or better or worse, we here at Stylus, in all of our autocratic consumer-crit greed, are slaves to timeliness. A record over six months old is often discarded, deemed too old for publication, a relic in the internet age. That's why each week at Stylus, one writer takes a look at an album with the benefit of time. Whether it has been unjustly ignored, unfairly lauded, or misunderstood in some fundamental way, we aim with On Second Thought to provide a fresh look at albums that need it.

Why this album isn’t seen in the same light as other sixties classics such as Pet Sounds and Revolver boggles my mind. All of the right ingredients are there: lush harmonies, great songs, and an actual hit single ("Time of the Season"). Why wasn’t it a bigger hit? How come it never places in certain magazines’ all time lists? Well, timing might have been a factor. It would have been a perfect for 1966, but by 1968 standards it must have seemed dated... Almost no psychedelic influence what so ever. Another factor is that the Zombies had already broken up and most of them had moved on to jobs outside of the music industry by the time the album was released. Lead singer Colin Blunstone was selling insurance, guitarist Paul Atkinson was working as a computer programmer, and drummer Hugh Grundy was working at a car dealership. Further complicating matters, the album was almost never released in the United States. Whatever the reason, it’s a phenomenal album which should be an essential purchase for anyone interested in this period of music.

The album opens with the excellent "Care of Cell 44", this tale of a man waiting for his girlfriend to come home from prison brings to mind some of Brian Wilson’s best songs (especially "Wouldn’t It Be Nice", which served as Pet Sounds’ opener) while echoing his group’s harmonies at the same time. This is followed by "A Rose For Emily", an "Eleanor Rigby" inspired "all the lonely people" tale which, in my opinion anyway, blows its inspiration away. The Beatles influence can also be spotted on the "In My Life"-esque "This Will Be Our Year" as well as the bouncy "I Want Her She Wants Me". Other highlights include: the organ fueled "Beechwood Park", the airy "Hung Up on a Dream", and of course the hit "Time of the Season" (which, I might add, sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the album.) The only dud on the album is "Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914)", a less than subtle Vietnam commentary set in World War I. Not exactly an original idea at the time, and besides The Animals’ ("Sky Pilot") and The Kinks’ ("Some Mother’s Son") Vietnam/World War I commentaries were better. But, anyway, I digress.

The 30th Anniversary Edition brings together the mono and stereo mixes of the album together (the mono version is better) with alternate takes of "A Rose For Emily"(slightly better than the regular version), "Time of the Season"(more upbeat, but worse than the original), and the backing track for "Care of Cell 44". For further listening, pick up the Zombie Heaven box set.