Review Summary: Well let me tell you 'bout the way she looked...
A classic British Invasion band, The Zombies first attracted attention in the States with their 1964 single
She’s Not There, becoming a Top 10 hit. Their debut
Begin Here followed not much later, one half being their own material and the other blues covers, a type of album composition not at all unusual for young-and-upcoming bands in the 60’s. Although the group enjoyed some more success with their next single
Tell Her No, the song failed to make a dent in the charts of their native UK, and interest for The Zombies dwindled steadily in the US as well afterwards.
Begin Here is a typical British Invasion album: songs about girls, sweet vocals with the obligatory ‘oooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ from the boys in the back, simple instrumentation, and those just a tad more catchy standouts that make it all worthwhile (in short: all very much similar to pre-psychedelic Beatles material).
She’s Not There is such a standout, unbelievably catchy indeed, with a chorus you've probably heard no matter your age:
‘But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care?
Please don't bother trying to find her
She's not theeeeeeere!!!
Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked
The way she acts and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not theeeeeeere!!!’
Nothing really touches the song, even though other tracks such as the aforementioned
Tell Her No and
I Don’t Want To Know are great too. The covers are standard-fare for the time and nothing special either, but everything here is pretty enjoyable, if mostly forgettable if you’re a fan of this era of music. The Zombies turned out to be another one-hit-wonder soon forgotten, or so at least it would seem in 1965...
Zombie Recs:
She’s Not There
I Don’t Want To Know
Sometimes
Tell Her No
It’s Alright With Me
