Different Game
| Different Game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 March 2023 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 39:16 | |||
| Label | Cooking Vinyl | |||
| Producers | Rod Argent, Dale Hanson | |||
| The Zombies chronology | ||||
| ||||
Different Game is the seventh & final studio album by English rock band the Zombies, released on 31 March 2023 through Cooking Vinyl.
Recording and production
[edit source]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".[1]
Composition
[edit source]Different Game is eclectic in style.[2] The album has been described as having "rockers" as well as "tender acoustic ballads with classical string arrangements".[1] The Telegraph's Andrew Perry writes the album "harks back to the prog-rock era", bringing advanced composition and "instrumental virtuosity" to pop songs.[3]
"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."[4]
"I Want to Fly" is a chamber pop song that draws from classical music, featuring only strings and vocals.[3][5] 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.[2]
"Got to Move On" is a harmonica-driven blues stomp[5][6] that Perry characterises as "Spencer Davis Group-style R&B."[3]
Cover
[edit source]The album's cover photo, taken by Argent, shows the band's tour van after it broke down outside of Phoenix, Arizona.[7] 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."[8] Argent said he felt the photo "seems to sum up what being in a band is truly like!"[7] The event further inspired the lyric video for "Dropped Reeling & Stupid".[8]
Release and reception
[edit source]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| American Songwriter |  [11] |
| The Telegraph | [3] |
Different Game was released on 31 March 2023.[5] 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".[9]
Track listing
[edit source]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 |
Personnel
[edit source]- The Zombies
- Colin Blunstone – lead vocals
- Rod Argent – keyboards, backing and lead vocals
- Tom Toomey – guitar, backing vocals
- Søren Koch – bass, backing vocals
- Steve Rodford – drums
References
[edit source]- 1 2 "the zombies - different game - resident". www.resident-music.com. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- 1 2 Sokol, Tony (31 March 2023). "The Zombies' Rod Argent Breaks Down Their New Album Different Game". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Perry, Andrew (31 March 2023). "The Zombies, Different Game". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ↑ Murray, Robin (14 February 2023). "Music Legends The Zombies Share Romantic Hymn 'Love You While I Can'". Clash. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- 1 2 3 Papadatos, Markos (1 April 2023). "Review: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band The Zombies release their new album 'Different Game'". Digital Journal. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ↑ Matthew, Nathan. "The Zombies: A Different Game". OX Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- 1 2 Ruggiero, Bob (28 February 2023). "The Zombies Resurrection Continues with New Album, Tour and Documentary". Houston Press. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 Reilly, Nick (12 January 2023). "The Zombies announce new album 'Different Game'". Rolling Stone UK. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 "Different Game by The Zombies Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ↑ Thomas, Fred. "The Zombies Different Game". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Lee (22 March 2023). "Review: The Zombies Prove They're Still in the Game". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
