roll To You" and The Zombies first chartbuster, "She's Not There" ) with the skill of a seasoned master. Keyboardist Rod Argent, who penned much of the band's material, is also a delight to behold, dazzling concertgoers with his blazing flights of fast fingered keyboard wizardry. Be sure to catch The Zombies when they come to your town. It's a show you won't want to miss.

"Reunited '60s band play killer show" John Mackie,  Vancouver Sun
Thanks to the wonders of suburban casino showrooms, there seem to be as  many ’60s acts playing Vancouver today as there were in the 1960s. Some  still have it, some don’t. But you’d be hard-pressed to ever find a ’60s act to match the show the Zombies put on Sunday night at Richard’s  on Richards. It was the band’s first local appearance since 1965, and you could feel  the anticipation in the sold-out crowd, which was composed of hard-core  music fans spanning several generations. The original band broke up 40  years ago, but the Zombies’ music is so distinctive and imaginative it  seems to be as influential today as ever — take a listen to modern  indie pop faves the Shins or the New Pornographers. The quintet that appeared Sunday only had two original members, singer  Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent. But it’s Blunstone’s  ethereal voice and Argent’s wild solos that are the hallmarks of the  group, anyway, and the replacement members (including long-time Kinks  bassist Jim Rodford and his son Steve on drums) are all ace musicians.  They were playing oldies, but it wasn’t an oldies act, if you know what  I mean: they were playing music, not hits.
 
In a way, it was several concerts in one. There was a ton of vintage Zombies stuff, but there were a few numbers from Argent’s progressive rock band, Argent, and also a couple of songs from Blunstone’s solo career. One minute they’d be doing a short, sharp pop song, then Argent would launch into some crazy extended prog-rock organ solo. But somehow it all worked — you’ll never, ever see so many alternative music fans joyously punching the air and screaming along to a prog-rock staple like Argent's Hold Your Head Up.
Argent turns 60 in May but looks a decade younger, with a big fuzzy mop of hair and a little goatee that makes him look like record company mogul/mad balloonist Richard Branson. He’s a show in himself, reeling off a dizzying succession of jazzy solos. A very inventive player, he does tend to go off into outer space at times:
he benefits from the discipline of playing short pop songs, ’cause he looks like he’d be happy just playing a two hour solo.Closing in on 62 years of age, Blunstone sounds almost exactly the same as he did when he was 19. Basically, he can trill like a bird, hitting all the high notes and effortlessly shifting between pop,
R&B and soul. Really, he’s one of the great singers in rock history. It’s hard to believe that most of his solo records have never been released in North America, but then, he is incredibly English — his neo-Nehru jacket and pants ensemble and stage manner of standing at the mike and snapping his fingers were oh-so-swinging-’60s-London. Highlights? There was a stirring Goin’ Out of My Head, a lovely singalong of Summertime, a hypnotic take of I Love You, and sublime  renditions of What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, Tell Her No and She’s Not There.

But the heart of the concert was a brilliant mini-set from their album Odyssey and Oracle, including Care of Cell 44, This Will Be Our Year, A Rose For Emily and Beechwood Park. It ended off with a letter-perfect version of Time of the Season which had the audience giving a thunderous ovation for several minutes. Judging by the
smiles on the band’s faces, they won’t wait another 42 years before they come back to town. jmackie@png.canwest.com
 
THE GLOBE & MAIL (TORONTO)
Almost every song performed on this night was a top-10 hit, although odd circumstance sometimes changed the sound. As noted by M.C. Country Joe McDonald, guitarist Joey Molland was the last surviving member of Badfinger. But his broad Liverpudlian accent gave an abrasive edge to power-pop classics like Day After Day and Come and Get It. Mitch Ryder barely seemed to have the energy to shake his tambourine, yet alone supply the vocal power necessary for Jenny Take a Ride and Devil With a Blue Dress. And Rascal Felix Cavaliere was in great voice, but spent too much time revisiting Motown classics at the expense of his own songs. No It's a Beautiful Morning? Shock! Travesty! Best act of the night was undoubtedly the Zombies, with singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent in fit and fighting form on She's Not There, Tell Her No and Argent's Hold Your Head Up, a trio of songs that earned them the night's first and foremost standing ovation.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 
The Zombies, the finest British-invasion-era band still touring that doesn't have Mick Jagger as a frontman, was the class act of the night. Still led by original keyboard wizard Rod Argent and featuring the smoked-silk vocals of Colin Blunstone, it was the only band that bridged the gaps between mid-'60s pop-rock ("She's Not There") and the more psychedelic pop of "Time of the Season" and the full-blown progressive rock of "Hold Your Head Up," the latter a hit for Argent (the keyboardist's post-Zombies band).


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