"Time of the Season" | ||||
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![]() Side A of 1968 UK single | ||||
Single by the Zombies | ||||
from the album Odessey and Oracle | ||||
B-side | ||||
Released | March 1968 | |||
Recorded | 14 September 1967 | |||
Studio | EMI, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | CBS | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rod Argent | |||
Producer(s) | The Zombies | |||
The Zombies singles chronology | ||||
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Lyric video | ||||
"The Zombies – 'Time Of The Season' (lyric video)" on YouTube |
"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 (then known as EMI 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.
Several other songs from Odessey and Oracle were released as singles prior to "Time of the Season". Columbia Records supported the album and its singles at the urging of new A&R representative Al Kooper. One of the singles issued on Columbia's Date label was the noncommercial-sounding "Butcher's Tale", which Columbia thought might catch on as an antiwar statement, at the time a popular trend. "Time of the Season" was released only at Kooper's urging, initially coupled with its original UK B-side, "I'll Call You Mine", without success. After previous singles flopped, Date re-released "Time of the Season" backed with another UK flop single, "Friends of Mine", and it made its breakthrough in early 1969, over a year after the band split up. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in March, [5] topped the Cashbox chart, [6] and reached number one in Canada. It did not chart in the band's native Britain, despite being re-released twice, but it later found fame there with Rod Argent saying that it became "a classic in the UK, but it's never been a hit." [7] In mid-1969, it peaked at number two on the South African hit parade.
The song makes extensive use of call-and-response vocals (from singer Colin Blunstone) interwoven with fast-paced psychedelic keyboard improvisation by Rod Argent.
In 1998, Big Beat Records released a CD reissue of Odessey and Oracle containing both the original stereo and monoaural versions of "Time of the Season". It also featured a newly remixed alternate version containing instrumental backing underneath the vocals during the entire chorus. These instrumental backings had been mixed out on the original 1968 stereo and mono versions to create a cappella vocal sections. The outro is also different, with a different organ solo featuring only one organ, instead of the two interleaved organs in the original mix.
Milwaukee's Third Coast Daily.com called the song "something of a counterculture anthem". [8]
In 2012, NME named the track the 35th-best song of the 1960s. [9] In 2021, it was ranked at No. 349 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [10]
Partial credits from Richard Buskin and Rod Argent. [11]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [23] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The song has been covered many times by other bands in recordings, including:
It has been sampled many times, including in 2005 on the Necro album The Sexorcist in the opening track "Who's Ya Daddy?"; in 2009 by Melanie Fiona in her single "Give It to Me Right"; in 2011 on the ScHoolboy Q album Setbacks in the bonus track "Rolling Stone", which features the rap supergroup Black Hippy; in the outro on Miguel's "Don't Look Back" from the 2012 album Kaleidoscope Dream ; Eminem's 2013 album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 , in "Rhyme or Reason"; and on Insane Clown Posse’s 2019 album Fearless Fred Fury , in “Low”.
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 the English rock band the Zombies. It was released in the UK on 19 April 1968 by CBS Records and in the US on 15 July by Date Records. The album was recorded primarily between June and August 1967 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 was also a recurring guest vocalist with the Alan Parsons Project, appearing on four of their albums between 1978 and 1985.
Argent were an English rock band formed in 1969 by former Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. They had three UK Top 40 singles: "Hold Your Head Up", which reached No. 5 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 No. 13 in 1972, and In Deep, which spent one week at No. 49 in 1973.
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 first studio album released by the English rock band the Zombies in the United States. It was 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 the English 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.
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.
Paul Ashley Warren Atkinson was a British guitarist and record company executive, best known as a founding member of the pop/rock band The Zombies. Atkinson was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
"Tell Her No" is a hit single written by Rod Argent and included by English rock band the Zombies on their debut album The Zombies in 1965. It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in March 1965 and was one of three big American hits by the Zombies. "Tell Her No" was only a minor hit for the Zombies in their native Britain, where it peaked at No. 42 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1965.
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, released as the lead single from their album Odessey and Oracle in November 1967. It was featured on Pitchfork's "200 Best Songs of the 1960s" list, and has been covered by modern artists including Elliott Smith and Of Montreal.
"Butcher's Tale " is a song written by Chris White of the Zombies, first released on the group's 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was also released as a single in the United States in June 1968, backed by "This Will Be Our Year." "Butcher's Tale" was recorded in one take on 20 July 1967 at EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3. The song has also been covered by They Might Be Giants, The Immediate, John Wilkes Booze and Chrysanthemums. The anti-war protest song is written from the perspective of a soldier fighting on the Western Front of World War I, mentioning the battles at Gommecourt, Thiepval, Mametz and Verdun in France.
"Just Out of Reach" is a song written by singer Colin Blunstone, first recorded by his band the Zombies in 1965. In 1965, it was clear that the Zombies were going to be featured in Otto Preminger's 1966 movie Bunny Lake Is Missing. Therefore, the band had struck a deal with Preminger; he wanted three new songs by the group, recorded in the span of only ten days. During this time, the band's primary songwriters, keyboardist Rod Argent and bassist Chris White suffered somewhat from writer's block. Although White had already managed to come up with two songs, "Remember You" and "Nothing's Changed", the third song was still missing, much to the group's disappointment. Therefore, Blunstone was tasked with the final song.
R.I.P., also known as R.I.P. - The Lost Album, is a studio album by the 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.
"Leave Me Be" is a song by the English rock band the Zombies. Written by Chris White, the band's bass guitarist, "Leave Me Be" was released on a non-album single in October 1964. Following the release of the band's debut single "She's Not There" in July 1964, White wrote a handful of songs in between performances during the band's heavy schedule. Most of the work on the song occurred in August 1964, when the Zombies recorded both a demo and the backing track for it. The instrumentation largely differs from both earlier and later Zombies records; it features electric organ played by Rod Argent, compared to his previous usage of the electric piano. Together with record producer Ken Jones, they returned in September to finish the vocal track, which was disliked by most band members for its similarity to "She's Not There"; the vocals would eventually be re-recorded a few months later.
"She's Coming Home" is a song written by keyboardist Rod Argent recorded by his band the Zombies. The song has early origins in Argent's life; he lifted segments from the 1946 song "Magnificat and Nunc dimittis" which he had heard in boy choir. Characterized by its unusual chord progression, the song was recorded on 2 March 1965 during a three-hour session held at Decca Studios along with several other tracks, all of whom were by their standard producer Ken Jones, who knew what Argent had looked for in the song and attempted to produce it in that style.
"Whenever You're Ready" is a song written by English keyboardist Rod Argent, first recorded by his band the Zombies. Following an American tour in April 1965 supporting their then single "She's Coming Home", the band were disappointed in finding out it had been a chart failure. After the follow-up "I Want You Back Again" was an even less commercial song, pressure from the group's management came forward in order for them to write a commercial song in the style of their earlier singles, which had been hits.
"Imagine the Swan" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, released as a single in May 1969. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and bass player Chris White. It was recorded following the unexpected success of "Time of the Season" and intended for a Zombies album following Odessey and Oracle that went unreleased at the time.