| Different Game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 March 2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:16 | |||
| Label | Cooking Vinyl | |||
| Producer | Rod Argent | |||
| The Zombies chronology | ||||
| ||||
Different Game is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Zombies, released on 31 March 2023 through Cooking Vinyl. It is their first album since Still Got That Hunger , which was released in 2015.
Work began on the album in 2019 shortly after the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed after lockdown restrictions were lifted. The album was designed to sound like a live performance to "capture that magical, fleeting quality of energy and immediacy of performance". [3]
Different Game is eclectic in style. [4] The album has been described as having "rockers" as well as "tender acoustic ballads with classical string arrangements". [3] The Telegraph 's Andrew Perry writes the album "harks back to the prog-rock era", bringing advanced composition and "instrumental virtuosity" to pop songs. [2]
"Love You While I Can" is described by Clash editor Robin Murray as "[b]eatific baroque pop with a decidedly English feel, ... meld[ing] together West Coast harmonies with something soothing, and almost psychedelic." [5]
"I Want to Fly" is a chamber pop song that draws from classical music, featuring only strings and vocals. [2] [6] Argent explained he had arranged it for a previous album but wanted to revisit it for Different Game, with a new arrangement by Chris Gunning. Argent described it as "an affectionate look back" to Blunstone's 1971 solo album One Year , which Argent produced with former Zombies bassist Chris White. [4]
"Got to Move On" is a harmonica-driven blues stomp [6] [7] that Perry characterises as "Spencer Davis Group-style R&B." [2]
The album's cover photo, taken by Argent, shows the band's tour van after it broke down outside of Phoenix, Arizona. [8] Blunstone explained: "We were traveling from Southern California to Tucson, when our tour van's engine suddenly caught fire! We spent about 5 hours stranded in the remote Arizona desert [...] It was a harrowing experience, but also beautiful and surreal." [9] Argent said he felt the photo "seems to sum up what being in a band is truly like!" [8] The event further inspired the lyric video for "Dropped Reeling & Stupid". [9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100 [10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| American Songwriter |  [11] |
| The Telegraph | [2] |
Different Game was released on 31 March 2023. [6] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 72, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [10]
All tracks composed by Rod Argent, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Different Game" | 4:57 | |
| 2. | "Dropped Reeling & Stupid" | 3:52 | |
| 3. | "Rediscover" | 3:58 | |
| 4. | "Runaway" | 3:17 | |
| 5. | "You Could Be My Love" | 3:48 | |
| 6. | "Merry-Go-Round" | 4:24 | |
| 7. | "Love You While I Can" | 3:18 | |
| 8. | "I Want to Fly" | 4:16 | |
| 9. | "Got to Move On" | 3:54 | |
| 10. | "The Sun Will Rise Again" | Colin Blunstone | 3:27 |
The Zombies are an English rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two further singles—"Tell Her No" in 1965 and "Time of the Season" in 1968—were also successful.
Odessey and Oracle is the second studio album by English rock band the Zombies. It was originally released in the UK in April 1968 by CBS Records. The album was recorded primarily between June and August 1967. The sessions took place at EMI and Olympic Studios in London.
Rodney Terence Argent is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the band Argent after the first break-up of the Zombies.
Colin Edward Michael Blunstone is an English singer and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the rock band the Zombies, which released four singles that entered the Top 75 charts in the United States during the 1960s: "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", "She's Coming Home" and "Time of the Season". Blunstone began his solo career in 1969, releasing three singles under a pseudonym of Neil MacArthur. Since then, he has released ten studio albums under his real name. He appears on several albums with the Alan Parsons Project and sang "Old and Wise".
"Time of the Season" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in September 1967. Over a year after its original release, the track became a surprise hit in the United States, rising to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cashbox chart. It has become one of the Zombies' most popular and recognizable songs, and an iconic hit of 1960s psychedelia.
Argent were an English rock band founded in 1969 by keyboardist Rod Argent, formerly of the Zombies. They had three UK top 40 singles: "Hold Your Head Up", which reached number five and spent 12 weeks on the chart, "Tragedy", and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You". Two of their albums charted in the UK: All Together Now, which peaked at number 13 in 1972, and In Deep, which spent one week at number 49 in 1973.
James Walter Rodford was an English musician, who played bass for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of Argent, which was led by his cousin Rod Argent, and performed with them from their formation in 1969 until they disbanded in 1976. He was the bassist for the Kinks from 1978 until they disbanded in 1997. In 2004, he joined the reunited Zombies, whom he had been closely associated with since the early 1960s, and remained a member until his death in 2018. He was also a member of the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Kast Off Kinks.
Begin Here is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Zombies, released in April 1965 by Decca Records. The American version repeated many of the tracks from it, but, as was common at the time, deleted some and substituted others.
The Zombies is the debut American studio album by English pop rock band the Zombies, released in January 1965 by Parrot Records. After the success of the double-sided hit single "She's Not There" b/w "You Make Me Feel Good" reached #2 on the U.S. charts in the fall of 1964, Parrot quickly released this LP in 1965. The dozen tracks were taken from material the Zombies cut for their UK debut album, Begin Here. Also included are "It's Alright With Me" and "Sometimes" from their self-titled EP. The album also included their 2nd hit single "Tell Her No".
"She's Not There" is the debut single by British rock band the Zombies, written by keyboardist Rod Argent. It reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1964, and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States at the beginning of December 1964. In Canada, it reached No. 2.
Encore: Live in Concert is a live double-LP by Argent which was released in December 1974, on Epic Records PEG 33079. The performance includes the Rod Argent penned Zombies hit "Time of the Season" (1968) and the Russ Ballard penned "I Don't Believe In Miracles" which was a UK #31 hit for Colin Blunstone in 1972. Blunstone had previously been the vocalist in the Zombies with Rod Argent.
Christopher Taylor White is an English musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the bass guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of the rock band The Zombies. White is one of the main composers of the Zombies' music, and made major lyrical contributions to the band's songs. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of the Zombies.
As Far As I Can See is the fourth studio album by the British rock band the Zombies, and their first since 1991. The lineup includes three of the band's original members: Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone and Chris White, with fourth original member Paul Atkinson also serving as A&R for the record.
One Year is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Colin Blunstone, a member of the Zombies. It was released by Epic Records in 1971. It includes "Say You Don't Mind", which peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.
Ennismore is the second solo studio album by the English singer Colin Blunstone of rock band the Zombies. The name of the album comes from Ennismore Gardens, a square in Knightsbridge where Blunstone was living; the name being a variant spelling of the island Inishmore.
Hugh Birch Grundy is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Grundy came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the drummer of the English rock band the Zombies. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
"Care of Cell 44" is a single by the Zombies, from their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was featured on Pitchfork Media's 200 Best Songs of the 1960s list, and has since been covered by modern artists including Elliott Smith and Of Montreal.
Breathe Out, Breathe In is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Zombies, released on 9 May 2011.
Still Got That Hunger is the sixth studio album by English rock band the Zombies, released on 9 October 2015. The band funded production of the album through the crowdfunding web site PledgeMusic, receiving donations from 958 pledgers and reaching 143% of its funding goal.
R.I.P., also known as R.I.P. - The Lost Album, is a studio album by English rock band the Zombies. It was originally scheduled to be released in 1969, but was cancelled. It was first released in Japan in October 2000 by Imperial Records.
